No. 12 Clemson, No. 16 South Carolina playing for biggest stakes in Palmetto Rivalry history

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) - The Palmetto Rivalry between Clemson and South Carolina this year is for more than bragging rights, potentially much more.

The winner could find itself in the College Football Playoff.

The 12th-ranked Tigers (9-2, No. 12 CFP ) and 16th-ranked Gamecocks (8-3, No. 15 CFP) are two of the hottest teams in the country. It’s the first time both have been ranked in the season-ending rivalry game since 2013 and both hope a win means a berth in the expanded 12-team playoff.

South Carolina coach Shane Beame r hasn’t said a word about it this week heading into the game at Death Valley on Saturday. He doesn’t have to.

"They know," he said.

So do most college football fans following the weekly happenings that get teams in and out of contention. Both Clemson and South Carolina are trending up since being written off earlier in the year.

The Tigers were considered finished when they fell to then-top-ranked Georgia 34-3 to start the season. But they’ve won nine of 10 games since to get themselves back in the mix.

The Gamecocks were 3-3 after back-to-back defeats to Ole Miss and Alabama in early October. South Carolina has rallied with five straight victories including three straight over ranked opponents in Texas A&M, Vanderbilt and Missouri.

The separate surges have thrown a much brighter spotlight on a game that’s long been the most anticipated yearly sports event in the Palmetto State.

"They’re our rival," Clemson receiver Antonio Williams said. "And they’re in our way to get to the playoff. We’ve just got to handle business."

South Carolina edge rusher Kyle Kennard desperately wants to beat his rival this week. But he does admire how both teams turned off the outside noise to persevere and create a game with perhaps the biggest implications in a rivalry begun in 1896.

"We want to put the best product out on the field each and every time out," said Kennard, who leads the SEC with 11 1/2 sacks. "We’ve done a good job of that."

South Carolina is second in the Southeastern Conference with 39 sacks led by Kennard and freshman Dylan Stewart. Both are a strong performance away from toppling a couple of marks the Gamecocks former No. 1 draft pick in defensive lineman Jadeveon Clowney. Kennard is a sack and a half away from Clowney’s mark of 13. Stewart, with 6 1/2 sacks, is also a sack and half shy of Clowney’s freshman mark.

South Carolina has had the edge over its rival when both teams are ranked, winning five of the past six, including a 31-13 victory in 2013, the last time both were in the Top 25. Clemson’s only win came in 2000 when Tommy Bowden’s team beat the Gamecocks and coach Lou Holtz, 16-14.

Clemson would not be where it is without junior quarterback Cade Klubnik. The Texas native has thrown for 29 touchdowns against four interceptions this season after struggling a year ago with accuracy and decision making when he had 19 TDs against nine interceptions. Klubnik also had the game-winning, 50-yard run with 1:16 left in a 24-20 win at Pitt two games ago.

Count on whichever running back can get going in Clemson’s Phil Mafah or South Carolina’s Raheim Sanders to go a long way determining the outcome of this one. Mafah went over the 1,000-yard mark in a win over The Citadel before spending most of the game on the sideline. Sanders, the Arkansas transfer, has 821 yards and has six TDs during his team’s win streak.

South Carolina’s fourth-year coach in Beamer explaining the 12-month, 24/7 nature of the rivalry recalled how a woman at his local pharmacy, Clemson fan Ms. Kathy, always talks with him about the Tigers when he’s picking up a prescription or other supplies near his home. So one time, Beamer just FaceTimed Ms. Kathy with Clemson coach Dabo Swinney.

"She’s telling me these things when she should be telling him," Beamer joked.

South Carolina and Clemson have played most years since 1986 and every season between 1910 and 2019. The matchup was not held during the COVID-19 season in 2020 before resuming a year later. The Tigers lead overall 73-43-4.