Where Clemson landed in ESPN’s SP+ after taking down South Carolina

Clemson wrapped up the regular season with real momentum, and that late surge has the Tigers sitting near the Top 30 nationally in several analytic systems heading into the postseason. Saturday’s 28–14 win at South Carolina gave Clemson its fourth straight victory and extended its rivalry road streak to six games all-time. The jump showed up immediately in the metrics, with ESPN’s FPI moving the Tigers to No. 30 and SP+ pushing them up to No. 32.

The defense turned in another strong afternoon in Columbia, holding the Gamecocks to one conversion on 11 third-down tries, a number that places Clemson seventh in the nation. The pass rush also delivered five sacks, helping the Tigers rise to 18th nationally in that category. Ricardo Jones sits second in interceptions with six, T.J. Parker is second in fumble recoveries with three, and Avieon Terrell is third in forced fumbles at 0.42 per game. Will Heldt’s showing, including 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, pushed him to 14th nationally in tackles for loss per game.

Across the board, Clemson closes the regular season with several national strengths: a Top 15 rushing defense, Top 35 marks in fourth-down defense, scoring defense, and red-zone defense, and the country’s best punt-return defense at just .22 yards allowed per return after shutting down Vicari Swain. The list of solid categories continues with strong finishes in penalties, passing offense, tackles for loss, and time of possession. Struggles remain in a few spots, particularly fumbles lost, third-down offense, and kickoff-return defense, all of which sit 100th or worse.

Advanced metrics round out the picture with FPI rating Clemson’s offense 43rd, defense 38th, and special teams 95th, while SP+ places the units 59th, 26th, and 33rd, respectively.

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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Clemson moves up in ESPN’s SP+ after a rivalry win over South Carolina