South Carolina vs. Clemson: Two Key Match-ups to Watch

The No. 6 Clemson (10-1) football team travels to No. 10 South Carolina (9-2) for what is dubbed the "Palmetto Bowl" and is surely going to be worth watching. There are lots of storylines and things to watch for but in our view this narrows down to two key match-ups that will dictate which team comes out of this game with a win. They are:

South Carolina's Corey Robinson versus Clemson's Vic Beasley

It should be fun to watch two guys battle on the line that are both headed to the NFL post-college. Beasley comes in with a stat line that reads – 30 tackles/17 TFL/10 sacks. He is quick and for USC to have success on the offensive side of the ball it will be up to Corey Robinson to protect the quarterback. Robinson has all the skills to do his job, he just needs to put it on display for each snap. If he does it and limits Beasley then USC's backfield should have plenty of time to operate.

Clemson's Brandon Thomas versus South Carolina's Jadeveon Clowney

South Carolina’s star defensive end recorded 41/2 sacks in the Gamecocks’ fourth straight series victory last season but both men are playing much different in 2013. With that, both want to shine in this game and whomever gets the best of this match-up will shine bright as it will be the difference. Clemson's offense need Thomas to keep Clowney at bay.

Notice these two match-ups are in the trenches. It is there that this game will be determined.

About flounder

Two-time grad of THE University of South Carolina.

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