Clemson–South Carolina rivalry

Clemson logo

South Carolina logo

The Clemson-Carolina Rivalry or Carolina-Clemson Rivalry is an in-state college rivalry between Clemson University and the University of South Carolina. The two institutions are separated by 132 miles and have been bitter rivals since the 1880s. A heated rivalry continues to this day for a variety of reasons, including the historic tensions regarding their respective charters along with the passions surrounding their athletic programs.

The athletic programs are known as the Clemson Tigers and the South Carolina Gamecocks, and both are members of premier collegiate athletic conferences: Clemson is in the Atlantic Coast Conference; South Carolina is in the Southeastern Conference (Conference USA for men's soccer, since the SEC does not sponsor men's soccer).

Origin

Background

College Comparison

Category	Clemson University	University of South Carolina
Location	Clemson	Columbia
Students	17,309	28,481
School Colors	Orange & Purple	Garnet & Black
Nickname	Tigers	Gamecocks
Mascot	The Tiger and The Tiger Cub	Cocky
National Championships	4	7

Unlike most major college rivalries, the Clemson-Carolina rivalry did not start innocently. In fact, the seeds of bitterness were planted even before Clemson became a college. The two institutions were founded 88 years apart: South Carolina College in 1801 and Clemson Agricultural College in 1889.

South Carolina College was founded in 1801 to unite and promote harmony between the Lowcountry and the Upcountry. It closed during the Civil War when its students aided the Southern cause, but the closure gave the politicians an opportunity to reorganize it to their liking. The Radical Republicans in charge of state government during Reconstruction opened the school to blacks and appropriated generous funds to the University, much of which was embezzled. These actions caused the white citizens of the state to withdraw their support for the University and view it as a symbol of the worst aspects of Reconstruction.

The Democrats returned to power in 1877 following their decisive electoral victory over the Radical Republicans and promptly proceeded to close the University. Sentiment in the state favored opening an agriculture college so the University was reorganized as the South Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. In 1882, the college was renamed to its antebellum name, South Carolina College, which infuriated the farmers because they felt that the politicians had frustrated the will of the people by deemphasizing agriculture education, even though the school still retained the department of agriculture.

Agitation from the farmers

Benjamin Tillman emerged in the 1880s as a leader of the agrarian movement in South Carolina and demanded that the South Carolina College take agricultural education more seriously by expanding the agriculture department. In 1885, Tillman was convinced of the superiority of a separate agricultural college by Stephen D. Lee, then the President of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of the State of Mississippi, and subsequently Tillman would accept nothing less than a separate agriculture college in South Carolina. He offered the following reasons why he felt that it was necessary to have a separate agriculture college outside the confines of Columbia:

1. Mississippi A&M featured practical training without unnecessary studying of the liberal arts.
2. Mississippi A&M provided poor students work-scholarships so that they could attend the college.
3. There were too few students who studied agriculture at the College to justify an agriculture college there.
4. The College was a place "for the sons of lawyers and of the well-to-do" who sneered at the agriculture students as if they were hayseeds.
5. The students at the College lived a life of luxury as compared with the sweat and toil endured by students at Mississippi A&M.
6. There was not enough farm land near the College to allow for proper agriculture study.

The Conservatives, who held the reins of power in South Carolina from 1877 to 1890, replied to each point made by Tillman:

1. The most advanced agriculture educational research was being conducted at the University of California and at Cornell University, both of which combined agriculture colleges with liberal arts colleges. Additionally, a separate agriculture college would be more expensive and result in an inferior product.
2. The work scholarships attracted the lowest quality of students who only cared about obtaining a college degree, not about an education in agriculture or mechanical studies. Furthermore, there was little advantage of attending a college only to pitch manure and grub stumps.
3. The constant attacks by Tillman on the College caused many to doubt whether state support for the institution would continue. As a result, the enrollment numbers were not impressive, although the numbers of students taking agriculture and mechanical classes increased from 34 in 1887 to 83 in 1889.
4. Over half of the students at the College were the sons of farmers, though most did not study agriculture as Tillman wished. John McLaren McBryde, President of the College, correctly predicted that most students of an agriculture college would not go back to work the farm after graduation.
5. While some students at the College were the sons of the well-to-do, the majority were poor.
6. The College farm added 100 acres (0.4 km²) in 1887, just one mile from campus.

