Clemson Football: The 10 greatest ‘what-ifs’ in Tiger History

CLEMSON, SOUTH CAROLINA - AUGUST 29: Head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers greets fans during the Tiger Walk prior to the game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Memorial Stadium on August 29, 2019 in Clemson, South Carolina. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images) /

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COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 09: A general view of the field before the start of the game between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Appalachian State Mountaineers at Williams-Brice Stadium on November 09, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images) /

5. Big Thursday never changed

For those of you not familiar with the history of Clemson football, ‘Big Thursday’ was the name for the annual match-up between the Tigers and Gamecocks for nearly 60 years before the year 1960 finally changed it all.

The event was always held in Columbia during the week of the State Fair and it was a time where state government and offices were closed. As the tradition continued, people became less interested in College Football and Big Thursday became less of a big deal.

Clemson pushed for the rivalry to become a home-and-home series and that eventually happened, under the leadership of Frank Howard. But what if officials hadn’t chosen to change the tradition?

Clemson would’ve never hosted the rivalry game and we would still see it played at a much different time of the year, rather than as the regular season-ending game.

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