In the 2025-26 Palmetto Series, the Clemson Tigers hold an 8-3-1 record over the South Carolina Gamecocks, with no win more important than the one on the football field in November.
Voted Best Sporting Moment, Clemson’s triumph over the Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina, on Nov. 29 is a reminder of one thing: Clemson owns the state.
With a score of 28-14, Clemson marched into enemy territory and planted its flag. The game was the finale for both teams’ seasons, as the Tigers wrapped up the regular season 7-5 while adding an eighth loss onto South Carolina’s 4-8 record.
In the win, Clemson had two players rack up 100 yards of offense — Adam Randall on the ground and T.J. Moore through the air.
With 102 yards, Randall tallied his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season. T.J. Moore — named best male athlete of 2026 — tallied his third 100-yard game of 2025 with 101 yards on six receptions.
Beyond the 101 yards to his favorite target, Klubnik found six other targets for a total of 268 passing yards. But his play of the day was with his legs.
With six minutes left in the second quarter, Klubnik took a snap on South Carolina’s 3-yard line and rolled out to his right.
Gamecock edge rusher Bryan Thomas Jr. found a hole and beelined for Klubnik. Cutting to his left, Klubnik evaded Thomas, but not before Thomas knocked the ball loose. Frantically, Klubnik recovered his own fumble and ran 25 yards horizontally to the pylon on the opposite side, outrunning four or five Gamecocks in the score.
It was the longest and most dramatic 3-yard run of Klubnik’s career, as well as the 17th — and ultimately the last — rushing touchdown of his Clemson career.
As the offense pulled away, Clemson’s defense stifled South Carolina’s offense. With two interceptions, five sacks and two recoveries on three forced fumbles, Clemson improved to a 74-44-4 record against South Carolina.
But it must be said: this matchup didn’t carry the same implications that this storied rivalry has featured in the past. In 2024, Clemson and South Carolina were both battling for a spot in the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff. In 2022, Clemson entered the game 10-1 and was ranked No. 7 in the country, while the Gamecocks were No. 19.
But perhaps that’s the beauty of the matchup — postseason implications or not, Clemson vs. South Carolina always carries the weight of the world for those who pick a side.
“It takes another step in a rivalry like this, where, you know, you almost feel something that you haven’t felt in forever,” Brendan Dougherty, the sports editor of the Daily Gamecock, told The Tiger.
Clemson has won nine of the last 11 matchups, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. From 2014 to 2021, the Tigers won seven straight against their in-state foe, and then South Carolina put an end to the madness.
With their gutsy 31-30 win in 2022, the Gamecocks found their first win at Death Valley since 2012 and snapped a ludicrous 40-game home win streak for Clemson. That was the changing of the tides.
Over the past four years, Clemson and South Carolina have split the series evenly, with each program claiming two wins and neither managing to defend its home field.
“That rivalry still goes beyond how well your football team is doing, or how well they have done,” Dougherty said.
This matchup truly transcends football, and the 2025 edition was no different. This game isn’t just two colleges going at it. It’s a display of the state of South Carolina, and all it has to offer, and it truly negates the differences among all fans, no matter the sport, time or venue.