Clemson's will

Tillman was bolstered in 1886 when Thomas Green Clemson agreed to will his Fort Hill estate for the establishment of an agriculture college. Yet, Tillman did not want to wait until Clemson died to start a separate agriculture college so he pushed the General Assembly to use the Morrill funds and Hatch funds for that purpose. Instead, the legislature gave those funds to the South Carolina College in 1887 which would use them along with a greater state appropriation to reorganize itself as the second University of South Carolina and to also greatly expand the agriculture department. After this victory for South Carolina, in January 1888 Tillman wrote a letter to the News and Courier that he was retiring from public life.

Political factions in the 1880s

	Tillmanites	Conservatives
Favored college	Clemson	South Carolina
Figurehead leader	Benjamin Tillman	Wade Hampton III
Political ideology	Agrarian populism	Conservatism
Base of support	The Upstate; rural	Statewide; urban
Confederate service	50.0%	79.1%

It was less than ninety days when Tillman reemerged on the scene upon the death of Thomas Green Clemson in April 1888. Tillman advocated that the state accept the gift by Clemson, but the Conservatives in power opposed the move and an all out war for power in the state commenced. The opening salvo was fired by Gideon Lee, the father of Clemson's granddaughter and John C. Calhoun's great granddaughter Floride Isabella Lee, who wrote a letter on her behalf to the News and Courier in May that she was being denied as Calhoun's rightful heir. Furthermore, he stated that Clemson was egotistical and "only wanted to erect a monument to his own name." In November, Lee filed a lawsuit in Federal Court to contest the will which ultimately ruled against him in May 1889.

The election of 1888 afforded Tillman an opportunity to convince the politicians to accept the Clemson bequest or face the possibility of being voted out of office. He demanded that the Democratic party nominate its candidates by the primary system, which was denied, but they did accept his request that the candidates for statewide office canvass the state. Tillman proved excellent on the stump, by far superior than his Conservative opponents, and as the Democratic convention neared there was a clear groundswell of support for the acceptance of Clemson's estate. He was so effective because of his "ability to awaken popular passion and prejudice" when the populace by and large mistook "prejudice for truth, passion for reason, and invective for documentation." Tillman pitted "the poor against the rich, tenant against landowner, hireling against employer, country against town, all of South Carolina against Charleston and Columbia, upcountry against lowcountry, white against black, do-somethings against do-nothings, and outs against those in power" so that "he could rile them up and then appear as their champion." In addition, the Conservative leadership was aging and its appeal to the past glories of South Carolina during the antebellum period meant little to the emerging younger generation.

Bequest barely wins support

Tillman explained his justification for an independently controlled agriculture college by pointing to the mismanagement and political interference of the University of South Carolina as had occurred during Reconstruction. The agriculture college, as specified in Clemson's will, was to be privately controlled and thus would be able to prevent any "possible invasion by the negroes". With declining cotton prices, Tillman played upon the farmer's desperation by stating that the salaries of the college professors were exorbitant and it must be a sign of corruption. Consequently, the legislature was compelled to pass the bill to accept Clemson's bequest in December 1888, albeit with the tie-breaking vote in the state Senate from Lieutenant Governor William L. Mauldin. Thus was reborn the antagonistic feelings of regional bitterness and class division that would plague the state for decades.

Having achieved his agriculture college, Tillman was not content to sit idly by because what he really desired was power and political office. After winning the 1890 election and becoming Governor, Tillman renewed the attacks on the Conservatives and those who had thwarted his agriculture college. He saved the coup de grâce for Senator Wade Hampton III, a South Carolina College graduate and Confederate General during the Civil War, who "invoked Confederate service and honor as a barrier to Tillmanism." Tillman directed the legislature to defeat Hampton's renomination for another term in December 1890, thereby finishing what Sherman had left undone in 1865.

