As unranked team, USC has 3 wins over ranked Clemson in modern era. How it happened
South Carolina football has been outmatched in the last seven meetings against Clemson.
The Gamecocks’ most recent win in the series came in 2013, and the programs have since gone in different directions.
Clemson has a 109-14 record since the 2014 season, with two college football national championships in that span and consecutive 10-win seasons dating back to 2011. The Gamecocks, on the other hand, are 52-58 during that same time frame.
USC enters Saturday outside of the Top 25, and No. 8 Clemson is still in pursuit of a spot in the College Football Playoff. Clemson leads the all-time series 72-42-4 and is a 14.5-point favorite this week.
Historically, an unranked Gamecocks team has won five times against a ranked Tigers team. Three of those victories came in the modern era. The other two were in 1958 (USC 26, No. 10 Clemson 6) and 1941 (USC 18 No. 14, Clemson 14).
Here’s what happened in the USC wins that came in 2009, 2006 and 1996.
2009: South Carolina 34, No. 18 Clemson 17
The unranked Gamecocks upset Clemson in their 2009 regular-season finale at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Dabo Swinney was in his first full season as a head coach, as he took over midway through the 2008 season. Steve Spurrier was in his fifth year as USC coach. (Shane Beamer was an assistant coach for the Gamecocks.)
USC shined on defense, limiting Tigers running back C.J. Spiller to 18 rushing yards and holding a high-scoring Clemson offense to 17 points.
Gamecocks quarterback Stephen Garcia threw three touchdowns — two to tight end Weslye Saunders. Tailback Kenny Miles added 114 yards on the ground.
South Carolina finished 7-6 that year — dropping the Papajohns.com Bowl to UConn — but was ranked as high as No. 21 during the season. Clemson was 9-5 overall, losing to Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship game but defeating Kentucky in the Music City Bowl.
2006: South Carolina 31, No. 24 Clemson 28
South Carolina pulled off a come-from-behind win at home to upset Clemson back in 2006 — Year 2 for Spurrier.
The Tigers led by 14 points midway through the third quarter, and had forced three interceptions from USC quarterback Blake Mitchell at that point — one of which was returned for a touchdown.
But the Clemson offense was stagnant after that, and South Carolina took advantage. The Gamecocks scored on their next two possessions — a pair of touchdown runs from Mike Davis (Columbia High) — with one of those possessions being set up by a Clemson fumble.
Ryan Succop put the team ahead with 7:51 remaining in the fourth quarter with a 35-yard field goal.
The Tigers — coached by Tommy Bowden — had an opportunity to tie the game with a 39-yard field goal, but kicker Jad Dean missed and gave USC the road win.
South Carolina finished 8-5 after a Liberty Bowl win over Houston. Clemson was also 8-5 but lost to Kentucky in the Music City Bowl.
1996: South Carolina 34, No. 22 Clemson 31
Another year, another missed Clemson field goal that nearly tied the game.
South Carolina tailbacks Duce Staley and Troy Hambrick each topped 100 yards and scored two touchdowns in the game played in front of packed house at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium.
“That was a tremendous win for us,” USC coach Brad Scott said. “Any time you come into an environment like this and you come away with a win, it’s a good win.”
Clemson’s Matt Padgett missed a 37-yard field goal with six seconds left.
South Carolina finished 6-5 on the season after not landing a bowl bid. Clemson, coached by Tommy West, finished 7-5 after a Peach Bowl loss to LSU.
This story was originally published November 24, 2022 at 6:40 AM.
