Gamecocks Win Fourth Straight, 27-17, Over Clemson

South Carolina quarterback Dylan Thompson looks to throw against Clemson during the first half of Saturday night’s game at Death Valley. (AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt)

Head Coach Steve Spurrier became the winningest coach in South Carolina history with 65 wins as the Gamecocks (10-2) defeated Clemson (10-2) 27-17 on Saturday evening for Carolina’s fourth straight victory in the series vs. the Tigers. Sophomore quarterback Dylan Thompson went 23-for-41 for 310 yards in the air with three touchdown passes and sophomore defensive end Jadeveon Clowney tallied 4.5 sacks to set the single-season record at Carolina with 13 on the year.  The Gamecocks had a complete performance in all three phases. The Carolina offense totaled 444 yards on the day. Thompson connected six times to Ace Sanders for 119 yards, the most receiving yards by a Gamecock player this year as well as a touchdown. Bruce Ellington also had seven catches for 72 yards with two touchdowns. Carolina’s defense limited the Tigers to just three points and 91 total yards in the second half. Adam Yates went 2-for-2 for field goals with Sanders tallying a 30-yard punt return to set the school’s single-season record at 363 punt return yards.  The loss is Clemson’s first at Memorial Stadium since a 29-7 loss to South Carolina in 2010, a streak of 13 games.