While campaigning for Governor in 1890, Tillman leveled his harshest criticism towards the University of South Carolina and threatened to close it along with The Citadel, which he called a "dude factory." Despite the rhetoric, Tillman only succeeded in reorganizing the University of South Carolina into a liberal arts college while in office. It would eventually be rechartered for the last time in 1906 as the University of South Carolina. However, Clemson Agricultural College held sway over the state legislature for decades and was generally the more popular college during the first half of the 20th century in South Carolina.

Role reversal

After World War II, the long held perceptions of the two schools switched. Whereas South Carolina was viewed as an elitist institution for much of its existence, it opened its doors to every qualified veteran and later encouraged minority enrollment. Clemson on the other hand, claimed to have been founded for the common man, sought to restrict entrance to veterans returning from the war and has a substantially lower percentage of minorities in its student body (Clemson enrolled its first African-American student in 1963). Thus the University of South Carolina was able to achieve exponential growth as a result and reclaim the status as the most popular institution of higher education in South Carolina.

South Carolina College Enrollment

In the 1950s, the University of South Carolina expanded its reach across the state by establishing branch campuses under the auspices of the University of South Carolina System. Clemson, having obtained university status in 1964, tried to compete with this network in the 1960s by establishing branch campuses in Greenville and Sumter. House Speaker Sol Blatt was alarmed by the spread of Clemson and declared that USC "should build as many two year colleges over the state as rapidly as possible to prevent the expansion of Clemson schools for the Clemson people." Accordingly, the University of South Carolina began a new wave of expansion across the state and was aided by the fact that the Clemson extensions never proved popular. In 1973, USC acquired the Clemson campus at Sumter due to disappointing enrollment numbers and Clemson's Greenville campus would return to its independent status as Greenville Tech.

Continued hostilities

Respective achievements are never acknowledged in this family feud. The turf issues are overlapping and complicated. Competitions on the ballfields become cathartic experiences, as many of these rivals carry the virulence of yesteryear. "There’s a history of bad blood between these institutions," says Jay McCormick, a doctoral candidate at USC. "So when athletics came to Carolina and to Clemson, it was natural that they should be a rivalry. The rivalry extends back to political and social origins. It’s not just an athletic rivalry. It’s a manifestation of these things."

Football

Football
History
First Meeting	Carolina, 12-6 (1896)
Last Meeting	Carolina, 34-17 (2009)
Next Meeting	November 27, 2010
Number of Meetings	107
All-Time Series	Clemson leads, 65-38-4
Largest victory	Clemson, 51-0 (1900)
Current Streak	Carolina, 1
Longest Clem Win Streak	7 (1934–1940)
Longest USC Win Streak	4 (1951–1954)
Trophy:	Hardee's Trophy

The annual Clemson-Carolina football game (sometimes dubbed "The Battle of the Palmetto State" or the "Palmetto Bowl" from the state's nickname) is the longest uninterrupted series in the South and the third longest uninterrupted series overall, having been played every year since 1909. The universities maintain college football stadiums in excess of 80,000 seats each, placing both in the top 18 in the United States. Clemson holds a 65-38-4 lead in the series, which dates back to 1896. From 1896-1959, the Carolina-Clemson game was played in Columbia and referred to as "Big Thursday." Since 1960, the game has alternated between both teams' home stadiums as the regular season finale. Though Clemson leads the football series, approximately forty games have been decided by a touchdown or less. Clemson has more wins against South Carolina than any other program, and South Carolina is third behind Georgia Tech and Georgia in most wins against Clemson.

Every year, each school engages in a ritual involving the other team's mascot. South Carolina holds the "Tiger Burn", and Clemson holds a mock funeral for Cocky. After 7 students (6 from USC, 1 from Clemson) died in the Ocean Isle Beach house fire in 2007, the Cocky funeral was cancelled and the Tiger Burn was changed to the "Tiger Tear Down" for that year.

Early years: 1896–1902

When Clemson began its football program in 1896, coached by Walter Riggs, they scheduled the rival South Carolina College for a Thursday morning game in conjunction with the State Fair. Carolina won that game 12–6 and a new tradition was born – Big Thursday.

The Gamecock mascot made its first appearance in 1902. In that first season as the Gamecocks, Carolina defeated a highly favored Clemson team coached by the legendary John Heisman 12–6. But it was the full-scale riot that broke out in the wake of the game that is remembered most.

