By state
South Carolina teams
A program that built a national title era in a town of forty thousand, and a rivalry that splits the state in two.
Programs
Football in South Carolina
South Carolina
Clemson, and the size of the place
Clemson is a small town in the upstate of South Carolina, and the football program is comfortably the largest thing in it. Memorial Stadium holds more than double the town's population, which makes a home Saturday a genuine transformation rather than a busy day.
Running down the hill and touching Howard's Rock before kickoff is among the most-cited entrances in the sport, and it has survived every modernization of the stadium around it.
South Carolina
The Palmetto Bowl
Clemson against South Carolina is played at the end of the regular season and divides the state cleanly — there is no third option, and the two fan bases share every town, workplace and family in between.
Because both programs sit in different conferences, the ACC and the SEC, the game carries conference prestige on top of state bragging rights, which has sharpened rather than softened it.
South Carolina
Recruiting from a small base
South Carolina does not produce recruits at the volume of Georgia or Florida, so Clemson's national-level rosters have been built by recruiting outward — into Georgia, North Carolina and Florida — while holding the best of the in-state talent. Doing that consistently is the harder part of the job.
Leagues
Conferences represented
FAQ
South Carolina football questions
Which college football teams are in South Carolina?
This site covers the Clemson Tigers, based in Clemson and competing in the ACC. Coverage is being expanded program by program.
What is the Palmetto Bowl?
The annual rivalry between Clemson and South Carolina, played at the end of the regular season. The two are in different conferences, so it carries state and conference stakes at once.
What is Howard's Rock?
A rock at the top of the hill at Clemson's Memorial Stadium that players touch before running down onto the field, one of the sport's best-known pregame entrances.
What conference is Clemson in?
The ACC, where it has been among the conference's leading programs and a regular national title contender.