STATE – Our weekly Progress Poll asked readers who they thought would win Saturday’s Clemson-Carolina college football game.

Early voting had Clemson dominating, with the Tigers leading 87 percent to 13 percent. But in the past few days, South Carolina has made a slight comeback, trailing 77 percent to 23 percent as of 7 p.m. Friday.

With Clemson having a large local fan base and being located in Pickens County, it is not surprising the Tigers are winning in the poll. Plus Clemson is a three-point favorite, despite playing at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, and are ranked 15th in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. The Tigers have an 8-3 record, having won six straight games. South Carolina dropped to 6-5 after losing to top-ranked Florida two weeks ago. The Gamecocks opened the season 5-1, but lost four of their last five games.

Part of the problem is the schedule South Carolina faces. With Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama and Clemson on the schedule, few teams could find success. Add in Arkansas, Mississippi and Kentucky, and it only gets tougher.

Plus South Carolina’s “bye” week doesn’t come until after the Gamecocks have faced 11 of their 12 opponents. Certainly, somebody has to have a late bye in order for the conference schedule to work, but the Gamecocks seem to get stuck in the same position every year.

However, Gamecock fans can take pride in the fact that they have one of the youngest teams in the conference. Those young players seem to be very talented, so the best days for the Gamecocks seem to be in the future.

On its 44-player depth chart, there are only 8 seniors for the Gamecocks. But 14 on the depth chart are either true freshmen or redshirt freshmen with three more years of elibility remaining. Twelve are sophomores, with two more years of eligibility remaining.

Included among the sophomores is quarterback Stephen Garcia, who now makes his headlines on the field with his play. Early in his time at South Carolina, Garcia’s name was familiar to fans because he was always in some kind of trouble. His increased maturity off the field has shown up with his work on the field, and he could very well be competing for all-SEC honors by the time he is a senior.

Clemson, on the other hand, only has two freshmen starters, although one is quarterback Kyle Parker. The Tigers only have seven freshmen on their depth chart.

Parker edged out Willie Korn for the starting job, and has matured greatly in the past few games. Ellis Johnson, Assistant Head Coach for the Gamecocks, says that Korn is the key to Clemson’s offense.

Others may tend to think the leadership role would go to senior running back and Heisman Trophy candidate C.J. Spiller. Spiller is Clemson’s all-time leader in all-purpose yardage. What is most impressive, though, is the way Spiller’s talents forces opposing coaches to adjust their game plans.

N.C. State coach Tom O’Brian wanted to avoid giving Spiller or his fellow senior Jacoby Ford a chance to return a kick-off or punt return for a score, so he instructed his kickers to kick the ball out of bounds. This gave Clemson good field position all day, including once when the Wolfpack punter booted a kick that went out of bounds after just 7 yards.

During the regular season, the Gamecocks have had the edge in passing, averaging 240.5 yards per game to Clemson’s 204 yards per game. The Tigers have the advantage in the running game, averaging 166.7 yards per game on the ground compared to South Carlina’s 160.1 yards per game.

All in all, it looks to be a great game between two fairly evenly-matched teams. But fans will be fans, and those of each school are hoping for a big victory.

“It’s just a fact of life,” one Clemson fan wrote. “The sun rises every morning, and Clemson beats South Carolina every year.”

“It’s our time,” said a South Carolina fan. “I really don’t see them scoring on our defense. And with our young receivers, they may not win against my Gamecocks for a long time to come.”