USC ground game, stingy D smack Clemson
November 29th, 2009 ║ Posted By: MrSEC.com ║ Permalink ║ Tags: South Carolina
As they walked out of Williams-Brice Stadium following South Carolina’s 34-17 win Saturday, USC tight end Weslye Saunders and tackle Jarriel King stopped in the southwest corner and held the Hardee’s Trophy aloft and gave Gamecock fans a chance to snap pictures and soak in the moment.
Clemson (8-4) will be playing for a bigger, shinier trophy next week when the 15th-ranked Tigers face No. 7 Georgia Tech for the ACC championship in Tampa, Fla.
But USC (7-5) took away something more important than the hardware – salvation of a season following a rare win against its Upstate rival.
The Gamecocks rediscovered their running offense and overcame C.J. Spiller’s NCAA record-setting touchdown return on the opening kickoff to win for the third time in the past 13 games against the Tigers.
USC had dropped three in a row entering Saturday’s game and was in danger of limping into its bowl game in the midst of another late-season skid. Instead, the Gamecocks are guaranteed a winning season and will take momentum – and likely more fans – to their bowl destination.
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