South Carolina-Clemson prediction: A longshot of longshots in season’s biggest game
This whole meandering of a South Carolina football season lead to this.
The Gamecocks are 26-point underdogs in what their coach, Will Muschamp, acknowledges is a very important game every season. Clemson comes in aiming for another playoff spot and a second undefeated regular season in a row.
It wasn’t so long ago the Gamecocks had five wins in a row in the series, frustrating some truly good Clemson teams. But that seems a long way off now.
There simply isn’t much of a path for the Gamecocks to pull an upset against Dabo Swinney’s squad.
USC’s offense simply hasn’t been very good for long stretches of this season. It struggled against Appalachian State. It struggled against Texas A&M. Clemson’s defense is in the top three nationally in yards per play and points allowed.
The Gamecocks defense can play well at times, although things came apart in late in its last game. If it were to be able to produce a day like it had against Georgia, South Carolina could hang close and have its defense do some of the scoring.
But even that afternoon, USC generated some good drives on offense and one long touchdown, both of which it hasn’t mounted of late.
It likely ends as a bitter pill, especially since Clemson can use any dominant win it can get its hands on. An upset would erase some of the bad feeling of the season, but it is exceedingly unlikely.
The pick: Clemson 45, South Carolina 10
