Clemson Football: Game-by-game predictions for 2017
It will be Rivalry Week on the road for the Clemson Tigers when they face the South Carolina Gamecocks in their final regular season game of the year.
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The Tigers and Gamecocks have separated themselves from each other as football programs in the past few seasons. While Clemson has a 38-5 record in the past three seasons, South Carolina is 16-22 in the same span.
The Gamecocks are a new team under head coach Will Muschamp as he looks to rebuild a once successful program. They were 6-7 last season, 3-5 in the SEC but this season, they return a ton of experience.
The offense returns 10 players with the only hole being at left guard in terms of starting experience. Jake Bentley looks to be the answer at quarterback after throwing for 1,420 passing yards, nine touchdowns and just four interceptions in 2016.
On defense, the Gamecocks return six players but with linebacker Skai Moore back, they’ve got an unsung leader who should pick up where he left off before his injury. Moore had 110 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, four interceptions, four pass break ups and three forced fumbles in 2015 before missing all of last season with injury.
The Clemson Tigers have still had the Gamecocks number as of late. They beat South Carolina 56-7 last season to the tune of 347 passing yards and six passing touchdowns from quarterback Deshaun Watson. Lucky for the Gamecocks, Watson is gone this season. We’ll see what Kelly Byant can do though.
Final: South Carolina 17, Clemson 35 (10-2)
End of regular season: 10-2 (6-2 ACC)
The Clemson Tigers won’t be a bad team in 2017 and a 10-win finish for them is nothing to scoff at considering the losses on offense. Quarterback Kelly Bryant will have a chance to step in and show what he can do but expect to see Hunter Johnson some as well.
As the Tigers go into the season, experience at quarterback is something they lack. They have enough games on the schedule where Johnson should be able to play, especially in the middle of the schedule.
The other position to watch is running back. Wayne Gallman will be missed but the Tigers have a nice rotation of runners that should fill the void. C.J. Fuller and Tavien Feaster could be the dual-threat rushing attack the Tigers need to get over the hump on offense next season.
Deon Cain and Hunter Renfrow should be solid options at wide receiver. Ray-Ray McCloud is a wild card at the slot position as well.
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Clemson may not repeat as ACC Atlantic division winners, but they’ll be close. They should still receive an at-large bowl bid at the end of the season.