This should have been Palmetto Bowl week for Clemson football.
Now that we are in this part of the season with Clemson football, not being able to play one of the greatest rivalries in college football this week feels criminal.
Sure, that may be dramatic but you cannot say you don’t feel the same way if you root for one of the teams in this rivalry.
Thanksgiving weekend is meant for family, eating until you cannot possibly eat any more, and then watching Clemson football beat the daylights out of the team from Columbia. Depending on what part of the country you live in, you may only get to eat this year. (Yes, that is something to be thankful for)
Instead of getting ready for South Carolina, the Tigers are getting ready for a Pitt Panther team that is light-years better than South Carolina and was the last team to beat Clemson at home, so while we are all disappointed in no Palmetto Bowl, there is plenty of reasons to be excited about this week.
Unprecedented times continue for Clemson football.
However, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t okay to wish we were getting ready for a game that has been played every year since 1909. Even two World Wars could not stop the schools from the state of South Carolina from playing.
While Clemson will undoubtedly continue their six-game winning streak in 2021, Saturday would have been Clemson football’s seventh straight win in the rivalry. That would have tied the longest winning streak in the rivalry, which Clemson football also owns and accomplished from 1934-1940.
While Clemson football will not have an opportunity to embarrass Will Muschamp one more time, they will get an opportunity to welcome a new coach into the rivalry. The last first-year head coach to beat Clemson football – Brad Scott back in 1994. That was also the year that Coach Scott led the Gamecocks to their first-ever bowl win.
Given the state of each program, it is safe to say regardless of who they hire, Clemson football will extend their winning streak to seven in 2021.
It’s just too bad we have to wait another year to see it.