"The Carolina fans that week were carrying around a poster with the image of a tiger with a gamecock standing on top of it, holding the tiger’s tail as if he was steering the tiger by the tail," says Jay McCormick. "Naturally, the Clemson guys didn’t take too kindly to that, and on Wednesday and again on Thursday, there were sporadic fistfights involving brass knuckles and other objects and so forth, some of which resulted, according to the newspapers, in blood being spilled and persons having to seek medical assistance. After the game on Thursday, the Clemson guys frankly told the Carolina students that if you bring this poster, which is insulting to us, to the big parade on Friday, you’re going to be in trouble. And naturally, of course, the Carolina students brought the poster to the parade. If you give someone an ultimatum and they’re your rival, they’re going to do exactly what you told them not to do."

As expected, another brawl broke out before both sides agreed to mutually burn the poster in an effort to defuse tensions. The immediate aftermath resulted in the stoppage of the rivalry until 1909. The Carolina–Clemson game has been played every year since.

World War II era

World War II produced one of the most bizarre situations in the history of the rivalry. Cary Cox, a football player of the victorious Clemson squad in 1942, signed up for the V-12 program in 1943 and was placed at USC. The naval instructors at Carolina ordered him to play on the football team and he was named the captain for the Big Thursday game against Clemson. Cox was reluctant to play against his former teammates and he voiced his concerns to coach Lt. James P. Moran who responded "Cox, I can't promise you'll get a Navy commission if you play Thursday, but I can damn well promise that you won't get one if you don't play!" Cox then went out and led the Carolina team to a 33-6 win against Clemson. He returned to Clemson after the war and captained the 1947 team in a losing effort to Carolina, but Cox earned his place in history as the only player to captain both schools' football teams.

The 1946 game could be the most chaotic in the football series. Counterfeit tickets were sold, and fans with legitimate and fake tickets were not allowed inside once the stadium filled, so many fans stormed the gates and were eventually allowed to stand along the sidelines of the field. To add to the wild scene, a Clemson fan strangled a live chicken at midfield during halftime. It took U.S. Secretary of State James F. Byrnes, who attended the game along with Strom Thurmond, to settle down the hostile crowd. Carolina won the game 26-14.

Modern era - Post WWII

1961: The Prank
In 1961, the USC fraternity Sigma Nu pulled what some have called the greatest prank in the rivalry's history. A few minutes before Clemson football players entered the field for pre-game warm ups, a group of Sigma Nu fraternity members ran onto the field, jumping up and down and cheering in football uniforms that resembled the ones worn by the Tigers. This caused the Clemson band to start playing "Tiger Rag," which was followed by the pranksters falling down as they attempted to do calisthenics. They would also do football drills where guys would drop passes and miss the ball when trying to kick it... Clemson fans quickly realized that they had been tricked, and some of them angrily ran onto the field. However, security restored order before any blows could be exchanged. Carolina won the game 21-14, although Clemson was on the Gamecock one-yard-line when time expired.

1975: Most Points Scored by Carolina
On November 22, 1975, Carolina defeated Clemson 56-20 to set a Gamecock record for most points scored in a football game against the Tigers.

1977: "The Catch"
On November 19, 1977, Clemson WR Jerry Butler made a diving, backwards, 20-yard touchdown reception on a pass from QB Steve Fuller with 49 seconds left in the fourth quarter to give Clemson the 31-27 victory in Columbia. This play is known as "The Catch" and is one of the most memorable plays in the rivalry.

1980: Orange Pants
In the last regular season game for the 1980 season, a heavily favored Carolina team traveled to Death Valley to take on the Tigers. In a surprise to both the players and the fans, Coach Danny Ford unveiled new orange uniform pants for the Tigers to wear. This was the first time in Clemson's history that they wore orange pants in any combination for a football game. Inspired by the pants, the underdog Tigers defeated the Gamecocks, 27-6.

1981: Clemson wins a National Championship
In 1981, Clemson defeated Carolina 29-13 en route to the National Championship.

