The Palmetto Bowl between Clemson and South Carolina comes and goes each year, but this year might be different.
The No. 12 Tigers (9-2, 7-1 ACC) are in quite an exciting scenario — the team is on the outside looking in at the College Football Playoff. Because of the new-look 12-team playoff format this season, Clemson can either receive an at-large bid or an automatic bid by winning the ACC Championship.
However, the team is not controlling its own destiny for a conference championship, needing a Miami loss to Syracuse on Saturday afternoon to secure its spot in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The only thing that the Tigers can control is a dominant win over the Gamecocks on Saturday afternoon to persuade the committee to put them in the postseason. Winning eight of the last nine contests over their in-state foe, Clemson has had South Carolina’s number as of late.
But sometimes, having nothing to lose can be a blessing in disguise, and for South Carolina, that’s the case.
Head coach Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks (8-3, 5-3 ACC) have been one of the most interesting teams of the season, putting SEC juggernauts to the test and, sometimes, coming out with a win.
The team holds valuable wins over then-ranked No. 10 Texas A&M and No. 23 Missouri while only losing to then-ranked teams No. 7 Alabama and No. 16 LSU by a combined five points. Beamer and the team embody a gritty squad that will be in the fight in any game.
Now ranked No. 16 in the AP Poll, the Gamecocks are knocking on the door of a berth, their first in the CFP era. With a dual-threat standout in quarterback LaNorris Sellers and a defense ranked fourth in the SEC in points allowed, Beamer’s squad has been feared by many.
“I think they’ve got a really dynamic young quarterback that really is, I think, a great leader and super talented,” head coach Dabo Swinney said. “They’ve got one of the best defenses in the country. Their defense is playing at an incredibly high level.”
South Carolina is a threat on the round, using a strong rushing attack with Sellers and senior running back Raheim Sanders. Sanders, nicknamed “Rocket,” is third in the SEC in rushing yards, rushing for 821 yards this season so far.
The Gamecocks also still have the bragging rights at Memorial Stadium. While the Tigers took the last rivalry matchup a season ago with a 16-7 victory at Williams-Brice Stadium, South Carolina had a devastating win over Clemson in Death Valley in 2022.
With the loss, the Tigers were knocked out of the four-team College Football Playoff in heartbreaking fashion.
“That game really knocked us out of the playoffs, so it definitely stung a little bit, but you can’t really dwell on losses like that,” linebacker Barrett Carter said. “You can’t dwell on any game, you just have to move forward, but that one definitely hurt.”
Following ranked teams like Texas A&M, Colorado, Ole Miss and Alabama losing last weekend, the rivalry game opens up a new aspect of meaning: A strong win will grant the winner a case for an at-large bid for the College Football Playoffs.
After the loss to Louisville on Nov. 2 at Memorial Stadium — where the team lost control of its destiny — a little bit of that magic has returned. Win in their home stadium, and the Tigers may do just enough to hear their name called in December and get back to the College Football Playoff for the first time since the 2020-2021 season.
“This is crazy. I just feel like we have a chance to finish, and I know we are,” defensive tackle Payton Page said. “I feel like they know that energy in the locker room.”
Kickoff has been set for noon, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
