Clemson football was once again doomed by defensive woes in the 2024 incarnation of the Palmetto Bowl, suffering its second consecutive home loss to South Carolina, 17-14.
In the aftermath of Saturday’s game, so much was left to hindsight and what could have been had only the Tigers been able to contain the Gamecocks’ elusive quarterback LaNorris Sellers. Instead, it was more the same of a played-out tendency for Clemson football. The Tigers simply could not stop the run when it mattered the most.
There are so many things one could point to that ultimately spelled defeat. Mostly, those all came to pass in the fourth quarter in which the Tigers entered leading 14-7. It was a defensive game, but up until the final 15 minutes, Clemson had more or less controlled the game to their liking. Tied 7-7 at the half, the Tigers marched right down the field and scored to open the third quarter. Then, Clemson football, as it often seems to do, went into a shell.
The Tigers went conservative on offense, ceasing to take downfield passing shots that had been very successful until that point. In the meantime, South Carolina gifted Clemson three turnovers of which the Tigers failed to cash in. So many chances to put the game on ice, and none were taken advantage of. That, probably, was the most frustrating thing about Saturday. Still, it should have been a Clemson football victory.
True freshman linebacker Sammy Brown wreaked absolute havoc on the Gamecocks’ offense through three quarters. To that point Sellers was having a nice game but not a dominant one. He was a non-factor throwing the ball and had really only escaped for a couple of big runs. Aside from that, the Tigers’ defense had corralled him about as well as anyone has all season given his terrific scrambling ability.
But then, Brown conspicuously disappeared from the field. The freshman phenom played just four snaps out of 23 South Carolina plays in the fourth quarter. The result? A Gamecock team that had scored seven points in the first 45 minutes reeled off 10 points in the final six minutes to stun the Death Valley crowd. The final, humiliating dagger came with South Carolina facing 3rd and 16 at the Clemson 20 with the Tigers leading 14-10 with just over a minute to play. The Brown-less defense lost contain and Sellers made the rest history.
South Carolina vs. Clemson Game Highlights | 2024 ACC Football
South Carolina racked up over 260 yards rushing on the day. Wash, rinse, repeat.
But it was head coach Dabo Swinney’s explanation after the game that was perplexing. He explained that the coaching staff expected South Carolina to switch up things offensively and had initiated a package to combat those changes that did not include Brown. Well, the Gamecocks never changed a thing, and Sammy Brown never came back in the game. Make that make sense.
The Tigers had a chance to win. Cade Klubnik marched Clemson right down the field and made it as far as the South Carolina 18 with under 20 seconds to play. Easily in range for a chip shot field goal to tie the game. But Cade, who aside from the final snap played a heck of a game, tried to check the ball down to Phil Mafah and the pass was intercepted on a deflection to end the ballgame. It was the final degradation for the Tigers in a game that Clemson had no business losing.
Still, there does remain a silver lining amidst the heartbreak. At 3:30 p.m. it seemed as if the Tigers’ play-off hopes had vanished. By 7 p.m. they were very much alive again. Syracuse gave Clemson a chance to pull a Lazarus by stunning Miami which knocked the Hurricanes out of the ACC championship game and installed the Tigers into a match-up with SMU for a chance to make the field of 12.
Clemson football went from squandering their postseason chances on Saturday to once again controlling their own destiny. Let’s hope the Tigers finally take advantage of it this time.
