Why Steve Spurrier is planning to attend Clemson football’s season opener against Duke
Family ties and coaching history are the main motivators driving former South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier to Durham next month.
But a chance to stick it to Clemson doesn’t hurt.
According to a tweet from ESPN’s David Hale on Monday, Spurrier is planning to bring a “contingent of folks” from Duke’s 1989 football team to the Blue Devils’ Sept. 4 season and home opener against the Tigers, which is set for a primetime kickoff on Labor Day.
The Head Ball Coach has a personal connection there, as his grandson, Gavin Spurrier, is working for Duke as an analyst after spending four years on the roster as a quarterback. But there’s an extra level to this reunion.
Spurrier scored the signature win of his three-year Duke tenure in 1989 when his unranked Blue Devils upset No. 7 Clemson, 21-17, in Durham. Duke entered the game 1-3, but its win over Clemson fueled a seven-game winning streak that ended with an ACC co-championship.
Spurrier accepted Florida’s head coaching job after that season and spent 11 seasons with the Gators, winning the 1996 national championship, before coming to South Carolina in 2005 and quickly becoming a thorn in Clemson’s side.
As part of a stellar 11-year run with South Carolina, Spurrier won five consecutive games against Clemson from 2009-13 — still tied for USC’s longest ever streak against its arch rival – and went 6-4 overall in Palmetto Bowl action.
He and Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, who hadn’t yet built the Tigers into a national power, also spent years exchanging public jabs that fueled the rivalry further.
Now, over three decades after Duke’s 1989 upset of Clemson, Spurrier, 78, is returning to his old stomping grounds with some clear rooting interests — and an alumni group that’ll contribute to what should be a sellout crowd watching the Blue Devils go for another upset.
Clemson vs. Duke football game, TV info
Who: No. 9 Clemson (11-3, 8-0 ACC last season) at Duke (9-4, 5-3 ACC)
When: 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 4
Where: Wallace Wade Stadium, Durham, North Carolina
TV: ESPN
Line: Clemson by 12 points
This story was originally published August 8, 2023 at 11:23 AM.
