After last night's rankings reveal it's quite clear that this year's Palmetto Bowl is the biggest game of the weekend.... except that pesky renewed rivalry in College Station.
If not for the happenstance of Texas joining the SEC this year and playing A&M for the first time in over a decade, we'd have had the clear cut College Gameday, 7:30pm ABC slot. Instead this game gets shuffled off to ESPN at noon (I know noon is the next most valuable slot - but on ABC, not ESPN... I'm guessing there is a little bit of regret over this placement, but I digress).
My question is - if not this year, when we have maybe the most nationally relevant Clemson-Scar game ever, and most of the traditional rivalries are lopsided affairs, can this rivalry ever realistically get Gameday? We all know that this is a severely underrated rivalry nationally, due to the fact that the football program in Columbia is historically pathetic, and their having some mild success this year has obviously caught the network powers that be off guard. On a weekend with Ohio State / Michigan, Auburn / Alabama, Texas / A&M, Florida / Florida State, Notre Dame / USC etc., will the stars ever align to bring a spotlight onto lil ole Clemson's lil ole game of the year? Or is just too rare an occurrence for South Carolina to even have more than 5 wins by this point that it seems unlikely to ever happen?
For reference, here is where Gameday has gone on rivalry week for the last 19 years (cut off there because 2005 schedule is a bit wonky)....
2024: Texas @ Texas A&M
2023: Ohio State @ Michigan
2022: Michigan @ Ohio State
2021: Ohio State @ Michigan
2020: Auburn @ Alabama
2019: Wisconsin @ Minnesota
2018: Michigan @ Ohio State
2017: Alabama @ Auburn
2016: Michigan @ Ohio State
2015: Oklahoma @ Oklahoma State
2014: Auburn @ Alabama
2013: Alabama @ Auburn
2012: Notre Dame @ USC
2011: Alabama @ Auburn
2010: Oklahoma @ Oklahoma State
2009: Florida State @ Florida
2008: Oklahoma @ Oklahoma State
2007: Missouri @ Kansas**
2006: Notre Dame @ USC**
**Ohio State and Michigan played the week before and got Gameday
Counting the two times Ohio State and Michigan got Gameday the week before the Clemson/SC game was played, here are the totals for each game since 2006:
Ohio State/Michigan - 7 times
Auburn/Alabama - 5 times
Oklahoma/Oklahoma State - 3 times
Notre Dame/USC - 2 times
Texas / Texas A&M - 1 time (not played since 2011, and was on Tgiving Day from 2008-2011)
Wisconsin / Minnesota - 1 time
Florida State / Florida - 1 time
Missouri / Kansas - 1 time
If it was going to happen any year it would have been 2013, when both teams were top 10... but Alabama/Auburn were both top 5 that year. (It was also a better destination than their 2012 choice, #1 Notre Dame at unranked USC, but there were several other bigger games that weekend, including a top 10 Florida/Florida State matchup).
If not for the happenstance of Texas joining the SEC this year and playing A&M for the first time in over a decade, we'd have had the clear cut College Gameday, 7:30pm ABC slot. Instead this game gets shuffled off to ESPN at noon (I know noon is the next most valuable slot - but on ABC, not ESPN... I'm guessing there is a little bit of regret over this placement, but I digress).
My question is - if not this year, when we have maybe the most nationally relevant Clemson-Scar game ever, and most of the traditional rivalries are lopsided affairs, can this rivalry ever realistically get Gameday? We all know that this is a severely underrated rivalry nationally, due to the fact that the football program in Columbia is historically pathetic, and their having some mild success this year has obviously caught the network powers that be off guard. On a weekend with Ohio State / Michigan, Auburn / Alabama, Texas / A&M, Florida / Florida State, Notre Dame / USC etc., will the stars ever align to bring a spotlight onto lil ole Clemson's lil ole game of the year? Or is just too rare an occurrence for South Carolina to even have more than 5 wins by this point that it seems unlikely to ever happen?
For reference, here is where Gameday has gone on rivalry week for the last 19 years (cut off there because 2005 schedule is a bit wonky)....
2024: Texas @ Texas A&M
2023: Ohio State @ Michigan
2022: Michigan @ Ohio State
2021: Ohio State @ Michigan
2020: Auburn @ Alabama
2019: Wisconsin @ Minnesota
2018: Michigan @ Ohio State
2017: Alabama @ Auburn
2016: Michigan @ Ohio State
2015: Oklahoma @ Oklahoma State
2014: Auburn @ Alabama
2013: Alabama @ Auburn
2012: Notre Dame @ USC
2011: Alabama @ Auburn
2010: Oklahoma @ Oklahoma State
2009: Florida State @ Florida
2008: Oklahoma @ Oklahoma State
2007: Missouri @ Kansas**
2006: Notre Dame @ USC**
**Ohio State and Michigan played the week before and got Gameday
Counting the two times Ohio State and Michigan got Gameday the week before the Clemson/SC game was played, here are the totals for each game since 2006:
Ohio State/Michigan - 7 times
Auburn/Alabama - 5 times
Oklahoma/Oklahoma State - 3 times
Notre Dame/USC - 2 times
Texas / Texas A&M - 1 time (not played since 2011, and was on Tgiving Day from 2008-2011)
Wisconsin / Minnesota - 1 time
Florida State / Florida - 1 time
Missouri / Kansas - 1 time
If it was going to happen any year it would have been 2013, when both teams were top 10... but Alabama/Auburn were both top 5 that year. (It was also a better destination than their 2012 choice, #1 Notre Dame at unranked USC, but there were several other bigger games that weekend, including a top 10 Florida/Florida State matchup).
