Clemson Tigers-S.C. Gamecocks: Clemson's Loss Leaves Unfamiliar Feeling

Originally written following the 2009 debacle in Columbia.      

Just one year ago, on a rainy day in Clemson, Tiger Nation and then-interim coach Dabo Swinney were busy exchanging their vows following a blowout win over South Carolina.  Today, that marriage faced perhaps its first big test as the seconds ticked down in Columbia. 

Clemson looked stellar on the opening kickoff, but quickly fell behind to a motivated and dangerous Gamecock team.  This was the same team that knocked Ole Miss from its lofty early season ranking on display, not the team that was thoroughly dismantled by Tennessee nor the one that managed to squeak by Vanderbilt.  

Regardless of which Carolina team showed up, or how loud Williams-Brice was, or how much an impending trip to Tampa might have distracted the Tigers, there is no denying that Clemson was soundly outplayed in the biggest game of the year.  While celebrations on the Carolina side of this rivalry have been rare throughout the years, they no doubt deserve to savor this one for a little while. 

Many pundits will be quick to bring up the concept of the superiority of the SEC over the ACC based on this game result.  They are correct, but that has little to do with what happened here.  The SEC is the best conference in the land, pure and simple, but that doesn’t necessarily elevate an individual team just because it is a member. 

South Carolina joined the league in 1992 and was able to win three of their next six games against their in-state rival.  Seventeen years later, and now their win total against Clemson since that point is six.  If simply playing a tough SEC schedule every year made the Gamecocks a top-tier team, they would certainly beat Clemson more than once in every three tries. 

Certainly, Carolina is due some credit for playing (and very rarely beating) conference juggernauts such as Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee.  They are also guaranteed a game each year with Vanderbilt and Kentucky. 

Each conference in the land has perennial doormats, and teams having down years.  The SEC is a great recruiting tool and boasts the best games of the year.  It alone doesn’t make a team a winner.  Talent, motivation, and execution win games.

Clemson lost the 2009 edition of the Battle for the Palmetto State because it was unable to control the line of scrimmage on either side of the ball.  Carolina was able to pressure Kyle Parker rushing four linemen for most of the contest. 

The Gamecocks were also able to run between the tackles almost at will.  They were able to take advantage of two early turnovers and convert them to points, at which point the capacity crowd and a need to pass made a comeback that much tougher for the Tigers. 

Despite Spiller’s flash of brilliance to open the game, Clemson was soundly out-executed.  There was more talent wearing orange than garnet on this day, but Carolina believed that there was simply more to play for, and used their skill set far more effectively. 

Most importantly, this game was played on Thanksgiving weekend.  In this final game of the season, as much as with any rivalry game in the nation, anything can and will happen.  Once upon a time, this game led to a weapons-drawn standoff between the two schools.  Records and the point spread don’t matter nearly as much as the opportunity to end a season with control of the state of South Carolina.

Despite the sour taste in the mouth of anyone affiliated with Clemson football, there is a chance for redemption.  Even though Georgia Tech’s loss has taken a great deal of luster off of next week’s ACC championship game, a win in Tampa still means an automatic trip to Miami for the Orange Bowl. 

While this loss stings, it is important to remember that no Clemson coach of note has ever gone undefeated against Carolina.  An occasional loss in this series can and will happen.  This season presents the unique opportunity to immediately reload and get back to work. 

While beating Georgia Tech on Saturday won’t reverse a year of bragging rights back at home, a rebound win will demonstrate that this era of Clemson football has made a clean break from the days of Bowden, West, and Hatfield. 

We have already seen that Coach Swinney’s teams have the ability to leave the past in the past.  Perhaps his experience with the Iron Bowl, another one of the South’s great rivalries, has taught him that it’s not how you lose, but how you come back from a loss.