Sellers’ 20-yard TD run with 1:08 left gave No. 16 South Carolina a 17-14 victory over No. 12 Clemson

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina coach Shane Beamer has no doubt where his surging 16th-seeded Gamecocks belong in the postseason — in the hunt for a national championship.

“It’s hard for me to say we’re not one of the 12 best teams in the country,” an exuberant Beamer said Saturday after watching his team pull off another late miracle thanks to quarterback LaNorris Sellers and become the No. 12 seed Clemson 17 defeated -14.

Sellers scored his second touchdown, this time from 20 yards, with 1:08 to play for South Carolina’s sixth straight victory, four of them in this run over ranked opponents.

Are you paying attention, College Football Playoff voters?

“If the committee’s job is to pick the top 12 teams, tell me,” Beamer said.

It would be hard to prevail against the Gamecocks (9-3, 5-3 SEC; No. 15 CFP) when Sellers, a confident, poised freshman, plays as well as he does.

He finished the game with 166 yards rushing and 164 yards passing.

Two games ago, he set career highs with 353 passing yards and five touchdown throws twice while leading the Gamecocks out of fourth-quarter deficits to beat Missouri 34-30.

This time, Sellers shook off an interception near Clemson’s goal with less than 11 minutes left to lead his team to a field goal and then the game-winning score. Sellers spun away from defensive lineman Peter Woods in the backfield, broke the line and hit left to reach the end zone.

Sellers can hear defenders getting angry when they get their hands on her, but he can’t bring down the speedy, 6-foot-1 passer in his first year since taking over for Spencer Rattler .

How does he do that?

“I don’t really know,” Sellers said.

Beamer had an answer to that too.

“He’s a competitor, he’s a warrior,” Beamer said. “It doesn’t get too high or too low. He’s out there having fun.”

Hoping to have more fun a week from now, the Gamecocks are confident their name will be heard in the expanded field of 12 players playing for the national crown. They also know that salespeople will show them the way.

“He’s a magician, man,” said Gamecocks linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. “LeMagic, LeComeback, whatever you want to call him.”

Clemson (9-3, 7-1 ACC, No. 12) had one last chance, driving to South Carolina’s 18th with 16 seconds left – well within reach of a game-tying field goal – when Cade Klubnik was intercepted by Knight, to end the matter.

The Gamecocks went 3-3 after the loss at Alabama in mid-October and then went on their longest winning streak since 2012.

The Tigers also hoped to advance into the CFP’s 12-team field. But their offense had too many costly mistakes and their defense couldn’t contain Sellers.

“He’s a great player and has produced great players,” Clemson linebacker Barrett Carter said.

Still, there could be postseason hope for Clemson, which is crossing its fingers and praying that Syracuse can pull off an upset against No. 8 Miami later Saturday that would put the Tigers in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game against SMU next week.

Both teams posted top marks: the Tigers won three straight and the Gamecocks won five straight, including three consecutive major league opponents like Texas A&M, Vanderbilt and Missouri.

But neither team found their offensive rhythm in the first half.

Sellers was sacked by TJ Parker and turned the ball over as Parker recovered with South Carolina inside the Clemson 20.

The Tigers drove to the South Carolina 11 and knocked down a chip-shot field goal to tie it on 4th-and-1. But Mafah was clearly stopped by Jalon Kilgore and Knight.

Klubnik had scoring runs of 13 and 18 yards for the Tigers.

Takeaways

South Carolina: What a success for the Gamecocks, who were picked 13th in the SEC before the season and now potentially find themselves in the national championship playoff field.

Clemson: The Tigers lost to both SEC opponents they faced this season, first to No. 1 Georgia earlier in the year and then to rival South Carolina.

Clemson’s close decision

Tigers coach Dabo Swinney was proud of his team’s regular season, but knew the loss would potentially prevent them from returning to the playoffs. “We could have had a great year,” he said. “We have gotten better this season, there are a lot of positive things we can build on.

“But this one is tough. It’s difficult. It hurts,” he continued.

Beamer’s call

Shane Beamer knew what a big week it was when he received a voicemail from his old boss, former South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier. “Beamer, you’re doing great,” said Spurrier, who coached the Gamecocks from 2005 to 2014. “This could be the greatest game in South Carolina history.”

Next

South Carolina and Clemson both await postseason games.

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