MORRIS: Gamecocks own series against Clemson

FORGET ABOUT THE SEC East championship a season ago. Forget about the 6-0 record against Florida, Georgia and Tennessee over the past two seasons. Forget about the win a season ago over No. 1-ranked Alabama.

The most significant accomplishment of Steve Spurrier’s years at South Carolina became abundantly clear Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium. USC has won three consecutive games against rival Clemson.

“It’s neat to beat Clemson because, historically, they’ve owned South Carolina,” Spurrier said following the 34-13 victory, “but they don’t own us right now, that’s for sure.”

For many USC fans, that has not happened in their lifetime. For those old enough to remember the last time it happened, it has been a long and torturous time between drinks of champagne.

For those who have forgotten, Tommy Suggs was a USC quarterback the last time it happened instead of a radio color commentator. Instead of occupying state capitols in protest of Wall Street’s greed, students were hitting the streets in protest of the Vietnam War.

That was 1968, 1969 and 1970.

Even those wins were not as dominant as the past three have been for USC. The 34-17, 29-7 and 34-13 victories make the turn of the tide in the series even sweeter for Gamecocks fans.

That is why they stayed in their seats to the very end, long after those clad in orange had headed to their cars for the long trek home. The game’s outcome had been decided, yet they stayed to see Alshon Jeffery’s late and spectacular touchdown reception at the back of the end zone, and one last sack by Travian Robertson.

It was worth savoring every ounce of the win, all the way to the Gatorade bath of Spurrier, the coach who lost three of his first four meetings against Clemson before finally embracing the importance of the series.

Not until two years ago did Spurrier allow the bath after beating Clemson. Then he realized a “championship” was involved, the state championship. So, with USC comfortably ahead in the waning minute Saturday, Spurrier appeared to brace himself on the sideline.

Wide receiver Lamar Scruggs and tight end Payton Brady did the honors with 1:28 left on the clock. Then, as the final seconds ticked away, Spurrier grabbed the game ball from the head official as the coach headed to midfield.

Afterward, Spurrier said he wanted the ball because USC had secured 10 wins for the second time in program history, the other coming in 1984, also with a victory over Clemson.

“Mainly the 10 wins,” Spurrier said of securing the ball. “We really talked about 10 wins more than we talked about beating Clemson.”

Spurrier then offered some perspective on the USC-Clemson rivalry.

“I hope our fans have come to the conclusion to beat their rival, hating them is not the answer,” he said. “Hating them, trying to kick their tails and all that is not the answer. The answer is playing the way our guys played tonight, full speed, very few mistakes and play the game the way it is supposed to be played. That’s really why we’ve managed to win the last three.”

Aside from numerous special teams’ breakdowns, USC played a near-perfect game. The defense applied consistent pressure to Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd, who appeared rattled at times and, as a result, largely ineffective throughout. It was the defensive showing Spurrier labeled “sensational.”

Clemson managed 153 yards of offense, or roughly half what USC quarterback Connor Shaw totaled on his own. Shaw was brilliant with his legs and his arm, running for 107 yards and passing for 210, and three touchdowns.

His performance will, no doubt, go down as one of USC’s best in the history of the rivalry, right up there with Suggs’ 316 passing yards and three touchdowns in the 1970 win, the five touchdown passes by Jeff Grantz in the 1975 win and Steve Tanneyhill’s 296 yards passing in the 1992 win.

Mostly, though, Shaw can always say he led USC to a third consecutive victory over Clemson. Shaw returns next season when the Gamecocks can go after a record four straight wins.

The only other time the Gamecocks worked up that kind of streak was from 1951 to 1954. Then it took more than half a century of Clemson dominance before Spurrier came along to really turn the tables.

It should go down as Spurrier’s most significant accomplishment at USC.