Once Clemson got done disposing of Miami on Saturday, Dabo Swinney said he got a glimpse of the Tigers’ next opponent once he got home that night.
Of course, that opponent is South Carolina, which was the story in college football this weekend with its 25-point undressing of No. 5 Tennessee on national television.
“Momentum is a powerful thing in a game like that,” Swinney said. “They just really played a complete game in all facets, and then as they got going, they kept pouring it on.”
Swinney said he nor his team needed to see that kind of performance from their biggest rival to raise their collective antenna. South Carolina has already lost four games heading into this week’s rendition of the Palmetto Bowl while Clemson, fresh off a blowout win of its own, is trying to crawl back into the College Football Playoff picture, so the Gamecocks will again find themselves trying to play spoiler come Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.
But regardless of the circumstances surrounding it, the fact that Clemson and South Carolina are playing each other is all the motivation needed on both sides, Swinney said.
“Doesn’t matter if you’re coming off three big wins in a row or three big losses in a row,” Swinney said. “It’s a game that you can just throw all that stuff out. It’s all about this game and not what you’ve done throughout the year, not what you’ve done last year or what’s coming after this. It’s all about how you play in these four quarters.
“You saw some crazy things (Saturday), but it doesn’t have anything to do with (anything),” Swinney said. “Whether we had gotten beat or we won like we won (Saturday), this is the biggest game of the year. It’s a goal of its own and a season of its own. And it’s the same for them.”
Clemson has owned the rivalry series of late, winning seven in a row over South Carolina dating back to the 2014 season. The teams didn’t play in 2020 when the SEC played a conference-only schedule in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The series resumed last year with Clemson’s 30-0 win in Columbia.
Another Clemson win Saturday would make for the longest winning streak in series history on either side.
“It’s a fun week to get ready and a game that both teams are going to put everything they’ve got into finding a way to win,” Swinney said.
Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.
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