Tuesday’s matchup between South Carolina and Clemson will mark the fourth consecutive season in which the rivalry game tips off just beyond mid-December.
USC’s fall semester is over. Winter break is also in session for Clemson.
While that might count out the possibility for a packed student section, Frank Martin pointed to history when explaining why this date continues to make most sense for this game.
“In my years here,” Martin said, “do you realize when we’ve played Clemson when we play them now, our crowd has been bigger than when we played them when school was in?