South Carolina-Clemson prediction: Could the Gamecocks keep this competitive?

Lord, Clemson has a lot of talent.

That’s where this has to start. South Carolina is facing a team Saturday with nine five-stars and 37 four-stars. That means a lot of leeway when it comes to busts, and the ability to overwhelm with talent.

That’s where the prediction starts, but it’s worth digging back to check how things got that way.

Clemson had long been a good recruiting program, getting five-stars every year or two. But in many ways, Sammy Watkins helped change it. He was part of a class with three five-stars (and a fourth player rated that way by one service), and he came into college football a fully former superstar.

A third-year five-star in Tajh Boyd was unleashed, and multiple four-stars (Andre Ellington, DeAndre Hopkins, Dwayne Allen) all blossomed together under Chad Morris. That, aided by the soft middle of the ACC meant 10-win seasons.

But a lot of programs have moments like that. What followed was another batch of four-stars who hit at a high rate, a transcendent player in Deshaun Watson and a true rarity, a program that actually jumped a level in the recruiting world.

Fans of every program that takes a step forward and then recedes often laments, “They couldn’t capitalize on the recruiting trail.” South Carolina fans did in 2014 and 2015. But Clemson actually did the thing.

The 10-win seasons, coaches, what have you, they let the recruiting build in a way it almost never does. It took work, some bit of luck and circumstance and time.

What that means is South Carolina’s margin for error is zero. That talent gap means USC has to work harder for extra yards each play, and to keep Clemson from extra yards.

The Gamecocks’ best hope is the offense finds a spark and gets rolling, creating a shootout as a banged up defense does its best. The issue is Clemson’s defense is playing at a level hardly seen. Their front is so good, it’s flat out preventing the kinds of big pass plays that used to be the Tigers’ weakness.

There’s a path to be competitive, but it’s hard to go far enough down it to find the road to victory. In all likelihood, it’ll be another long night in Death Valley.

The pick: Clemson 47, South Carolina 17