South Carolina vs. Clemson on Black Friday? The potential is there per report

The idea of South Carolina and Clemson playing on Friday instead of Saturday will not go away. And according to one report, it’s at least a potential reality.

The most recent contract formalizing the upcoming football games between the two schools includes an option for the 2027 game to be played on either Friday, Nov. 26, or Saturday, Nov. 27, according to a report from The State.

The Insiders Forum: Discuss South Carolina football!

The newspaper received the contract, which was signed on Sept. 9, via a FOIA request. It locks in next year’s game at Clemson for Saturday, November 28, but then lists an “or” between the two dates for the 2027 matchup in Columbia.

While the Palmetto Bowl has traditionally (at least since the 60s) been played on the Saturday before or after Thanksgiving, this is not the first time the thought of playing on a Friday has been broached.

According to a report from TigerNet’s David Hood last summer, citing court documents from Clemson’s lawsuit against the ACC, the school refused a request from the conference and ESPN to move last year’s game in Clemson to Black Friday.

“I was against it for several reasons,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said last year. “I’m happy to do it in Columbia if that’s what they want to do. I don’t think it’s best for this town or this community. The people in this town, they make their hay on Saturdays.”

While it’s uncertain how new athletics director Jeremiah Donati feels about the idea, South Carolina coach Shane Beamer seemed far more open to it than Swinney last season.

“It’s one of the best rivalries in all of the nation,” Beamer said last July. “I like the idea of being able to create even more exposure for it. I can remember the night before we beat Clemson two years ago, sitting at the hotel in Greenville and watching Florida-Florida State play on a Friday night and just thinking to myself, man the whole country is watching this game right now and that’s great exposure for this rivalry.”

There are obviously pros and cons.

Drawbacks, and part of the reason Clemson didn’t want to move the game, are the potential effects on the student section, recruiting lists, and home crowd in general as fans try to get into town a day after a major holiday. Swinney also mentioned a drag on local businesses, which could be affected by the move.

Of course, one major positive is the one Beamer mentioned, the college football spotlight shining on the rivalry matchup.

“I always want to do what’s best for the fans…,” Beamer said last year. “I think there’s some positives to it and some things that aren’t maybe positive about it. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it… Let’s do what’s best for us to win the game but also for our fans, for sure.”

A move to Friday would draw parallels to the days of “Big Thursday,” when the two teams annually played at the South Carolina State Fair on the third Thursday of October from 1896 to 1959 before it was moved to the end-of-season Saturday slot.

Rivalry games between Ole Miss-Mississippi State, Georgia-Georgia Tech, and Texas-Texas A&M will all be played on Black Friday this year, for example, with kickoff times staggered across the noon, 3:30, and 7:30 TV slates.

Perhaps in two years, that day will feature the Gamecocks and Tigers.

For now, the two teams are set to next match up this year at noon on Saturday, November 29 at Williams-Brice Stadium.

The Insiders Forum: Discuss South Carolina football!