|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
If you had said prior to the start of the 2024 football season that the 121st installment of the South Carolina–Clemson rivalry would have College Football Playoff (CFP) implications, everyone within earshot would have nodded approvingly.
“That figures,” they would have said, speculating that Clemson – which began the year ranked on the cusp of the twelve-team cutoff – was likely either “in” or in striking distance of making the field.
That’s how it’s played out, too. Clemson (9-2, 7-1 ACC) is ranked No. 12 nationally in the latest CFP rankings – and is a virtual lock to make the expanded field if it defeats South Carolina on Saturday at Death Valley.
Win, and the Tigers are in…
***
The only problem for head coach Dabo Swinney? This weekend’s rivalry game also has playoff implications for the Gamecocks. That’s right: Against all odds, South Carolina is very much in the playoff conversation after reeling off five consecutive wins for the first time since 2013.
Left for dead at the start of the campaign – and for that matter at its mid-point – fourth-year head coach Shane Beamer’s squad has used its five-game run (which included three straight victories over ranked opponents) to advance to 8-3 on the season. In the space of a little more than a month, a team which seemed destined to post its second consecutive losing record has found itself ranked No. 15 in the latest CFP poll.
In fact, were it not for Southeastern Conference (SEC) officials screwing the Gamecocks over during a near-upset over then-No. 16 LSU earlier this season, South Carolina would find itself in the same “win-and-in” scenario as Clemson. As it stands now, though, the Gamecocks will need help to make the playoffs – even if they beat the Tigers on their home turf this weekend.
The problem? Multiple teams which frankly don’t deserve to be considered for playoff spots are all but assured of getting in… part of a glaring culture of entitlement and “equity” that continues to pervade far too many aspects of our society.
***
Indiana, for example, has played precisely one ranked team all season – and got crushed. The Hoosiers have the nation’s 68th toughest schedule – and that’s before they welcome 1-10 Purdue to their home field on Saturday. Similarly, Boise State has the nation’s 89th toughest schedule – including a loss against its only ranked opponent. The Broncos’ foe this weekend? Unranked Oregon State.
Does anyone really believe these teams are worthy of a playoff spot? Yes… which is the problem. Or part of the problem. Another issue with the current playoff configuration is it, by definition, boots a worthy team in favor of one that is undeserving – even before the selection committee’s politically correct “rankings” are tabulated.
Run these teams through a computer program that doesn’t care about entitlement or equity and you get vastly different outcomes…
In fairness, the three SEC teams sitting on the edge of the field – South Carolina, Ole Miss and Alabama – have three losses apiece. Complicating matters further for Gamecock fans, South Carolina lost head-to-head against both the Rebels and the Crimson Tide.
Also – while it pains me to find something nice to say about the current system – it has, at the very least, managed to ensure that each team with a legitimate claim to the national title gets a chance to earn it. Because let’s be honest: No team with three (3) losses would’ve found itself within an Alabama mile of the former, four-team system.
So while some (or perhaps all) of these three-loss SEC squads could conceivably get screwed out of their title shot, it’s worth pointing out in any other year they wouldn’t have had a shot to begin with.
Wanna win a national championship? Don’t lose. Certainly not thrice.
Hell, Clemson went six seasons from 2015-2020 losing two or fewer games each year – winning a pair of national titles and appearing in two additional title games in the process.
***
For those of you new to the Palmetto Bowl rivalry, it has been all Tigers – especially during Clemson’s recent golden age. All-time, Clemson owns this series, enjoying a 73-43-4 (.625) edge since the first game was played in 1896. The Tigers won seven games in a row from 2014-2021 – tying the series record for consecutive wins – but were narrowly upset by the Gamecocks the last time the two teams played at Death Valley. Prior to that, South Carolina won five in a row from 2009-2013 under former head coach Steve Spurrier – matching its record streak in the series.
The 2013 matchup – a 31-17 Gamecock victory – marked the last time both teams were nationally ranked entering the game.
The Clemson-South Carolina rivalry was the longest continually played series in the south – and the second-longest continually played rivalry in the nation – prior to the SEC controversially refusing to play non-conference games during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Saturday’s contest kicks off at 12:00 p.m. EST on Saturday (November 30, 2024) from Death Valley in Clemson, S.C. ESPN is providing national coverage with Roy Philpott handling play-by-play duties, Sam Acho offering color commentary and Taylor Davis working the sidelines.
Clemson enters the matchup as a 2.5-point favorite at home…
***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children.
***
WANNA SOUND OFF?
Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.
