PICKENS COUNTY — Clemson has not been unranked in September since 2014. They entered Saturday unranked. After losing by 21 to Duke on Labor Day, the pressure mounted. However, they responded well with a 66-17 shellacking of Charleston Southern.
The Tigers’ good fortune continued after defeating Florida Atlantic 48-14. It was a quick start as cornerback Nate Wiggins intercepted FAU quarterback Casey Thompson on the fourth snap of the game and ran it back to the end zone. Six minutes later, quarterback Cade Klubnik threw a beauty of a pass and hit receiver Tyler Brown on a post route for a 30 yard touchdown to extend the lead 13-0 after kicker Robert Gunn III missed the extra point.
After FAU failed to convert a fake punt, Gunn again missed, this time a field goal. However, on the next play, safety Khalil Barnes intercepted Casey Thompson, setting up a short field. Klubnik took advantage of that, throwing his second touchdown pass, this time to tight end Jake Briningstool.
The route was on from there as Clemson took a 34-0 lead into halftime.
FAU would not score until the fourth quarter and Clemson matched their score in the second half. The Tigers improve to 2-1 and will welcome third-ranked Florida State to Death Valley next week.
In what looked like a potential monumental upset, South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler and the Gamecock defense took a commanding 14-3 halftime lead.
However, top-ranked Georgia flipped the script in the second half, outscoring South Carolina 21-0 to win by a final score of 24-14.
SC marched right down the field on the opening drive, converting a 3rd and 16 for a touchdown. However, it was bittersweet, because receiver Antwane “Juice” Wells injured his foot and was lost for the remainder of the game.
Head coach Shane Beamer spoke with Jenny Dell of CBS at the conclusion of the first quarter saying, “He’s done right now, think he [Wells] may have a little bit of a broken bone in the foot.” Beamer remains optimistic about Wells’s future, stating “The good news is it’s the foot we just did surgery on, so he’s got a screw in there that stabilizes it. So there’s hope.”
It didn’t take long for Georgia to take the lead. They received the second half kickoff and scored a touchdown in 2 ½ minutes. South Carolina went three-and-out on the ensuing drive and Georgia drove down for another touchdown, giving Georgia their first lead 17-14.
The Gamecock offense didn’t have much going for it in the second half. In six drives, they managed only 129 total yards, punting three times, throwing two interceptions, and turning it over on downs. Georgia would add another touchdown in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
The Gamecocks fall to 1-2 and will welcome Mississippi State to Columbia next week.