1987: Highest Ranked Match-Up
On November 21, 1987, with the highest combined rankings of the two football programs entering the game (the Gamecocks were #12 and the Tigers were #8), Carolina beat Clemson 20-7 on national television (ESPN).

2000: "The Catch II"/"The Push-Off"
In 2000, Trailing late in the game 14-13, Clemson quarterback Woody Dantzler connected with wide-receiver Rod Gardner for a 50-yard reception to South Carolina's 8-yard line with 10 seconds remaining. Carolina fans point to a replay that seems to show Gardner pushing off the Gamecock defender, but Clemson fans contend that the contact was mutual and incidental. No penalty flag was thrown on the play, leaving Clemson kicker Aaron Hunt to kick a 25-yard field goal that gave Clemson a 16-14 win. Clemson fans remember this game as "The Catch II" while Carolina fans call it "The Push-Off Game".

2003: Most Points Scored by Clemson
In 2003, Clemson defeated Carolina 63-17, to set the record for the most points scored by either team in the series.

2004: The Brawl
The South Carolina-Clemson brawl during the 2004 football game is the most recent eruption of hostilities in this rivalry. It is also the last time Lou Holtz coached, having retired shortly thereafter. Clemson won the game 29-7. Each team had won a total of six games that year and were technically bowl eligible. However, both schools elected to forfeit their postseason because of the unsportsmanlike nature of the fight.

2005: A Quarterback Wins 4
In 2005, the two teams showed an unusual gesture of sportsmanship by meeting at midfield before the game to shake hands, putting the melee of 2004 behind them. Clemson won this game 13-9, leaving the Tiger's quarterback, Charlie Whitehurst, undefeated against USC in his 4 years at Clemson. The only Carolina quarterback to do so against the Tigers was Tommy Suggs in the late 60's topping his career off with Carolina's only football championship, the 1969 ACC title.

2006: Kickers Make The Difference
Clemson was leading 28-14 in the third quarter, with Carolina quarterback Blake Mitchell throwing three interceptions. The Gamecocks then scored 17 unanswered points, including two Mike Davis touchdown runs and a 35-yard field goal from Ryan Succop - the only points in the fourth quarter - to give the Gamecocks a 31-28 lead. Clemson kicker Jad Dean missed a field goal attempt wide left as time expired, to give Carolina the win.

2007: Last-Second Victory
On November 24, 2007, Clemson kicker Mark Buchholz hit a 35-yard field goal as time expired to give #21 Clemson a memorable 23-21 victory over South Carolina. The win lifted Clemson coach Tommy Bowden to 7-2 all-time against the Gamecocks and 2-1 against USC coach Steve Spurrier. The 2007 game is notable as the first in the series with the winning points scored on the game's final play.

2009: Turning The Season Around
On November 28, 2009, South Carolina upset #15 Clemson 34-17 in dominating fashion. The game was marked by the Gamecock defense forcing three Tiger turnovers and limiting the ACC Atlantic Division champion's offense including holding Heisman Trophy hopeful C.J. Spiller to 18 rushing yards.

