TV channel, kickoff time set for South Carolina vs. Clemson football game

The kickoff time and TV channel are set for the 120th all-time meeting between longtime football rivals Clemson and South Carolina next Saturday in Columbia.

The Tigers and Gamecocks will kick off at 7:30 p.m. from USC’s Williams-Brice Stadium on Nov. 25, the ACC and SEC announced Monday afternoon.

SEC Network will broadcast the game.

This will mark the fifth time in the last seven games Clemson and South Carolina have played in prime time and the second straight time they’ll play under the lights in Columbia in one of the sport’s longest-running rivalry games.

Since 2016, the teams have played/will play night games three times in Columbia (2017, 2021, 2023) and twice in Clemson (2016, 2018), compared to one noon game apiece in Columbia (2019) and Clemson (2022), with no game in 2020.

The highly anticipated meeting between the state’s two Power Five football programs, which are separated by about two hours and 130 miles, could have some extra stakes depending on how this weekend’s games play out.

Clemson (6-4, 3-4 ACC) has won two straight games after a 4-4 start to clinch bowl eligibility amid a down year for coach Dabo Swinney and company.

But South Carolina (4-6, 2-5 SEC) still needs to win out against Kentucky and Clemson in order to reach the six-win threshold for bowl eligibility.

If coach Shane Beamer’s squad can get past Kentucky at home, the Gamecocks will be hosting their biggest rival with a postseason berth on the line – adding even more spice to a rivalry that took a big turn last season.

And Clemson, which hosts No. 22 UNC this week, could be looking for an eighth win, which would lead to a far better bowl than expected earlier this season as the preseason No. 9 Tigers had their worst start to ACC play since 1998.

Memorable upset

During last year’s game, a noon kickoff in Death Valley, South Carolina beat Clemson 31-30 to snap a seven-game losing streak to its biggest rival and eliminate the Tigers from College Football Playoff contention.

Clemson entered the 2022 contest on an ACC-record 40-game home winning streak and was seeking an eighth straight win against South Carolina, which would’ve been the longest streak for either team in a rivalry that dates back to 1896.

But USC stunned Clemson as a 14-point underdog, rallying from deficits of 14-0 in the first quarter and 30-21 in the third quarter to score its first win over Clemson since 2013.

The Tigers entered the game ranked No. 7 nationally with a shot at a CFP appearance, but a second regular-season loss eliminated Clemson from contention even after it won the ACC championship game over UNC the following weekend.

Swinney, the Tigers’ longtime coach, will enter the game 8-6 all-time against South Carolina. Beamer is 1-1 against Clemson after last year’s upset win.

Clemson won the last meeting in Williams-Brice Stadium, a 30-0 shutout of USC during Beamer’s inaugural season back in 2021.

Clemson 2023 football schedule

• Sept. 4: at Duke, 28-7 L
• Sept. 9: vs. Charleston Southern, 66-17 W
• Sept. 16: vs. Florida Atlantic, 48-14 W
• Sept. 23: vs. Florida State, 31-24 L (OT)
• Sept. 30: at Syracuse, 31-14 W
• Oct. 7: vs. Wake Forest, 17-12 W
• Oct. 14: OPEN
• Oct. 21: at Miami, 28-20 L (2OT)
• Oct. 28: at N.C. State, 24-17 L
• Nov. 4: vs. Notre Dame, 31-23 W
• Nov. 11: vs. Georgia Tech, 42-21 W
• Nov. 18: vs. North Carolina, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN)
• Nov. 25: at South Carolina, 7:30 p.m. (SEC Network)

South Carolina football 2023 schedule

• Sept. 2: vs. North Carolina in Charlotte, 31-17 L

• Sept. 9: vs. Furman, 47-21 W

• Sept. 16: at Georgia, 24-14 L
• Sept. 23: vs. Mississippi State, 37-30 W
• Sept. 30: at Tennessee, 41-20 L
• Oct. 14: vs. Florida, 41-39 L
• Oct. 21: at Missouri, 34-12 L
• Oct. 28: at Texas A&M, 30-17 L
• Nov. 4: vs. Jacksonville State, 38-28 W
• Nov. 11: vs. Vanderbilt, 47-6 W
• Nov. 18: vs. Kentucky, 7:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
• Nov. 25: vs. Clemson, 7:30 p.m. (SEC Network)

This story was originally published November 13, 2023 at 1:00 PM with the headline "TV channel, kickoff time set for South Carolina vs. Clemson football game."

Chapel Fowler

The State

Chapel Fowler, the NSMA’s 2024 South Carolina Sportswriter of the Year, has covered Clemson football and other topics for The State since summer 2022. His work’s also been honored by the Associated Press Sports Editors, the South Carolina Press Association and the North Carolina Press Association. He’s a Denver, N.C., native, a UNC-Chapel Hill alum and a pickup basketball enthusiast. Support my work with a digital subscription