Dabo Swinney earns $75,000 bonus due to South Carolina win, per report

Clemson’s win over South Carolina was sweeter than usual for Dabo Swinney. According to USA Today Sports reporter Steve Berkowitz, the Clemson head coach had extra incentive to win the Palmetto Bowl this year.

“Clemson coach Dabo Swinney will pick up $75,000 bonus from Tigers’ win over South Carolina,” Berkowitz wrote on X, formally known as Twitter. “It allows him to receive bowl-appearance payment that he gets when Tigers play in non-CFP-affiliated bowl game with at least 8 regular season wins, which they reached tonight.

Swinney earned it. After Clemson began the season 4-4 for the first time since 2010, the program flipped a switch. The Tigers have pounced on four straight opponents, including Notre Dame and North Carolina. South Carolina was the team’s most recent victim.

In the 16-7 win over the Gamecocks, Clemson’s defense held South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler to a season-low 112 passing yards. Clemson’s defense didn’t stop there.

Defensive back Khalil Barnes scored the Tigers’ sole touchdown of the game when he scoop and scored a backward pass less than 30 seconds into the game. Less than 15 seconds later on the game clock, Barnes picked off Rattler.

Dabo Swinney speaks on the gritty win

Swinney didn’t mind his defense leading the way in the victory.

“I’m just really proud of our defense,” Swinney said. “Honestly, I felt like I was back at Alabama in the 1990s. We played to the defense all night. We were playing really well. Sometimes, in games like that, the best offensive play is a good punt.

“We had some gritty yards. We had some gritty plays. We wish we would have finished 1-2 more drives. We won the field position battle, and we won the turnover margin. The defense had the game under control.”

Clemson’s offense only tallied 319 total yards in the win. Just 100 of those yards came through the air. For reference, Clemson averages 225.4 passing yards per game this season. Nonetheless, Swinney is simply happy to walk away with the win.

“This game means a lot to a lot of people,” Swinney said. It is really fun to celebrate with the team. This is a rivalry game, and we all know what it means. Their team competed really hard. I got a lot of respect for Coach Beamer and their quarterback.

“Both teams competed really hard. I’m just proud of our team’s fight. We went from 4-4 to 8-4. It’s our fifth-consecutive win down here. A great November for us. I just couldn’t be more proud of these guys.”