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This is it. We've finally reached the first week of the 2022 season. It's been an offseason full of positive momentum and anticipation, but now the rubber will finally meet the road, and whether this season is remembered as a step forward or a disappointment will be etched in stone over the next 13 weeks. Generally one of the biggest factors on whether a season is considered good or bad is how the Gamecocks fair against their in-state rival, the Clemson Tigers. While we've broken down every team on the schedule at this point, from Georgia State to key road games at Arkansas and Kentucky, to home bouts against Tennessee and Missouri, there's perhaps no game Gamecock fans would like to win more than the Week 13 game in Death Valley.
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The strength of this offense lies in the running game, with RBs Will Shipley and Kobe Pace combining for over 1300 yds in 2021, and both are set to return this season. The OL is a veteran group, with SO LG Marcus Tate being the lone starter that isn't a Junior or Senior. While the WR group may not have the NFL Pro Ball level talent they've gotten used to, Joseph Ngata and Beaux Collins are both 6'3" and capable of making elite catches all over the field. FreshmenAntonio Williams could also factor in later in the season as he gets up to speed with the college game.
On both sides of the ball, it will be interesting to see how Clemson changes with the departure of its long-time coordinators. Tony Elliot, who was the OC since 2014 and during both national championship runs, took over as head coach at Virginia for Bronco Mendenhall. It will be interesting to see how much changes under new OC Brandon Streeter. Streeter was promoted from the QB Coach role and isn't expected to overhaul the offensive strategy, but having a different person calling the plays certainly isn't always a smooth transition. By the time the Gamecocks roll into town in November, we expect they'll have the kinks worked out, but it remains to be seen if they can get back to the elite offenses they had during their 6-year playoff run.
He will have plenty of talent to work with, especially on the defensive front, which runs at least 7 deep with NFL-Caliber players, led by DT Bryan Breese who could plausibly be the #1 overall pick this spring, provided he can stay healthy. Myles Murphy, Xavier Thomas, and Tyler Davis are expected to be the other 3 starters, but the backups are arguably barely a step-down. This DLine should compare with the most elite groups in Clemson's history.
There could be a slight step back at linebacker, after the departures of James Skalski and Baylon Spector, but Trenton Simpson, Keith McGuire, and Barrett Carter were all highly recruited elite athletes at the position. If there is a weakness on this defense, perhaps it's in the secondary, where the Tigers will have to replace Andrew Booth Jr., Mario Goodrich, and Nolan Turner. Still, projected first-time starters Andrew Mukaba (SS), and Nate Wiggins (CB) are both former 4-stars and have had time to learn behind veterans before being thrust into their roles, and both saw action late in the 2021 season.
This Clemson defense projects to be one of the most talented groups in the school's history, and that's not an easy task. South Carolina's OL will have to play the best game of their lives to give Spencer Rattler and company time to work, something Jason Brown can attest to after spending most of the 2021 game running for his life. If Rattler can stay upright, perhaps he can test the Tigers' secondary and create some mismatches with the TE group across the middle. The Gamecocks will have to find a way to manufacture some points if they are going to make this a 4th quarter game for the first time since 2015.
Clemson 32 -------- South Carolina 21
That does it for my pre-season previews and predictions for each game. For those of you keeping score at home, I have the Gamecocks going an optimistic 8-4 with wins over Georgia State, Charlotte, SC State, Kentucky, Mizzou, Vandy, Florida, and Tennessee and losses at Arkansas, vs. UGA, at Texas A&M, and at Clemson.
I could easily see the Gamecocks losing against Kentucky, Mizzou, Florida, or Tenneesee but I could also see them pulling an upset out of Arky, UGA, A&M, and Clemson, so I'll stick with 8-4, even if I don't get the exact wins and losses correct.
Early Previews and Predictions: Week 13 at Clemson
By: Caleb Alexander - Southcarolina.rivals.comThis is it. We've finally reached the first week of the 2022 season. It's been an offseason full of positive momentum and anticipation, but now the rubber will finally meet the road, and whether this season is remembered as a step forward or a disappointment will be etched in stone over the next 13 weeks. Generally one of the biggest factors on whether a season is considered good or bad is how the Gamecocks fair against their in-state rival, the Clemson Tigers. While we've broken down every team on the schedule at this point, from Georgia State to key road games at Arkansas and Kentucky, to home bouts against Tennessee and Missouri, there's perhaps no game Gamecock fans would like to win more than the Week 13 game in Death Valley.
Want to read the rest of this premium article? Now is the perfect time to join. From now until Sept. 9th you can lock in a year-long Gamecock Scoop subscription for just $22. That's less than $2 a month. Just use promo code: GOCOCKS22 at checkout.