Results

Complete List of Scores

Date	Winner	Score	Location
Nov. 12, 1896	South Carolina	12-6	Columbia, SC
Nov. 11, 1897	Clemson	20-6	Columbia, SC
Nov. 17, 1898	Clemson	24-0	Columbia, SC
Nov. 09, 1899	Clemson	34-0	Columbia, SC
Nov. 1, 1900	Clemson	51-0	Columbia, SC
Oct. 30, 1902	South Carolina	12-6	Columbia, SC
Nov. 4, 1909	Clemson	6-0	Columbia, SC
Nov. 3, 1910	Clemson	24-0	Columbia, SC
Nov. 2, 1911	Clemson	27-0	Columbia, SC
Oct. 31, 1912	South Carolina	22-7	Columbia, SC
Oct. 30, 1913	Clemson	32-0	Columbia, SC
Oct. 29, 1914	Clemson	29-6	Columbia, SC
Oct. 28, 1915	Tie	0-0	Columbia, SC
Oct. 26, 1916	Clemson	27-0	Columbia, SC
Oct. 25, 1917	Clemson	21-13	Columbia, SC
Nov. 2, 1918	Clemson	39-0	Columbia, SC
Oct. 30, 1919	Clemson	19-6	Columbia, SC
Oct. 28, 1920	South Carolina	3-0	Columbia, SC
Oct. 27, 1921	South Carolina	21-0	Columbia, SC
Oct. 26, 1922	Clemson	3-0	Columbia, SC
Oct. 25, 1923	Clemson	7-6	Columbia, SC
Oct. 23, 1924	South Carolina	3-0	Columbia, SC
Oct. 22, 1925	South Carolina	33-0	Columbia, SC
Oct. 21, 1926	South Carolina	24-0	Columbia, SC
Oct. 20, 1927	Clemson	20-0	Columbia, SC
Oct. 25, 1928	Clemson	32-0	Columbia, SC
Oct. 24, 1929	Clemson	21-14	Columbia, SC
Oct. 23, 1930	Clemson	20-7	Columbia, SC
Oct. 22, 1931	South Carolina	21-0	Columbia, SC
Oct. 20, 1932	South Carolina	14-0	Columbia, SC
Oct. 19, 1933	South Carolina	7-0	Columbia, SC
Oct. 25, 1934	Clemson	19-0	Columbia, SC
Oct. 24, 1935	Clemson	44-0	Columbia, SC
Oct. 22, 1936	Clemson	19-0	Columbia, SC
Oct. 21, 1937	Clemson	34-6	Columbia, SC
Oct. 20, 1938	Clemson	34-12	Columbia, SC

Date	Winner	Score	Location
Oct. 19, 1939	Clemson	27-0	Columbia, SC
Oct. 24, 1940	Clemson	21-13	Columbia, SC
Oct. 23, 1941	South Carolina	18-14	Columbia, SC
Oct. 22, 1942	Clemson	18-6	Columbia, SC
Oct. 21, 1943	South Carolina	33-6	Columbia, SC
Oct. 19, 1944	Clemson	20-13	Columbia, SC
Oct. 25, 1945	Tie	0-0	Columbia, SC
Oct. 24, 1946	South Carolina	26-14	Columbia, SC
Oct. 23, 1947	South Carolina	21-19	Columbia, SC
Oct. 21, 1948	Clemson	13-7	Columbia, SC
Oct. 20, 1949	South Carolina	27-13	Columbia, SC
Oct. 19, 1950	Tie	14-14	Columbia, SC
Oct. 25, 1951	South Carolina	20-0	Columbia, SC
Oct. 23, 1952	South Carolina	6-0	Columbia, SC
Oct. 22, 1953	South Carolina	14-7	Columbia, SC
Oct. 21, 1954	South Carolina	13-8	Columbia, SC
Oct. 20, 1955	Clemson	28-14	Columbia, SC
Oct. 25, 1956	Clemson	7-0	Columbia, SC
Oct. 24, 1957	Clemson	13-0	Columbia, SC
Oct. 23, 1958	South Carolina	26-6	Columbia, SC
Oct. 22, 1959	Clemson	27-0	Columbia, SC
Nov. 12, 1960	Clemson	12-2	Clemson, SC
Nov. 11, 1961	South Carolina	21-14	Columbia, SC
Nov. 24, 1962	Clemson	20-17	Clemson, SC
Nov. 28, 1963	Clemson	24-20	Columbia, SC
Nov. 21, 1964	South Carolina	7-3	Clemson, SC
Nov. 20, 1965	South Carolina	17-16	Columbia, SC
Nov. 26, 1966	Clemson	35-10	Clemson, SC
Nov. 25, 1967	Clemson	23-12	Columbia, SC
Nov. 23, 1968	South Carolina	7-3	Clemson, SC
Nov. 22, 1969	South Carolina	27-13	Columbia, SC
Nov. 21, 1970	South Carolina	38-32	Clemson, SC
Nov. 27, 1971	Clemson	17-7	Columbia, SC
Nov. 25, 1972	Clemson	7-6	Clemson, SC
Nov. 24, 1973	South Carolina	32-20	Columbia, SC
Nov. 23, 1974	Clemson	39-21	Clemson, SC

