How Last Season's South Carolina Loss is Affecting Clemson's Preparation for 2025

If you ask the Clemson Tigers who played on last season’s team, they will tell you that the home loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks stung.

The 17-14 defeat remained in the heads of quarterback Cade Klubnik and defensive end T.J. Parker, and the rivalry echoed onto the rest of the players who are preparing for their first game this week.

However, the loss remained in two different ways. For Klubnik, it was one that he never forgot, saying the aftermath was a low point for him in his collegiate career. However, it had some light at the end of the tunnel, with help from Syracuse’s win over Miami, putting the team in the ACC Championship game the following week.

“It’s probably up there,” he said on Tuesday. “Like I’ve said, I’ve been thinking about it ever since then, and excited to go attack this week and on the journey of this week. I mean, it was a really painful day. It was also a great day because I got told we were going to go play in the ACC Championship game.”

For Parker, he thinks about it, but the personnel on this season’s Clemson team is different, meaning that there is a great possibility of a different outcome.

“You know, you think about it every now and then, but now, you know, it’s a new season,” the junior said. “We thought about it after the loss, but now, you know, this is a whole new team, so we got to go out there and get it done again.”

New players, like defensive end Will Heldt, have seen rivalries before, but the Palmetto Bowl is something of excitement to them. Heldt watched last season’s game and pointed out South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers, who was nearly impossible to stop in last season’s games.

The junior said that the defence’s focus will be to stop Sellers from making plays with either his legs or his arm.

“I think there are some things to learn from that game,” Heldt said. “I’ve seen that game, and, like you mentioned, Sellers is a dynamic player, was a good runner, so this year, we got a lot on our hands this week with him, but looking forward to the challenge.”

Redshirt freshman Christian Bentancur is embracing the away environment. Never going to Columbia, South Carolina, this weekend, the now-starting tight end is excited to see a larger role against an in-state rival.

“I’ve never been there personally, but I’ve heard it’s loud,” Bentancur said. “I learned they got some great atmosphere over there, so I’m excited to go over there and play.”

Safety Ronan Hanafin was another player who didn’t understand the magnitude of meaning for the game until he stepped foot on Williams-Brice Stadium in 2023, the last time Clemson left the game with the Palmetto Bowl trophy, calling it a “cool experience.”

“I mean, I knew it was a rivalry game, Clemson/South Carolina, but I didn’t really feel the weight of it until I got down here and really experienced that ’23 game,” Hanafin said. “That atmosphere, when I went down there, it was electric though.”

Whether they are from the state or not, the Palmetto Bowl and its implications have had a great effect on Clemson, especially last season’s loss at Memorial Stadium.

Now, the focus is getting that trophy back, and the leaders on the Tigers have made that the team’s No. 1 objective for the remainder of the season.

“Obviously, we didn’t get the win last year at home,” Parker said, “so we’re looking to go down there and play a great UofSC team.”

The Palmetto Bowl’s kickoff is set for noon, and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.