Streaky Nature
It has been tough to be a South Carolina fan during the last 7 years of the Clemson rivalry. Over those 7 years, South Carolina really only came close to beating the Tigers once, a 37-32 loss in 2015. Otherwise, the closest margin of victory for Clemson has been 18 points, and the largest was the 56-7 trouncing in 2016. Last year, there was some optimism that the Gamecocks could make it interesting in Williams-Brice as they came off an impressive win against Auburn the week before, but unfortunately, the Gamecocks couldn't get anything going on offense, and Clemson ho-hummed their way to a 30-0 shutout. Before this current 7-game run, the Gamecocks had reeled off 5 straight in the Palmetto State rivalry. Coach Shane Beamer was an assistant for the Gamecocks when they started that streak in 2009, and he hopes to lead the program back to that level of success, though perhaps that hill is even harder to climb than it was a decade ago before Clemson had won national championships and become a national recruiting brand. 2022 presents one of the Gamecocks' best shots at taking down their rival who has a few question marks, especially on offense and with their new coordinators, but Clemson still has recruited at an elite level for the last several classes.Tigers on Offense
It's no question that the success and struggles of the Tigers' offense in 2021 centered around QB DJ Uiagalelei. The former 5-star had big shoes to fill with the departure of Trevor Lawrence and he flailed at times, completing just 55.6% of his passes, and throwing more interceptions (10) than TDs (9). You can bet that if "DJ U" struggles again in 2022 that #1 overall rated QB in the 2022 class Cade Klubnik out of Austin, TX will be waiting to step in and attempt to right the ship.The strength of this offense lies in the running game, with RBs Will Shipley and Kobe Pace combining for over 1300 yds in 2021, and both are set to return this season. The OL is a veteran group, with SO LG Marcus Tate being the lone starter that isn't a Junior or Senior. While the WR group may not have the NFL Pro Ball level talent they've gotten used to, Joseph Ngata and Beaux Collins are both 6'3" and capable of making elite catches all over the field. FreshmenAntonio Williams could also factor in later in the season as he gets up to speed with the college game.
On both sides of the ball, it will be interesting to see how Clemson changes with the departure of its long-time coordinators. Tony Elliot, who was the OC since 2014 and during both national championship runs, took over as head coach at Virginia for Bronco Mendenhall. It will be interesting to see how much changes under new OC Brandon Streeter. Streeter was promoted from the QB Coach role and isn't expected to overhaul the offensive strategy, but having a different person calling the plays certainly isn't always a smooth transition. By the time the Gamecocks roll into town in November, we expect they'll have the kinks worked out, but it remains to be seen if they can get back to the elite offenses they had during their 6-year playoff run.
Tigers on Defense
Perhaps the larger coordinator departure was from inarguably elite DC Brent Venables who took over the head-coaching position at Oklahoma. Even though the offense struggled in 2021, the defense was as elite as it has been through most of Venables' time at Clemson. New DC Wes Goodwin was another internal hire by HC Dabo Swinney, with Goodwin serving as a senior defensive assistant prior to the promotion. The Gamecocks have seen their own scenarios where an internal promotion at DC didn't go as planned (sorry "Whammy" Ward) so it will be interesting to see if Goodwin can pick right up where Venables left off.He will have plenty of talent to work with, especially on the defensive front, which runs at least 7 deep with NFL-Caliber players, led by DT Bryan Breese who could plausibly be the #1 overall pick this spring, provided he can stay healthy. Myles Murphy, Xavier Thomas, and Tyler Davis are expected to be the other 3 starters, but the backups are arguably barely a step-down. This DLine should compare with the most elite groups in Clemson's history.
There could be a slight step back at linebacker, after the departures of James Skalski and Baylon Spector, but Trenton Simpson, Keith McGuire, and Barrett Carter were all highly recruited elite athletes at the position. If there is a weakness on this defense, perhaps it's in the secondary, where the Tigers will have to replace Andrew Booth Jr., Mario Goodrich, and Nolan Turner. Still, projected first-time starters Andrew Mukaba (SS), and Nate Wiggins (CB) are both former 4-stars and have had time to learn behind veterans before being thrust into their roles, and both saw action late in the 2021 season.
This Clemson defense projects to be one of the most talented groups in the school's history, and that's not an easy task. South Carolina's OL will have to play the best game of their lives to give Spencer Rattler and company time to work, something Jason Brown can attest to after spending most of the 2021 game running for his life. If Rattler can stay upright, perhaps he can test the Tigers' secondary and create some mismatches with the TE group across the middle. The Gamecocks will have to find a way to manufacture some points if they are going to make this a 4th quarter game for the first time since 2015.
Prediction
It's tough to know what either team is going to look like 3 months from now, but I can't project a South Carolina win in Death Valley until we see them show some life in this rivalry. The Gamecocks haven't won in Clemson since 2012, and perhaps a decade later the worm can begin to turn in this rivalry once again, but it's hard to project it on paper at the moment. That said, games aren't played on paper, and a lot can happen between now and the end of November.Clemson 32 -------- South Carolina 21
That does it for my pre-season previews and predictions for each game. For those of you keeping score at home, I have the Gamecocks going an optimistic 8-4 with wins over Georgia State, Charlotte, SC State, Kentucky, Mizzou, Vandy, Florida, and Tennessee and losses at Arkansas, vs. UGA, at Texas A&M, and at Clemson.
I could easily see the Gamecocks losing against Kentucky, Mizzou, Florida, or Tenneesee but I could also see them pulling an upset out of Arky, UGA, A&M, and Clemson, so I'll stick with 8-4, even if I don't get the exact wins and losses correct.