Date	Winner	Score	Location
Nov. 22, 1975	South Carolina	56-20	Columbia, SC
Nov. 20, 1976	Clemson	28-9	Clemson, SC
Nov. 19, 1977	Clemson	31-27	Columbia, SC
Nov. 25, 1978	Clemson	41-23	Clemson, SC
Nov. 24, 1979	South Carolina	13-9	Columbia, SC
Nov. 22, 1980	Clemson	27-6	Clemson, SC
Nov. 21, 1981	Clemson	29-13	Columbia, SC
Nov. 20, 1982	Clemson	24-6	Clemson, SC
Nov. 19, 1983	Clemson	22-13	Columbia, SC
Nov. 24, 1984	South Carolina	22-21	Clemson, SC
Nov. 23, 1985	Clemson	24-17	Columbia, SC
Nov. 22, 1986	Tie	21-21	Clemson, SC
Nov. 21, 1987	South Carolina	20-7	Columbia, SC
Nov. 19, 1988	Clemson	29-10	Clemson, SC
Nov. 18, 1989	Clemson	45-0	Columbia, SC
Nov. 17, 1990	Clemson	24-15	Clemson, SC
Nov. 23, 1991	Clemson	41-24	Columbia, SC
Nov. 21, 1992	South Carolina	24-13	Clemson, SC
Nov. 20, 1993	Clemson	16-13	Columbia, SC
Nov. 19, 1994	South Carolina	33-7	Clemson, SC
Nov. 18, 1995	Clemson	38-17	Columbia, SC
Nov. 23, 1996	South Carolina	34-31	Clemson, SC
Nov. 22, 1997	Clemson	47-21	Columbia, SC
Nov. 21, 1998	Clemson	28-19	Clemson, SC
Nov. 20, 1999	Clemson	31-21	Columbia, SC
Nov. 18, 2000	Clemson	16-14	Clemson, SC
Nov. 17, 2001	South Carolina	20-15	Columbia, SC
Nov. 23, 2002	Clemson	27-20	Clemson, SC
Nov. 22, 2003	Clemson	63-17	Columbia, SC
Nov. 20, 2004	Clemson	29-7	Clemson, SC
Nov. 19, 2005	Clemson	13-9	Columbia, SC
Nov. 25, 2006	South Carolina	31-28	Clemson, SC
Nov. 24, 2007	Clemson	23-21	Columbia, SC
Nov. 29, 2008	Clemson	31-14	Clemson, SC
Nov. 28, 2009	South Carolina	34-17	Columbia, SC
Nov. 27, 2010			Clemson, SC

 

Baseball

In baseball, the teams previously met four times during the regular season in mid-week games. Starting in 2010, the teams will compete against each other over the course of a single weekend, once on each home field, and once at Fluor Field at the West End in Greenville, SC. This will be the first neutral-site game in the rivalry since the 2002 College World Series. Both schools are perennially considered to be among the top programs in the country, giving the rivalry a prominent spot in college baseball beyond the state of South Carolina.

Recent series

2010 Series					All-Time Series
Date	Location	Winner	Score	Attendance
Mar. 5, 2010	Doug Kingsmore Stadium • Clemson, SC	Clemson	4-3	6,346	Clemson 167-123-2
Mar. 6, 2010	Fluor Field at the West End • Greenville, SC	South Carolina	7-5	7,105
Mar. 7, 2010	Carolina Stadium • Columbia, SC	Clemson	19-6	8,214
Jun. 25, 2010	Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium • Omaha, NE	South Carolina	5-1	22,334
Jun. 26, 2010	Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium • Omaha, NE	South Carolina	4-3	12,593

Notable match-ups

2002 College World Series
In the 2002 College World Series, the teams met in the semifinals with the Tigers needing only one win to move on to the championship game. Clemson had already won three out of four regular season games against Carolina and was 2-0 in the World Series at the time. However, the Gamecocks beat their rivals soundly, 12-4, and then beat the Tigers again, 10-2, the following day to advance to the national championship game. The Gamecocks fell to Texas 12-6 in the championship game; this was before the current format of a best two out of three title series had been instituted.

