Clemson football gets worst possible kickoff time vs. South Carolina

Fans hoping for a night kickoff for the Clemson football team when South Carolina comes to Death Valley got a kick to the teeth on Monday. That's because the ACC announced that the Palmetto Bowl will kick off at Noon Eastern. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

This is less-than-ideal news for Clemson and its fan base. By getting the earliest possible kickoff, it could severely dampen the atmosphere for one of the biggest games of the season.

This isn't the first early kickoff Clemson has hosted against its in-state rival in recent years. In 2022, Clemson's 31-30 loss to the Gamecocks also kicked off at Noon Eastern. However, that day the Tigers did not start the game slowly as they jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter before faltering down the stretch.

In 2020, a year in which the Tigers were supposed to host South Carolina, the two rivals did not meet. Of course, that season was the one impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic which limited the season to 11 regular-season games and only one non-conference contest, which was against The Citadel.

2018 was the last time that the Tigers hosted the Gamecocks at night. That year, in a 7 p.m. Eastern kickoff, the Tigers pounded USC 56-35.

Meanwhile, the last two times this series has been played in Columbia, the Gamecocks got to host Clemson in games that kicked off at 7:30 p.m. Eastern. However, that didn't help South Carolina much as they lost both of those games.

This year, the Palmetto Bowl could be the most important playing of the series in recent memory. That's because both South Carolina and Clemson have faint College Football Playoff hopes.

If things break right, the Tigers and Gamecocks could wind up playing one another with playoff implications on the line. That would add an extra element of intensity to an already heated rivalry.

Unfortunately, though, this edition of the series won't have the added juice that a night game would bring to the table. That means that Clemson will have to give the home fans something to cheer about early in the day on November 30 to make sure that the atmosphere is as strong as it can be that early in the day.