Palmetto Bowl Set for Saturday Night

The 2021 regular season slate wraps up this week with the annual Palmetto Bowl, as the South Carolina Gamecocks (6-5, 3-5 SEC) host the Clemson Tigers (8-3, 6-2 ACC) on Saturday, Nov. 27. The contest is set for a 7:30 pm ET kick at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia (77,559). The game has been sold out.
 
OVER THE AIRWAVES: SEC Network has the television broadcast with Taylor Zarzour and Matt Stinchcomb in the booth and Alyssa Lang on the sidelines. Todd Ellis and Tommy Suggs handle the call for the Gamecock Radio Network with Jamar Nesbit on the sidelines.
 
A LITTLE HISTORY: 2021 marks the 128th season of intercollegiate football at the University of South Carolina dating back to 1892. It is the 115th-consecutive year in which South Carolina has competed on the gridiron. The University did not field a team in either 1893 or 1906. Carolina owns an all-time record of 620-600-44, a .508 winning pct.
 
IT JUST MEANS MORE: The 2021 season marks South Carolina’s 30th year in the Southeastern Conference. South Carolina and Arkansas joined the league prior to the 1992 campaign. The Gamecocks earned the SEC Eastern Division title in the 2010 season. The win earlier this season over Vanderbilt marked South Carolina’s 100th conference win since joining the SEC. They are 102-139-1 (.424) all-time in SEC regular-season play.
 
SAY SO LONG TO THE SUPER SENIORS: The Gamecocks have nine players who are playing in their final game at Williams-Brice Stadium, as their eligibility will have expired after the 2021 season. Those nine are Spencer Eason-Riddle, Jabari Ellis, Jaylan Foster, Nick Muse, Carlins Platel, Zeb Noland, Damani Staley, Aaron Sterling and Parker White.
 
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS: The Gamecocks are 35-11 in their last 46 non-conference games, with six of the 11 losses coming against Clemson. Carolina is 3-0 in non-conference action so far in 2021 with wins over Eastern Illinois (46-0), East Carolina (20-17) and Troy (23-14).
 
CAROLINA VS. CLEMSON: This is the 118th meeting between these two Palmetto State schools in a rivalry that dates back to 1896. The teams met every year from 1909 – 2019, making the Carolina-Clemson series the second-longest running consecutively-played series in college football behind only Minnesota – Wisconsin before the series was interrupted a year ago due to COVID. The Tigers hold a 71-42-4 lead in the all-time series, including a 52-32-3 advantage in Columbia and a 19-10-1 mark in Clemson. Clemson has won the last six meetings after Carolina had won the previous five.
 
BACK-TO-BACK IN COLUMBIA: Since the COVID pandemic cancelled last year’s contest, which was originally scheduled to be played in Clemson, the two teams will play back-to-back games in Columbia. It’s the first time that has occurred since 1958 and ’59. In fact, every game played from 1896-1959 was played in Columbia most as part of the “Big Thursday” tradition with the game contested in late October in conjunction with the state fair.
 
THE LAST TIME THEY MET: Trevor Lawrence threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns to lead No. 3 Clemson to its 27th-straight victory with a 38-3 win over South Carolina on Nov. 30, 2019. Travis Etienne ran for two scores as the Tigers posted their sixth-straight win over the Gamecocks. Clemson rolled up 527 yards of offense on 83 plays, while limiting Carolina to just 174 yards on 53 plays.
 
THE LAST GAMECOCK WIN: No. 10/9 South Carolina forced a half-dozen Clemson turnovers, turning three of them into touchdowns, as the Gamecocks won for the fifth-straight time over the No. 6/4 Tigers, 31-17 in Columbia on Nov. 30, 2013. The game was deadlocked at 17 heading into the final period, but Mike Davis scored on a two-yard run to cap a drive that took over six minutes off the clock, then Brandon Wilds scored on a 26-yard pass from Pharoh Cooper to seal the win. Connor Shaw posted 246 yards of total offense, including 94 on the ground, while All-American Kelcy Quarles led the defense with 2.5 sacks. Skai Moore had a fumble recovery and an interception in the contest.
 
UNRANKED: This is the first time the Gamecocks will be facing an unranked Clemson team since the 2010 season when 18th-ranked Carolina posted a 29-7 win over the unranked Tigers in Clemson. Since that time, the Tigers have been ranked 18th, 12th, 6th, 23rd, 1st, 4th, 4th, 2nd and 3rd entering the game, according to the Associated Press. The last time both squads came into this contest unranked was in 2008.
 
