Top 5 matchups for Week 14 of the 2024 college football season
2. No. 15 South Carolina at No. 12 Clemson – Saturday, Noon ET, ESPN
South Carolina and Clemson will renew a historic rivalry on Saturday that will also serve as a College Football Playoff elimination game. The Gamecocks may ultimately need some help ahead of them to reach the playoff but have some nice wins on their resume. Clemson is perhaps in better shape as a two-loss team but needs a win and a Miami loss to Syracuse to reach the ACC title game.
The Palmetto Bowl rivalry has had annual matchups since 1909 and 120 contests played overall since 1896, with Clemson coming out victorious 73 times. The Gamecocks most recently won at Clemson in 2022, but that is their only victory in their last nine contests against the Tigers.
South Carolina figures to have one of its best chances to beat Clemson in recent memory on Saturday as the Gamecocks are slight underdogs but have been impressive as of late. Following a 3-3 start that featured a couple of narrow losses to Alabama and LSU, the Gamecocks have won five in a row with impressive victories over Texas A&M and Missouri. South Carolina鈥檚 offense has been formidable behind quarterback LaNorris Sellers and talented halfback Raheim Sanders, but the program鈥檚 13th-ranked total defense has carried the load.
That will make for a good matchup against a Clemson offense that ranks sixth in the country and puts up around 470 yards and over 37 points per game. Quarterback Cade Klubnik has been highly impressive with 29 touchdown passes to just four interceptions, while the Tigers also feature a 1,000-yard rusher with Phil Mafah. A big offensive output on Saturday could give Clemson a needed signature win as the Tigers have lost just two games, one which was against Georgia, but have not beaten a ranked opponent yet this season.
