Not every great non-conference game – like Clemson vs. LSU – comes in Week 1 of the college football season.

Some of them – like Clemson vs. South Carolina – come in the month of November.

And that’s the non-conference game that ESPN college football analyst Sam Acho says he’s most looking forward to this season.

The series of Palmetto State rivals will reignite when Clemson travels to Columbia to face South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 29 (12 p.m., ABC or ESPN). The Tigers will be looking to avenge last season’s 17-14 loss to the Gamecocks at Death Valley.

In a recent episode of ESPN’s College Football Live, Acho, the former University of Texas and NFL linebacker, weighed in on why he thinks Clemson vs. South Carolina is the most exciting non-con game of the 2025 campaign.

“Why does this game matter so much? Because number one, South Carolina went into Death Valley last year and beat Clemson. But number two, you’re playing with two elite-level quarterbacks – Cade Klubnik, and then on the other side, you have LaNorris Sellers,” Acho said.

“Cade Klubnik, we talk about him and the offense, Bryant Wesco, T.J. Moore – two elite-level young receivers. They were freshmen last year, they’re older this year. But then LaNorris Sellers, the hype around this team is real. It’s not just hype. LaNorris Sellers put the team on his back and led the team to victory. If he would’ve started the way he finished the last six games, he’d have been in the Heisman Trophy conversation. So, it’s going to be an unbelievable matchup to watch that game at the end of the season.”

After falling to South Carolina last season, Clemson went on claim its eighth ACC championship in the past 10 seasons and earn a berth in the 2024 College Football Playoff. The Tigers lost a hard-fought game at Texas, 38-24, in the first round of the inaugural 12-team CFP, and finished the 2024 season with a 10-4 record.

South Carolina, meanwhile, rattled off six straight wins to finish the regular season with a 9-3 overall record. The Gamecocks concluded the 2024 campaign with a 21-17 loss to Illinois in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.

Clemson has won each of its last five road games at South Carolina across the 2015-23 seasons, and a win this year would give the Tigers six straight road wins against the Gamecocks for the first time since winning in Columbia six straight times across the 1989-99 seasons. Clemson is 18-6 against the Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium since 1977.

Clemson has won eight of the last 10 meetings against South Carolina, and the Tigers lead 73-44-4 in the all-time series. Clemson’s 73 all-time wins against South Carolina are the program’s most against any opponent.