South Carolina Gamecocks vs Clemson Tigers Match Player Stats On Nov 26, 2016

The Sports Xchange
Nov 26, 2016

CLEMSON, S.C. -- Junior quarterback Deshaun Watson tied his career high with six touchdown passes to lead No. 4 Clemson to a 56-7 rout of rival South Carolina on Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.

Watson, playing in his final home game in front of 81,542 fans, completed 26 of 32 passes for 347 yards, including four in the first half as the Tigers bolted to a 35-0 lead and let the defense take over from there.

Clemson improved to 11-1 with its third consecutive victory against South Carolina and will play Virginia Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Game Saturday in Orlando, Fla.

The Gamecocks slipped to 6-6.

Watson threw touchdown passes to cap each of Clemson's first two drives of the second half, then left the game for good with 4:38 left in the third quarter. His six touchdown passes were the most ever by a Clemson quarterback against South Carolina and matched the school record he set against North Carolina in 2014.

Three of Watson's touchdown passes went to junior wide receiver Mike Williams, who had touchdown receptions of 34, 19 and 16 yards -- all in the first half. Williams, who finished with six catches for 100 yards, tied the school's single-game record shared by four others, most recently by DeAndre Hopkins of the Houston Texans.

Running back Wayne Gallman rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries for Clemson and wide receiver Artavis Scott had eight catches for 77 yards and a touchdown.

Freshman quarterback Jake Bentley, who had guided the Gamecocks to a 4-1 record since taking over at midseason, was under relentless pressure and completed only 7 of 17 passes for 41 yards and an interception.

South Carolina was held to a season-low 168 yards and the Gamecocks' leading rusher, Rico Dowdle, had 30 yards on five carries.

The Tigers dominated the first half, building a 35-0 lead.

Clemson drove to the South Carolina 22-yard line on its first possession, but Greg Huegel's 39-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Ulric Jones.

The Tigers' Jadar Johnson intercepted Bentley's pass on the Gamecocks' next play and Clemson struck quickly, scoring three plays later on a 34-yard pass from Watson to Williams.

After forcing another three-and-out, Clemson drove 65 yards in 11 plays with Watson and Williams connecting again for a score, this time from 19 yards out.

The Tigers stuffed the Gamecocks on a fake punt attempt and extended the lead to 21-0 five plays later on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Watson to tight end Jordan Leggett.

Gallman added an 8-yard touchdown run with three minutes left in the half and Watson found Williams again with eight seconds left in the half for a 16-yard score that extended the lead to 35-0.

Clemson outgained South Carolina, 380-52, in the first half and had 24 first downs to the Gamecocks' three.

Watson completed 18 of 24 passes for 251 yards in the first half. Bentley connected on 7 of 17 pass attempts for 41 yards and an interception.

NOTES: Clemson DT Carlos Watkins leads the Tigers with 7.5 sacks this season, the most by a Clemson defensive tackle since Trevor Pryce had 7.5 in 1996. ... RB Wayne Gallman needs 57 yards to reach 1,000 this season. ... South Carolina RB Rico Dowdle had 226 yards rushing in the Gamecocks' win against Western Carolina on Nov. 19, the sixth-highest single-game total in school history. ... South Carolina freshman QB Jake Bentley dropped to 4-2 in six starts.