CLEMSON — Rivalry week has arrived, as Clemson now gets set to head to Columbia to take on South Carolina in the regular-season finale.

While the Tigers clinched a bowl berth with their win over Furman on Saturday, there will be no postseason for the Gamcocks, who have just four wins on the season.

With both teams experiencing disappointing seasons, the hype surrounding this game is different than what many expected back in the preseason. However, for those inside the state, it doesn’t get much bigger, no matter each team’s record, and Dabo Swinney knows exactly what is at stake.

“It’s the state championship,” the head coach said. “It doesn’t matter if you are 11-0 or 0-11. This game means a lot to a lot of people.”

Swinney is well-versed in this type of rivalry game. He was a part of 13 Iron Bowls as a player and coach at Alabama, and this will be his 23rd Clemson-South Carolina game as either an assistant or head coach with the Tigers.

“It’s a forever game,” Swinney added. “There might be some games along the way where you say, ‘What happened in that game,’ but you remember this one. Everybody lives with this one. It’s just one of those games.”

The Tigers hold a 73-44-4 all-time advantage in the series, with Clemson holding a 54-32-3 edge in games played in Columbia.

With his team losing the rivalry matchup in heartbreaking fashion a season ago, there is plenty of motivation on the Clemson side of things. Swinney knows he won’t have to say a whole lot to get his team fired up and at the end of the day, the head coach this game comes down to what every other game does. Execution.

“You don’t have to say a whole lot this week,” Swinney said. “Everybody knows what is at stake. Both teams want the same thing, and you got to play well. You don’t really have to do anything different. The same things win a rivalry game that win any game. It’s turnover margin, it’s big plays, being a disciplined team, having good special teams play. It is winning in the trenches, it is finish in the red zone, it is playing with amazing, uncommon effort. It is the same things.”

Photo by Bart Boatwright