THEY ONCE WORE ORANGE: Carolina wide receivers coach Justin Stepp served as a Clemson graduate assistant from 2009-11. Gamecocks’ Director of High School Relations, Clyde Wrenn, worked as the recruiting coordinator at Clemson for 11 seasons.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT: The Gamecocks rallied from a 14-0 first quarter deficit to defeat the Auburn Tigers, 21-17 and become bowl eligible with their sixth win of the season. ZaQuandre White led the offense with 168 total yards of offense, including 99 on the ground and 69 through the air. Jason Brown was efficient, completing 10-of-15 passes for 157 yards and a season-high three TDs,
 
GOING BOWLING: The Gamecocks secured their sixth win of the season against Auburn, positioning themselves for their first bowl appearance since the 2018 season and their 24th overall. The Gamecocks are 9-14 all-time in bowl games, but have won nine of their last 15 after dropping their first eight bowl contests. Shane Beamer is the third-straight Gamecock head coach to take the team to a bowl game in his first season.
 
WE’RE NOT DEAD YET: The Gamecocks rallied from a 14-point deficit to defeat Auburn, 21-17. It was the second time this season the Carolina spotted their opponents a 14-0 advantage, only to come back for the win. They also trailed East Carolina 14-0 before winning by a 20-17 margin. The two 14-point come-from-behind wins ties for the seventh-best comeback wins in school history. It’s the first time they’ve come back from two touchdown deficits to claim victory twice in the same season. The Gamecocks have had to come from behind in five of their six wins this season. Carolina is outscoring its opponents by a 74-33 margin in the final period. They rallied late to defeat both East Carolina and Vanderbilt in the final minute.
 
JUST GIVE ME THE BALL: With the clock winding down in the first half and the Gamecocks on the doorstep to tie the game, they turned to converted offensive lineman Trai Jones. Jones, a 6-3, 305-pounder who wears number 44 when he lines up at fullback, caught a three-yard pass from Jason Brown to knot the score heading into intermission. It was the first time that Jones had touched the ball in a game situation since he was a pre-teen. He was recognized as the SEC Freshman of the Week for his performance.
 
THAT’S OUR BALL: The Gamecock defense has been outstanding in forcing turnovers all season. They have forced at least two turnovers in eight of their 11 games (EIU-2; ECU-2; UGA-3; UK-3; Troy-4; UT-0; VU-2; A&M-1; UF-2; MU-3; AU-1). For the season, South Carolina has forced 23 turnovers – 14 interceptions and nine fumble recoveries, ranking first in the SEC and in a five-way tie for eighth in the NCAA in turnovers gained. The 14 interceptions have the Gamecocks ranked first in the SEC and in a nine-way tie for eighth in the country.
 
THE BEST OFFENSE IS A GOOD DEFENSE: The Gamecock defense has scored four times this season, three on pick-sixes and one scoop-and-score. Jordan Burch picked off a pass and rumbled 61 yards to paydirt in the opener against Eastern Illinois. That was Carolina’s first pick-six since Israel Mukuamu went 53 yards for a score at Georgia in 2019 and the first for a Gamecock defensive lineman since Devin Taylor raced 48 yards at Arkansas in 2011. Damani Staley got the Gamecocks on the board with just a minute left in the first half on a 63-yard interception return at East Carolina. David Spaulding went 74 yards with an interception return in the final minute of the first half against Troy. Jabari Ellis recovered a fumble and rambled 18-yards for a score late in the first half vs. Florida. Carolina is 4-0 in games with a defensive score.
 
TAKE IT TO THE HOUSE: The Gamecocks are tied with Kentucky for the SEC lead and are in a six-way tie for sixth nationally with four defensive scores behind Nevada (6), Ohio State (6), Hawaii (5), Middle Tennessee (5) and UTSA (5). The three interception returns for TDs are tied for fourth in the NCAA behind Kentucky (4), App State (4) and Ohio State (4) and are the most for Carolina since 2010 (5).
 
WE’RE GOING THE OTHER WAY: Carolina has logged 297 interception return yards this season on 14 picks, just 47 yards off the record of 344 return yards, set in 1984 when the squad intercepted 23 passes. The 297 interception return yards is tied for the fourth-most in the NCAA this season.
 
FOR STARTERS: The Gamecocks have had 39 players make starts this season. Nine have started all 11 games, including Eric Douglas, Jovaughn Gwyn, and Nick Muse on offense, and Jabari Ellis, Kingsley Enagbare, Jaylan Foster, Brad Johnson, Zacch Pickens and Aaron Sterling on defense.
 
YOU GET A WIN AND YOU GET A WIN AND YOU GET A WIN: The Gamecocks are the only FBS team in the country that can boast three starting quarterbacks with two wins under their belts this season. Luke Doty (2-2), Zeb Noland (2-2) and Jason Brown (2-1) each have two wins as a starter.