Clemson got a huge blowout win over their in-state rival to end the 2016 regular season – which makes the comments from the Gamecock quarterback crazy.
As they were on their way to winning the program’s first national title since the 1981 season, the Clemson Tigers made quick work of their longtime in-state rival, the South Carolina Gamecocks, in the final game of the regular season. The 56-7 score was the biggest victory in the 110 game history of this rivalry and the largest win by an ACC team over a SEC squad.
Don’t tell South Carolina quarterback Jake Bentley that it was a blowout last year inside Death Valley – because he refuses to believe that. During an interview with the FOX affiliate in Columbia, Bentley talked about the game last year and how it’s motivating the Gamecocks this season.
Which is all fine and dandy, until Bentley dropped this little dime (h/t NBC Sports’ College Football Talk):
"“It all stems from that game because at the end of the game everyone knew that they were not that much better than us or better than us at all. It really just lit a fire in everybody since that week. Everyone has worked harder and wanted it more.”"
Look, I’m all for being confident when you are an athlete and believing that you are the best at what you do, but when you get worked by almost 50 points, you were nowhere even close to being in the same league as Clemson was last season.
One look at the stats would agree with that statement. Clemson out-gained South Carolina in yardage 622 to 218 (along with a 41-14 advantage in first downs) to go along with the fact that the Tigers’ defense held Bentley to just seven completions for an abysmal 41 total yards passing. There is no way you can possibly say the Gamecocks were anywhere on their level that November night.
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The Gamecocks are in a rough spot since they have dropped three in a row to their rival (after winning five straight) and have had to watch them play in the last two national title games. Maybe Bentley really does believe Clemson wasn’t that much better – which means he should be tested for a concussion immediately.