Shane Beamer gives an early look at Clemson ahead of Saturday’s Palmetto Bowl
In so many ways, South Carolina and Clemson’s seasons have mirrored each other.
Both were highly ranked in the AP preseason poll — Clemson (4), South Carolina (13) — and had expectations to make the College Football Playoff in 2025. Both returned star quarterbacks — LaNorris Sellers (Carolina) and Cade Klubnik (Clemson) — who weren’t just Heisman contenders, but projected to be Top-10 NFL Draft picks.
And then everything went wrong. Clemson (6-5) lost to LSU and Syracuse. South Carolina (4-7) lost to Vanderbilt and Missouri. The Tigers fell to Georgia Tech on a last-second field goal. The Gamecocks dropped heartbreakers to Alabama and Texas A&M later in the season.
Two teams that had enormous hype for 2025 are already looking ahead to 2026.
The two head coaches have communicated throughout the season. USC’s Shane Beamer and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney have always been very friendly, so perhaps it’s natural that they’ve texted during these difficult months.
“We don’t call each other on Sundays and wallow in misery when we’ve had tough losses, but we have traded text messages,” Beamer said during his weekly Sunday teleconference. “I know Kathleen (Swinney), his awesome wife, and Emily (Beamer’s wife), I know they’ve been in contact and have talked throughout the season.”
Saturday’s Carolina-Clemson game (noon, SEC Network) at Williams-Brice Stadium might feel a bit odd. It’ll be quite the far cry from last year’s matchup at Clemson, when both teams were still fighting for a playoff spot.
This year’s game isn’t for much. Even with a win, USC wouldn’t reach bowl eligibility. And a Clemson win would only vault it from six to seven wins, perhaps the difference between an awful and OK bowl game.
“I know they’ve had some injuries, some tough losses,” Beamer said of Clemson. “They’ve had some heartbreaking things but they’ve been in every game. They’re a few plays from where they wanna be. They’re a team playing with confidence.”
Both the Gamecocks and Tigers enter the Palmetto Bowl unranked for the first time since 2008, back when Swinney was still Clemson’s interim coach and two days away from getting the full-time gig.
With all that said, Saturday is still important because this rivalry is important. For both Beamer and Swinney, it is easier to sell hope for 2026 if you can point to a Palmetto Bowl win.
Though Clemson has struggled this season, Beamer understands the talent on this Tigers roster — starting with DT Peter Woods and edge TJ Parker, both of whom are expected to be first-rounders in the 2026 NFL Draft.
“They’ve got an SEC defensive line every year,” Beamer said. “I mean, they’ve got freakazoids up front.”
The Gamecocks seemed to have turned a corner offensively last week, putting up 51 points in a rout of Coastal Carolina. But looking that efficient against Clemson will be a much-tougher challenge.
And, of course, there’s Klubnik — the senior quarterback who will be starting against South Carolina for the third time on Saturday. Like Sellers, he’s regressed this season, having so far thrown 20 fewer touchdowns than he did last season.
“Cade has done a great job and gotten better as the year has gone on,” Beamer said. “He’s a competitor and you can tell he’s got a great feel for the offense and what they’re doing.”
This story was originally published November 24, 2025 at 7:00 AM.
