How South Carolina QBs performed in wins over Clemson in rivalry’s recent history
This week, South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers will get his first taste of the Clemson rivalry.
With a big game against the Tigers, a South Carolina QB can become a legend in late November.
Many iconic South Carolina moments came in the fire of this rivalry, which reconvenes for the 121st time this Saturday.
Here’s a look at how each USC QB contributed to the Gamecocks’ wins over Clemson since 1990:
1992: South Carolina 24, Clemson 13
Who: Steve Taneyhill, 19-for-29, 296 passing yards, two touchdowns, one interception
Recap: Taneyhill had already helped the Gamecocks rally from an 0-5 start to win four of five. The game was tight early, with a field goal just before halftime tying things 10-10. Taneyhill hit Toby Cates on a play-action strike over double coverage with 3:30 left in the third quarter to break the tie, and the Gamecocks stayed ahead with a Brandon Bennett touchdown. Taneyhill capped things with a moment that echoes through the history of the rivalry, signing the Memorial Stadium field and entering his name into Gamecocks lore.
1994: South Carolina 33, Clemson 7
Who: Taneyhill, 226 yards, one touchdown
Recap: Taneyhill’s second trip to the Upstate was a bit quieter than his first. He threw more than 200 yards and had a strike to Cates for the first score of what ended up a 33-7 win. He also broke a 29-yard scramble down the sideline for a big play. For much of the day, the offense was carried by the powerful backfield of Bennett and Stanley Pritchett.
1996: South Carolina 34, Clemson 31
Who: Anthony Wright, 7-for-25, 120 yards, one interception, 44 rushing yards
Recap: This was an afternoon when the quarterback took a bit of a backseat. Wright, who ended up carving out an extended NFL career, did have some highlights with a 47-yard toss to Marcus Robinson and three runs of 18 yards or longer. Most of the day, he let his backs do the damage, as Duce Staley and Troy Hambrick combined for 268 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
2001: South Carolina 20, Clemson 15
Who: Phil Petty, 14-for-23, 152 yards, one interception, 29 rushing yards
Recap: Petty delivered a solid and clean performance. Aided by a balanced run game and Corey Jenkins rolling in as a change-of-pace option quarterback, Petty guided the offense to a 17-0 run to take command of the game. Petty was only a junior and ended up finishing his career second on the program’s all-time passing list.
2006: South Carolina 31, Clemson 28
Who: Blake Mitchell, 23-for-36, 268 yards, three interceptions, 33 rushing yards, one rush TD
Recap: Steve Spurrier’s first victory against Clemson, a 31-28 comeback victory, featured a somewhat quiet quarterback day with a couple key plays. Mitchell snuck in for the first USC score, after converting another short third down and delivering a couple nice throws earlier in the drive. He also had some key connections with Noah Whiteside and guided the offense 52 yards for the game-winning field goal in the fourth quarter. Tommy Beecher also came in and completed a pass where Kenny McKinley did most of the work on a 16-yard gain.
2009: South Carolina 34, Clemson 17
Who: Stephen Garcia, 10-for-21, 126 yards, three touchdowns, one interception
Recap: Like more than a few of Garcia’s games, this one was quiet in some ways, loud in some key others. His first possession pick was inauspicious, but he found Weslye Saunders for a go-ahead score after an interception late in the first quarter, and later hit key passes to Moe Brown and Tori Gurley to put the Gamecocks up 24-7.
2010: South Carolina 29, Clemson 7
Who: Stephen Garcia, 14-for-30, 227 yards, two touchdowns
Recap: Garcia didn’t put up massive numbers in his second win against the Tigers, but he did make some pretty big plays. That included a 25-yard dime to Justice Cunningham, dropping a soft pass to Pat DiMarco in the flat for an early score, finding Alshon Jeffery on double move out of the slot for 41 yards, on an outside fade ball for 39 yards and for 37 yards on a rollout for a touchdown.
2011: South Carolina 34, Clemson 13
Who: Connor Shaw, 14-for-20, 210 yards, three touchdowns, 107 rushing yards, one rush TD
Recap: Shaw’s first start against the Tigers was one of the finest performances in the rivalry. The Georgia product had a blisteringly efficient day at Williams-Brice Stadium, and helped carry the run game. His first scoring strike down the middle to Bruce Ellington was a thing of beauty. He dodged pressure to hit an open Busta Anderson for a short score, and laid out a near-perfect ball to get Alshon Jeffery an 18-yard score. He also delivered several long scrambles, including a 34-yarder, as well as a 15 yard draw for a touchdown.
2012: South Carolina 27, Clemson 17
Who: Dylan Thompson, 23-for-41, 310 yards, three touchdowns, one interception, 38 rushing yards
Recap: Thompson had to step into the starting spot after Shaw was sidelined with a sprained left foot. The Boiling Springs product had to carry the offense to a degree as the run game struggled. After the Gamecocks fell behind twice and trailed at halftime, Thompson led scoring drives of 85, 42 and 65 yards. That included ripping a throw to Ace Sanders on a route over the middle for a 34-yard score, a perfectly called draw on third and 19 and finding Bruce Ellington later in his progression for a 6-yard score.
2013: South Carolina 31, Clemson 17
Who: Connor Shaw, 19-for-27, 152 yards, one touchdown, 94 rushing yards, one rush TD
Recap: In his final game in Williams-Brice, Shaw had a more quiet passing day. He still ran for an early score on a diving scramble and threw a dime of a fade ball for a 9-yard score to Shaq Roland. He also did yeoman’s work with a game-high 22 carries, including eight on the two late touchdown drives.
2022: South Carolina 31, Clemson 30
Who: Spencer Rattler, 25-for-39, 360 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, one rush TD
Recap: Rattler’s lone trip to the Upstate featured many of the wild swings and explosive moments that came with the Spencer Rattler experience. The future NFL player connected on only seven of his first 17 passes, with a pick-six, as his team fell behind 16-7. Then he went 15-for-17, including a 65-yarder on fourth-and-1 and a 72-yard bomb to Juice Wells to get the Gamecocks to within two points. He also did good work distributing the ball on screens and delivering a few key scramble yards on the go-ahead field goal drive.