The Battle for the Palmetto State: Clemson vs South Carolina

One of the oldest rivalries in college football, Clemson will face of with South Carolina to see who reigns supreme in the state.  The campuses are only 132 miles apart, meaning it will be an easy trip for Tigers fans to Williams Brice Stadium to try and see their team win for the first time in fours in this rivalry.

Offensively the two teams are helmed by experienced starters bound for NFL careers.  Tahj Boyd man's the Clemson offense, completing 67.3% of his passes for 9.1 yards per attempt with just seven interceptions to his 29 touchdowns.  37.8% of his passes have resulted in Clemson first downs, including a nearly 40% conversion rate on his third down passes.  Boyd is a solid athlete and can be a real threat in the run game, despite posting just a 2.2 yards per carry mark.  Its the 25 sacks he's taken (7.6% of his dropbacks) that have helped drive that average down.  Connor Shaw is posting slightly better numbers running the ball, averaging 3.5 yards per carry and is converting about half of his third down attempts when he takes off with the ball.  His passing this year has taken another step forward though, especially his decision making.  He's completing 61.3% of his passes for 8.5 yards per attempt, with just a pair of games where he averaged under seven yards per attempt.  He does boast one of the best TD to interception rates in college football, tossing just a single interception to 20 touchdowns.  Shaw hasn't had much work to do in the second halves of games either, with just 78 attempts (half of what he's attempted in the first half).

Defensively the team's stack up fairly evenly, except for the amount of trips South Carolina has allowed into the red zone.  

The Clemson defense has also brutalized opponents by forcing 26 takeaways this season.  A lot of it has been because of Vic Beasely has harassed everyone.  He has 17 tackles for loss (more than half of his total), including 10 sacks with six passes batted down and three forced fumbles.  His presence alone will test a South Carolina line that has allowed 20 sacks and 39 more QB hurries.

The South Carolina secondary  will present challenges for Tahj Boyd though, as Victor Hampton might be one of the best ball hawking secondary players in the country.  he has a team high (tied) three interceptions, and has defended nine passes.  The Gamecocks secondary overall has defended 9.5% of opposing passers attempts.

This game shoudl be very entertaining, with both teams having been battle tested this season by high profile games.  Clemson is a five point under dog at the opening, but this game is more likely to come down to a field goal at the end with how good these offenses and defenses have played this season.