Ad Disclosure
Clemson (10-1, 7-1) is one week away from its second straight ACC Championship Game appearance where it will likely end up facing Virginia Tech.
But make no mistake — the Tigers aren’t going to overlook rival South Carolina before getting to Orlando. Clemson still has a playoff to chase, and after last season’s uncomfortably close, 37-32 win in Columbia, it’s not going to take the Gamecocks lightly.
Swinney is asked if he plans to sit guys vs. South Carolina to rest them before Orlando. Dabo: "You're obviously not from South Carolina"
— Anna Adams (@AnnaH247) November 20, 2016
Clemson took a 28-10 lead with minutes remaining in the third quarter of last season’s matchup before allowing South Carolina to make a late run, closing the gap at three with 12:19 in the fourth before finishing off the Gamecocks for good.
What’s necessary to point out, however, is that South Carolina was coming off one of the worst losses in program history — an embarrassing 23-22 fallout against The Citadel — and had already been mathematically eliminated from bowl eligibility for several weeks but still was able to compete almost blow-for-blow with the then-No. 1 team in the country.
The 2016 Gamecocks enter the game with a 6-5 record, having won four of five since burning the redshirt off true freshman quarterback Jake Bentley.
Swinney doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to take any chances, and with an improved USC team coming to town, he shouldn’t.
Tyler Waddell is a member of the Saturday Down South news team. He brings over five years of professional journalism experience and is closing in on a Bachelor's in sports management. Follow him on Twitter (@Tyler_Waddell).
