South Carolina chases first home win over Clemson since 2013 in 122nd Palmetto Bowl

4,382 days. The total represents the number of days between South Carolina’s last home win over the Clemson Tigers and Saturday’s kickoff.

The Gamecocks’ last win over Clemson at Williams-Brice Stadium came on Nov. 30, 2013. Back then, the two teams played for the Hardee’s Trophy in a game not yet dubbed the Palmetto Bowl.

In the five home games since, South Carolina has been outscored 155-52 by Clemson at home. However, the time under head coach Shane Beamer has created an interesting trend.

In Beamer’s past four Palmetto Bowl games as the Gamecocks head coach, he has picked up two wins at Clemson Memorial Stadium and two losses at Williams-Brice Stadium.

Beamer does not see a tangible trend in the rivalry road-win streak, outside of one.

“I tend to look at it as I’m undefeated in 12-noon games and I haven’t won at night, is how I try to look at it,” Beamer said.

Saturday’s 122nd edition of the Palmetto Bowl at Williams-Brice kicks off at noon ET on the SEC Network.

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Regardless of the quick quip, Beamer knows the Gamecocks have struggled in their two home games against the Tigers under him.

Across the two games, South Carolina has only scored seven points. Clemson, comparatively, has scored 46, including a 30-0 shutout in Beamer’s first Palmetto Bowl as head coach. The 2021 shutout is a game Beamer, alongside many Gamecocks, would like to forget.

However, the fifth-year head coach knows that any game over the last three seasons could have gone either way. Teams have won by a combined 13 points over the last three years, with both of South Carolina’s wins coming by three points or less.

“You know, ’23 was a dog fight. We did not do much offensively, to say the least,” Beamer said.

South Carolina held Clemson to 16 points in the 2023 matchup of Gamecocks and Tigers. Unfortunately for them, South Carolina only managed seven. Clemson’s only touchdown on the night came 35 seconds into the contest.

The touchdown was unconventional, too. Spencer Rattler dropped back for the Gamecocks, flipping a swing pass to Xavier Legette, and the ball dropped to the ground on a backwards pass. 42 yards later, Clemson’s Khalil Barnes put the Tigers in the end zone for the only time that night.

“We held them to field goals in the red zone, but didn’t play great,” Beamer said of the 2023 contest on Tuesday.

To get the win at home in his final game as a Gamecock would mean a lot for him and his fellow seniors, Myrtle Beach-native Luke Doty said.

“It’d be awesome. It’d be awesome for this senior class … Being able to finish out our careers at South Carolina with a win against our rival in the upstate, it would be awesome,” Doty said. “Just being able to go out like that is something you always dream of.”

Columbia-native DQ Smith remembers being around 12 or 13 years old when he first started hearing about the rivalry. To beat Clemson is to prove you are the best in the state. It’s a large reason why the team enjoys the rivalry that much. To be part of the team that gets that first home win in over a decade would mean a lot.

“Just knowing the history of the two schools competing. The rivalry, how deeply it runs,” Smith said. “Being able to win that game in a stadium that we play all our games in would be amazing.”

Jalon Kilgore, though growing up just over 150 miles west of Columbia in Eatonton, GA, remembers learning about the rivalry in middle school. One play that sticks out to the defensive back is DJ Swearinger’s hit on Andre Ellington in 2011.

Beamer knows there will be a lot of orange alongside garnet and black in the stands at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday. He also knows it is the opposite when South Carolina travels to Clemson. Everything comes down to preparing well and playing well when kickoff rolls around.

“It’s surprising (that it’s been since 2013 since Carolina won at home), but there’s been some great Clemson teams that have come in here. I’ve been a part of two of those losses, and we haven’t played well, and they have,” Beamer said during Carolina Calls. “Certainly you want to win your rivalry game, and you really want to win your rivalry game at home in front of your fans. Hopefully, we can start a new streak this weekend.”

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