Dabo Swinney reveals his low point in Clemson-South Carolina rivalry game

The Clemson–South Carolina rivalry has been extremely streaky in recent years and no one knows that better than Clemson coach Dabo Swinney. Ask the low point for him in the annual rivalry and he’s quick to circle the tail end of a long Tigers losing streak.

The answer comes almost by rote.

“2013, five in a row. Six turnovers. Yep, that was pretty low,” Swinney said. “I thought we had the better team. I think coach (Steve) Spurrier thought we had the better team.”

South Carolina won 31-17, spoiling the party for Swinney, Tahj Boyd and the Clemson cohort as the Gamecocks won their fifth straight game in the series.

Adding insult to injury as only he can, Spurrier caught up with Swinney the following day.

“I was telling Ray (Tanner) and people last night, he called me the next day to almost apologize, like, ‘Yeah, I don’t know why y’all turned that ball over, I just don’t understand it,'” Swinney said.

“‘I don’t either, coach.’ That was probably the (low point).”

Clemson-South Carolina rivalry has tilted toward Tigers

The good news for Swinney?

That 2013 loss was actually the last for his team in the annual Clemson-South Carolina rivalry. The Tigers have won seven straight games in the series since then.

But this year might be the program’s best test in quite some time.

South Carolina is coming off a monster win over then-No. 5 Tennessee. Expectations are sky high in Columbia following that win, particularly as second-year coach Shane Beamer continues to put his stamp on the program.

Clemson needs major help in the College Football Playoff race at this point, but the Tigers also have an ACC title game coming up. The last thing they want is a home loss to their biggest rival this weekend.

Swinney doesn’t want to repeat that 2013 loss anytime soon if he can avoid it.

“I mean, they’re all bad,” Swinney said. “It doesn’t matter if you’ve lost five in a row or if you lose one in a row, when you lose this game it stinks, period. It doesn’t matter. You can win 20 in a row and when you lose this game it stinks. There’s nothing good about it.

“And same thing, when you win it, it’s great. And it’s been that way forever and ever and ever in a rivalry game and always will be. But specifically that was a disappointing day because, again, I thought we had the better; I mean we had six turnovers and we still had a chance late in the game. But it was a tough day for us.”

Clemson and South Carolina will kick off at noon ET on Saturday on ABC.