Clemson opens as double digit favorite over South Carolina

CLEMSON — The opening betting line for the Palmetto Bowl matchup between South Carolina and Clemson has been released.

The Tigers are favored by 12.5 points against the Gamecocks after pounding Wake Forest 48-27 on Saturday.

USC is also coming off of a win as South Carolina beat Auburn 21-17 over the weekend.

Clemson enters the matchup 8-3 (6-2). The Tigers have won four consecutive games and six of their past seven after starting the season 2-2.

South Carolina is 6-5 (3-5) under first-year coach Shane Beamer. The Gamecocks have won two of their past three games and are 5-1 at home this year.

Clemson has won six consecutive games in the series and owns a 71-42-4 overall advantage. The two rivals did not play last season due to COVID-19.

“For us, South Carolina is a season and a goal of its own,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said Saturday. “We’ve got another championship opportunity next week. It’s an opportunity to go get a ninth win.”

In addition to its rivalry game with South Carolina, Clemson will be paying close attention to a couple of other games this weekend as well.

The Tigers still have an outside shot at reaching the ACC title game and winning the Atlantic Division if they get some help.

Clemson needs North Carolina to beat North Carolina State on Friday and Boston College to beat Wake Forest on Saturday in order to clinch the division.

NC State is favored by 7 over North Carolina, while Wake Forest is favored by 5 over the Eagles.

Even if Clemson doesn’t make it to Charlotte, the Tigers still have a chance to reach 10 wins for an 11th-consecutive season. Clemson would need to beat South Carolina this weekend and win its bowl game to accomplish that feat.

It would be quite the accomplishment considering all of the injuries Clemson has dealt with this season.

The Tigers were without their top four receivers for Saturday’s game against Wake Forest and have dealt with various other injuries throughout the year.