| Clemson hosted Carolina boasting an undefeated record in the ACC and hoping for their third straight ACC crown. The Tigers were favored by between seven and twelve points as people were not impressed by the Gamecocks' 3 and 6 mark. Thankfully USC was able to send the Tiger portion of the 53,000 fans there home unhappy thanks to some heroics from safety Tyler Hellams. It was a dominant performance as well from the Gamecock defense, as they held the Tigers to six first downs in the 7-3 win. Things starte with a bang for Clemson, as Tiger returner Jack Anderson took Butch Genoble's game opening kickoff and headed down the sideline. He made it 72 yards to the Gamecock 28 before Hellams was able to run him out of bounds. Clemson drove as far as the six before USC stiffened, with Hellams stopping Buddy Gore for a two-yard run on first down, LB Al Usher stuffing Gore at the line of scrimmage on second down, and then a pass breakup by Usher on third down, leading to a field goal by Jimmy Barnette. There would be no more scoring in the first, though the Gamecocks reached the Clemson one at the end of the first. With second and goal from the one Warren Muir was stopped twice for no gain, then Suggs was halted for no gain on fourth down on the last play of the opening quarter. An interception by Hellams gave Carolina the ball at the Tiger 46 midway through the second but a Suggs interception from the 18 ended that drive. After a Clemson punt USC again reached the red zone but on second down from the 11 Suggs was picked off again by Bob Craig. On the next play the Tigers fumbled it back and cornerback Pat Watson recovered for Carolina at the Tiger 22. Suggs was picked off again though, stopping that chance, but Gore fumbled it right back two plays later, with Watson recovering again. USC again reached the one, but on fourth down Suggs was stopped again short of the goal line with less than a minute left in the first half. Carolina took the opening kickoff of the second half, but punted after one first down. Clemson went three and out, thanks to Jeff Tope sticking Gore for a five yard loss on third and four. Clemson's Sammy Cain punted the ball away and Hellams took it in at the USC 27 and headed upfield through the middle of the field. The last chance for the Tigers to get him was taken away by a block from DE Jimmy Pope, and Hellams went 73 yards for the game's only touchdown. At the start of the fourth USC again found the red zone, but this time Rudy Holloman was stopped for no gain on fourth and one from the eight. Hellams also picked off his second pass of the day in the fourth. The Tigers started a drive at the USC 43 with 6:29 left and reached the Carolina 20, but a one yard run and three straight incompletions led to a turnover on downs. Carolina went three and out but Pat Watson came up with another turnover, intercepting a Tiger pass at the Gamecock 33 and USC was able to run out the clock from there. The loss dropped Frank Howard's record to 13-14 against USC while giving Paul Dietzel his first win over the Tigers.; |