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When Shane Beamer took over South Carolina's program, he used "Welcome Home" as the catchphrase to rekindle the vibes from when he served as an assistant under Steve Spurrier.
Problem for Beamer on Saturday night was, Clemson considered that mantra an open invitation to go to Columbia and bring back some of its own memories in a 30-0 pasting that gave Clemson a state championship in the orange britches.
The Tigers returned to their old stomping-of-the-Gamecocks grounds and reminded South Carolina fans why they gave so much thanks a year ago when the pandemic spared their team a Thanksgiving-weekend annihilation at Death Valley.
The last time Clemson shut out its rival was 45-0 in 1989 under the lights at the same place. That night, a first-year coach named Sparky Woods was left wondering what hit him. This time it was Beamer, who was at Oklahoma this time a year ago.
Even in a down season, Clemson was still up for laying a whooping on its little brother in Columbia. Let's just say the Tigers made themselves at home, as this defensive-dominated showing looked a lot like the 2019 visit (38-3 victory) and the 2017 night game at Billy B (34-10).
Recent upset victories over Auburn and Florida, plus a 7:30 start, brought some real juice to the Williams-Brice Stadium crowd.
And then Dabo Swinney's Tigers quickly sucked all that energy out of the place on their way to their seventh consecutive rivalry victory, a feat last accomplished in the 1930s and one that no single Clemson coach has achieved before.
In finishing the regular season 9-3, Clemson out-rushed South Carolina by a whopping margin of 265-43. The Tigers preserved the shutout at the end when Jeremiah Trotter stopped Zeb Noland three yards short of the end zone on the final play.
After the failed Will Muschamp era, South Carolina's new coach brought renewed spirit and culture in ways that are reminiscent of how Swinney built Clemson after taking over in 2008.
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But Beamer Ball is no match for Brent Ball -- as in, the wrecking ball Clemson's defense took to South Carolina's offense from the very start.
Jason Brown and the Gamecocks just weren't ready for a defense that was full of confidence after suffocating Wake Forest the week before, and full of trench dominance even without Bryan Bresee, Xavier Thomas and Justin Mascoll.
South Carolina didn't secure a first down until the 12-minute mark of the second quarter. By then, Clemson was up 17-0 and that felt like more than enough.
And the Tigers' offense, while far from perfect, was able to continue its ground-pounding ways with Will Shipley and (19 carries, 128 yards) and Kobe Pace (7 carries, 58 yards).
Shipley capped Clemson's first drive of the game (7 plays, 73 yards) with a 29-yard touchdown run, and in the second quarter Pace darted 34 yards for a score to cap a seven-play, 79-yard drive.
To celebrate the score, Pace looked to the student section while cradling the football in his left hand as if it were a baby while telling the crowd to shhhhh.
Rockabye Beamer, in other words.
Of course, a graduate-assistant-turned-quarterback wasn't going to do much to help against Venables' defense. Noland relieved Brown in the third quarter, and the Gamecocks had excellent field position at Clemson's 39-yard line after an exchange of punts.
Down 20-0, this was their chance to maybe make things interesting.
Or maybe not. South Carolina went backwards, losing four yards on the possession and giving the ball back to Clemson after an incomplete pass by Noland on fourth-and-14.
Brown and Noland Combined for 19-of-41 passing for 163 yards with two interceptions, both thrown by Brown and picked off by Andrew Booth.
DJ Uiagalelei didn't crack 100 yards passing (he had 99 and an interception on a 9-of-19 clip) but he supplied some important running yards and didn't really have to be anything special given the way his defense was playing.
Once upon a time, this place was a house of horrors for Clemson as it lost there in 2009, 2011 and 2013.
Now it's more like, well, a second home.
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