Clemson Football: 3 takeaways from Week 14 rivalry win at South Carolina

2. The Clemson defense mauled South Carolina

If Clemson is to become the first program to win back-to-back national championships in the College Football Playoff era, they will probably do so thanks at least as much to their fearsome defense as anything Lawrence and the offense are able to do on the field. They proved that once again in another dominant defensive performance against South Carolina on Saturday.

By halftime, the Gamecocks had only managed to gain 99 yards of offense. Ryan Hilinski threw an interception to Derion Kendrick that the Tigers turned into their first touchdown on a short field, as the South Carolina quarterback finished the first half 5-of-10 for 64 yards. The ground game struggled just as much, gaining only 35 net rushing yards on 17 carries. (That was mitigated by two sacks on Hilinski that officially counted toward the rushing stats.)

By the end of the game, South Carolina managed to produce only 174 yards of offense. Hilinski ended the game with 105 passing yards and the early interception on 16-of-27 passing. The backfield ground out just 69 yards on the ground, led by former Clemson running back Tavien Feaster’s 47 yards on a dozen carries.

The old adage that defense wins championships still rings true in college football. While a high-powered offense can take a team far, getting to the pinnacle of the sport requires a defensive unit that can shut down opponents. Even with key personnel losses from last year’s championship group on that side of the ball, Clemson is in great position to threaten for a College Football Playoff repeat.