Defensively the ferocious South Carolina pass rush led by DEs Kyle Kennard and Dylan Stewart ranks #1 in FBS with a 15.8% passing down sack rate and 7th with a 42% pressure rate. Clemson (9-2) opened the year in ignominious fashion, losing 34-3 to Georgia ...

The 12th-ranked Tigers (9-2, No. 12 CFP ) and 16th-ranked Gamecocks (8-3, No. 15 CFP) are two of the hottest teams in the country. It's the first time both have been ranked in the season-ending rivalry game since 2013 and both hope a win means a berth in the expanded 12-team playoff.

For the matchup between Clemson and South Carolina, the stakes have not been higher in quite some time. There has been one other time in the last decade that the Gamecocks have come into this game being ranked.