It was almost poetic that as ESPN announced that College GameDay would be heading to College Station for their rivalry renewal with Texas, Texas A&M trailed Auburn by three possessions. The Aggies would erase the deficit only to lose in four overtimes to an under .500 opponent on the road.
But there’s no do-overs in that regard. And perhaps the Worldwide Leader wouldn’t want one anyway, being that this Saturday’s matchup between Texas and Texas A&M will decide who Georgia will play in the SEC Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
But the decision didn’t make Clemson and South Carolina fans any less incensed. In what you could argue is the greatest rivalry in college football, besides Ohio State-Michigan and Auburn-Alabama, the Tigers are set to play host to their bitter in-state rivals.
Not only did GameDay pass over a battle in Upstate, South Carolina, that could theoretically be a play-in for a College Football Playoff berth, but the game is also at noon. Last week, we wrote about how Clemson fans were beside themselves at the fact that the team’s biggest game of the season would be a noon game, especially the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
The last time Clemson hosted a night game in The Valley with the Gamecocks in town was in 2018. Many theorized that the Tigers were handed a less favorable time slot because, despite a series of tempting incentives, Clemson declined the ACC and ESPN’s request to move the game to Black Friday.
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and the University’s athletic department were steadfast about keeping the traditional Saturday date, even at the cost of a few less favorable decisions that have since not gone the Tigers’ way.
One of those is the noon game; the other is GameDay.
Swinney had some thoughts on his radio show:
“It’s the highest-ranked rivalry game in the country — how cool is that? You’d think GameDay would be here, but I think they’re mad at me for not moving the game to Friday,” he said via The State’s Chapel Fowler.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney on his radio show tonight, talking the South Carolina game: “It’s the highest ranked rivalry game in the country — how cool is that? You’d think GameDay would be here, but I think they’re mad at me for not moving the game to Friday”
— Chapel Fowler (@chapelfowler) November 26, 2024
Perhaps sticking to tradition cost Swinney — and Clemson — a GameDay spotlight, but he seems perfectly fine with that trade-off.
After this weekend, we’ll see who gets the last laugh.
