Palmetto Bowl

The Clemson vs. South Carolina Rivalry

The Palmetto Bowl is the annual football game between the Clemson Tigers and the South Carolina Gamecocks, first played on November 12, 1896. This rivalry, one of the longest running in college football, was played every year from 1909 to 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 interrupted the Palmetto Bowl, ending its run as the longest continuous non-conference rivalry in the nation, the second longest continuous rivalry in Division I college football, and the longest uninterrupted rivalry series in the South.

The game, originally held during the state fair in Columbia as “Big Thursday,” has alternated between the two schools since 1960. In 2014, the rivalry was officially named the “Palmetto Bowl,” though most fans locally still refer to it as the Carolina-Clemson game or the Clemson-Carolina game. The Palmetto Bowl Trophy, introduced in 2015, replaced the Hardee’s Trophy as the award for the annual winner.

From ESPN: Clemson-South Carolina burns with an intensity far beyond Palmetto Bowl bragging rights