Until Gamecocks are competitive again, the Clemson rivalry game has lost its luster
The Clemson-South Carolina rivalry is in a sad state of affairs. Perhaps the most disappointing part is that the series doesn’t appear as if will be competitive again any time soon.
As Tigers coach Dabo Swinney said this week: “I feel sorry for the players who don’t get the chance to be a part of a true rivalry like we have here, because it is a really cool thing to be a part of. When you have so many people who are invested and so passionate about the outcome of a football game, I think it’s just a blast to be a part of.”
Only the passion and intensity that made this one of the most underrated rivalries in college football for a long, long time was missing Saturday afternoon.
This felt more like a well-attended spring game than a heated matchup.
Most of the crowd arrived late and left early (other than the Clemson fans who took up about 35 percent of the stadium and stayed until the end). And it’s hard to blame the Gamecocks fans for getting to Williams-Brice Stadium late and mostly emptying out before the start of the fourth quarter.
“First of all, I appreciate our fans,” Swinney said as he started his postgame comments. “We had a great crowd here today. It was awesome to see a bunch of orange when we first came out.”
South Carolina fans arrived to their tailgating spots knowing it would take a miracle for the game to be anything more than a blowout. And after USC’s goal line stand ended Clemson’s first drive, it was all Tigers from that point forward. Clemson went on to a 38-3 win, its sixth consecutive victory in the series.
The Tigers have outscored South Carolina 184-55 the last four years, for an average score of 46-14.
Arguably the most anticipated part of the day was Clemson’s pregame “Walk of Champions” toward the USC student section. But 30 minutes before the game the student section was mostly empty, a far cry from what Clemson-USC games used to be — and should be.
When Williams-Brice Stadium is rocking and the Gamecocks are playing in a big game, it can be one of the most intimidating stadiums in the country.
The old saying at South Carolina home games was, “If it ain’t swayin’, we ain’t playin’” — and the press box would often shake as the crowd went wild. It was a bit scary for reporters covering the game, but also for opposing teams entering such a hostile environment.
Former Clemson linebacker Ben Boulware once said this about playing at USC: “It was so loud. They were doing that little towel thing with Sandstorm and it was super loud. I was 18 years old and I was about to crap down my leg it was so loud.”
Not anymore.
Plenty of tickets were available on the secondary market and Tigers fans scooped them up. Clemson arrived in Columbia expecting to see lots of orange for the game and got its wish.
“The biggest thing was, we were hoping we were going to have a big crowd so we may not have to be on a silent count. That always helps,” Tigers co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said.
Elliott got his wish after Clemson grabbed control early.
The Tigers led 24-3 at halftime and outgained South Carolina 527 to 174. At no point did it feel like the Gamecocks had a chance to win the game, and it’s hard to imagine South Carolina turning this rivalry around in the near future.
Clemson is undefeated, ranked No. 3, appears on its way to the playoff for the fifth consecutive year and has won two of the past three national titles. South Carolina is 4-8 in Year 4 under Will Muschamp, has an offense that struggled mightily this season and a defense that is losing its best player in Javon Kinlaw.
Trevor Lawrence, Justyn Ross, Xavier Thomas and a handful of other All-American candidates will be back next season when Clemson will host the Gamecocks. The Tigers are also recruiting at a historic pace and could end up with the top class in the country this season, with the headliner being the nation’s top quarterback — DJ Uiagalelei.
The “true rivalry” Swinney spoke of this week seems in the past at the moment, and although Clemson fans are no doubt thrilled with the six consecutive wins, even they have to be a bit bored with what this rivalry has become.
This story was originally published November 30, 2019 at 3:28 PM.
