Dabo Swinney has never shied away from the fact that he wants the annual rivalry game between Clemson and South Carolina to be played on Saturday. At least when the game is played in the Upstate.

The game has been played on the Saturday either before or after Thanksgiving since the 1960s, with it being the Saturday after for many years now.

However, during Clemson’s lawsuit against the ACC, it was revealed that the school had been asked to move the 2024 rivalry game to Black Friday, with Clemson having no interest in doing so. This year’s matchup, set to be played in Columbia, is set to be played on November 29, the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Next season, the series will return to Clemson and continue that same trend, with the game scheduled for November 28. It’s the following season, when the game returns to Columbia in 2027, that we could see a change.

According to a report from The State Newspaper, the new scheduling agreement includes language that would allow the game to be moved to Black Friday that season.

Swinney was asked for his thoughts on the possible move, and unsurprisingly, he echoed the sentiments he’s always held on the subject.

“I have always voted for it on Saturday here,” the head coach said during his weekly press conference on Tuesday. “That is my vote for a lot of reasons.”

Swinney has long maintained that the game remaining on Saturday when it’s played in Clemson is what’s best for the school.

“Well, it’s what’s best for Clemson. It’s what’s best for the community here. This is a small town. This is not some big city,” Swinney said last year. “This is a small town, and we have a lot of businesses that depend on these game days. And then it affects your recruiting, opportunity for people to get here, and it affects our students. There’s a lot of reasons. And that’s really the biggest thing.”

From 1896 to 1959, the rivalry game was played on what was called Big Thursday. It was routinely played on the third Thursday of October during the week of the state fair. That tradition changed when the two teams moved to a home-and-home format in 1960.

Looking ahead, it appears there could be another change on the horizon. At least during the years when the game is played in Columbia.

“If they want to move it, that is up to them,” Swinney said.

Clemson owns a 73-43-4 advantage in the series all-time, with the Tigers being 54-32-3 all-time in road games against the Gamecocks.

Photo by Bart Boatwright