No. No. 12 Clemson’s hopes of making the College Football Playoff are all but ended after a 17-14 home loss to No. 15 South Carolina. The Gamecocks earned the win on two huge touchdown runs from South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers.
South Carolina took the three-point lead with just over a minute left after Sellers rushed for a 20-yard touchdown run on third-and-16.
On a final drive, Clemson moved the ball down the field with a chance to score, but quarterback Cade Klubnik threw an interception that sealed the victory for the Gamecocks.
After a tough first quarter that featured a South Carolina fumble on the first drive and Clemson turning it over on downs, the Tigers struck first with a touchdown in the second quarter. But the Gamecocks followed it up with a touchdown of their own. Sellers kept the ball and ran 25 yards into the end zone to make the score 7-7.
Clemson then opened the second half with another touchdown to take a 14-7 lead. Klubnik also ran for both of Clemson’s touchdowns and picked up 62 total rushing yards.
A scrappy third quarter for both teams resulted in back-to-back turnovers, with the Gamecocks first fumbling the ball and then the Tigers getting right to work. Early in the fourth quarter, Clemson safety Khalil Barnes picked off Sellers to give the Tigers the ball back, but the team was forced to punt after going three-and-out.
South Carolina then broke the seven-point deficit with a field goal, and then Sellers played hero for the winning touchdown, finding the hole in the defense and shaking off two tackles to get into the end zone. Sellers finished the game with 16 carries and picked up more rushing yards (166) than passing yards (164).
Clemson falls to 9-3 with the loss and can only reach the CFP if it wins the ACC title. Clemson’s only path to the ACC Championship Game is a Syracuse upset of Miami.
