Opening point spread released for South Carolina-Clemson football rivalry game
Early betting lines for next Saturday’s Clemson-South Carolina football rivalry game, which added some extra juice this weekend, are starting to be released.
The Tigers are a 7.5-point road favorite at the Gamecocks, according to Sunday’s updated Week 13 betting lines in the DraftKings Sportsbook. The VegasInsider.com consensus line, which aggregates multiple ’ betting lines, also has Clemson -7.5, a significant drop-off from previous point spreads in Columbia.
Betting lines from other sportsbooks will be released later in the day.
The annual Palmetto Bowl rivalry game between longtime in-state rivals Clemson and South Carolina is always intense, but it has extra stakes this season after the Gamecocks’ win over Kentucky last night.
With that 17-14 victory, USC won a third straight game to move to 5-6 and will now be playing for bowl eligibility next weekend.
South Carolina (5-6, 3-5 SEC) could still backdoor its way into the college football postseason based on its academic progress rate (APR) metric against other 5-7 teams with a loss. But the clearest path to a bowl coach Shane Beamer’s third season is simple: Beat your biggest rival at home.
Clemson isn’t in the College Football Playoff conversation like it was last season, but even as an unranked team the Tigers have proven to be formidable.
Clemson (7-4, 4-4 ACC) enters the rivalry game on a three-game winning streak, too, with all three games coming at home and two of the wins over ranked opponents. The Tigers beat No. 22 UNC, 31-20, earlier Saturday at Memorial Stadium and toppled then-No. 12 Notre Dame in Death Valley two weeks ago.
South Carolina won last year’s game in Clemson, scoring a huge 31-30 upset over an AP Top 10 Tigers team while unranked to spoil its rival’s shot at a CFP appearance. It was USC’s first win over Clemson since 2013 after seven straight losses in the series.
Beamer enters Saturday’s game 1-1 against Clemson, while longtime Tigers coach Dabo Swinney, who became the program’s all-time wins leader earlier this season, is 8-6 against the Gamecocks. Clemson won the last meeting in Columbia, 30-0, in 2021.
But early lines for next Saturday’s game indicate Clemson will be a single-digits favorite against USC regardless of location for the first time since 2014 (Clemson -4.5 at home).
The Tigers have been favored against the Gamecocks eight games in a row, but this 7.5-point spread is significantly smaller than their last four trips southeast to Columbia.
Clemson was favored against USC in Williams-Brice Stadium by 11.5 points in 2021, 27.5 points in 2019, 13.5 points in 2017 and 20.5 points in 2015, per Odds Shark. (The Tigers won all four of those games.)
Kickoff for next Saturday’s game is set for 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 25. SEC Network will broadcast the game, the programs’ fifth rivalry night game in their last seven meetings over Thanksgiving weekend.
USC-Clemson game
Who: Clemson (7-4, 4-4 ACC) at South Carolina (5-6, 3-5 SEC)
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia
TV: SEC Network
Line: Clemson by 7.5
This story was originally published November 19, 2023 at 9:31 AM with the headline "Opening point spread released for South Carolina-Clemson football rivalry game."
