South Carolina’s season has officially reached its endgame. With seven losses now on the record, the Gamecocks have been eliminated from bowl eligibility for the second time in three years. All that’s left is a two-game stretch at home to close out a season that never lived up to expectations.
South Carolina (3-7, 1-7 SEC) begins its final homestand this Saturday, hosting Coastal Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium. Kickoff is set for 4:15 p.m. on SEC Network.
The following week, the Gamecocks wrap up their year with their biggest tradition of all — the annual rivalry showdown with Clemson in the Palmetto Bowl.
The time for that matchup has been known since early in the season: a noon kickoff. What’s new is the broadcast information, and it’s now confirmed that the Palmetto Bowl will air on SEC Network.
South Carolina has actually taken two of the last three meetings against Clemson, both of those wins coming at Memorial Stadium. But this year presents a rare chance — the Gamecocks can claim a rivalry win at home, something they haven’t done since 2013. Oddly enough, neither home team has won in this series since 2018.
This fall hasn’t just been rough on South Carolina — Clemson has had its own struggles. The Tigers (5-5, 4-4 ACC) opened the season ranked No. 4 nationally and were widely considered the ACC’s top College Football Playoff hopeful. But those dreams collapsed early as they dropped three of their first four games.
Clemson has found better footing since then, winning four of its last six, including back-to-back victories over Florida State and Louisville. With that momentum, the Tigers are now one win away from securing their 20th straight bowl appearance. They’ll get their first chance at that milestone this Saturday when they host Furman at 4:30 p.m. in Death Valley.
Historically, Clemson holds the upper hand in the rivalry with a 73-44-4 record. But South Carolina enters this year’s matchup as the defending state champions, thanks to last season’s thrilling 17-14 victory — a game sealed by LaNorris Sellers’ clutch touchdown run with 1:08 left in the fourth quarter.