2010 College World Series
Once again, South Carolina and Clemson met in the 2010 College World Series, with the Tigers needing only one win to move on to the championship series. Clemson had taken both on-campus games from South Carolina in the regular season, including a lopsided 19-6 victory in the rubber match, played before over 8,000 fans at Carolina Stadium in Columbia, but had lost in the "neutral site" game, which was closer to Clemson. In the College World Series, the Gamecocks won the first game, 5-1, on a dominating complete game pitching performance by reliever Michael Roth, who had not started a game in more than a year. Carolina won the second game the following day, 4-3, to advance to the championship series against UCLA. Carolina won that series in 2 games to take home the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship.

Other varsity sports

Men's teams

Sport	Last Matchup					All-Time Series
	Date	Location	Winner	Score	Attendance	Leader	Record
Basketball	Dec. 6, 2009	Littlejohn Coliseum • Clemson, SC	Clemson	72-61	10,000	South Carolina	86-74
Soccer	Sep. 3, 2010	Stone Stadium • Columbia, SC	South Carolina	2-0	6,157	Clemson	22-15-1
Swimming & Diving	Oct. 30, 2009	McHugh Natatorium • Clemson, SC	Clemson	160-140		South Carolina	33-11
Tennis	Mar. 24, 2010	Hoke Sloan Tennis Center • Clemson, SC	South Carolina	5-2		South Carolina	60-39-2

• Carolina does not sponsor Men's Cross Country.
• Men's Golf and Men's Track & Field teams do not compete head-to-head.
• Clemson will discontinue swimming/diving programmes by 2012 (with the exception of women's diving).

Women's teams

Sport	Last Matchup					All-Time Series
	Date	Location	Winner	Score	Attendance	Leader	Record
Basketball	Nov. 19, 2009	Littlejohn Coliseum • Clemson, SC	Clemson	94-922OT	882	Clemson	33-22
Soccer	Sep. 10, 2010	Stone Stadium • Columbia, SC	South Carolina	2-0	3,017	Clemson	10-6
Swimming & Diving	Oct. 30, 2009	McHugh Natatorium • Clemson, SC	Clemson	155-145		South Carolina	17-14
Tennis	Feb. 21, 2010	Maxcy Gregg Tennis Center • Columbia, SC	Clemson	4-3		Clemson	23-22
Volleyball	Sep. 3, 2010	Winthrop Coliseum • Rock Hill, SC	Clemson	3-0	120	South Carolina	35-21

• Carolina does not sponsor Women's Rowing.
• Clemson does not sponsor Women's Equestrian, Women's Golf, Women's Lacrosse, or Softball. (Carolina won the only meeting of the Softball teams.)
• Women's Cross Country and Women's Track and Field teams do not compete head-to-head.

Blood drive

Series Originated	1985
Overall Record	Clemson leads, 13-12
Clemson logo	South Carolina logo
Clemson (13) 1985 1986 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1997 2006 2007	South Carolina (12) 1987 1993 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2008 2009

The rivalry extends beyond sports to the annual blood drive between the two schools. Students, faculty and fans from the schools band together in an effort to collect blood before the holiday season when many are too busy to give blood. The blood drive is held from Monday through Friday the week before the football matchup. 2008 marks the 24th occurrence of the blood drive, having collected a total of 92,161 units of blood (through 2009), enough to save approximately 230,000 lives. Clemson leads the drive 13-12, with South Carolina winning the most recent drive in 2009 with 4542 pints versus Clemson's 3480 pints of blood. With 8,022 units of blood combined, this breaks the former record of 7,390 units, set the previous year. The blood drive is sponsored by the American Red Cross at the University of South Carolina and the Gamma Lambda chapter of the Alpha Phi Omega national service fraternity at Clemson. Everyone who gives blood receives a free shirt, with the graphic on the back usually featuring a Tiger and Gamecock together and a statement explaining that even though the competition is part of the rivalry, both schools share the common ground of giving blood.

See also

• Clemson Tigers
• Clemson Tigers baseball
• Clemson Tigers football
• Clemson Tigers men's basketball
• South Carolina Gamecocks
• South Carolina Gamecocks baseball
• South Carolina Gamecocks football
• South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball

External links

• South Carolina vs. Clemson football scores, 1909-2008
• Video of "The Catch" at tigermemories.com