South Carolina appears to be heading in the wrong direction entering next week's game against No. 3 Clemson.
The Gamecocks (4-7, 3-5 SEC) have dropped back-to-back contests and four of their last five to fall out of bowl contention. Both teams have a bye this week before Clemson (11-0, 8-0 ACC) travels to Columbia on Nov. 30.
Still, despite USC's struggles, in no way are the Tigers looking past their rival as they prepare to try for a sixth consecutive victory in the series.
The success South Carolina had last season _ putting up 510 passing yards and 600 yards of offense against Clemson _ as well as USC's upset of Georgia earlier in the season show what the Gamecocks are capable of, according to Tigers coach Dabo Swinney.
"Records don't matter. This is Clemson-South Carolina. You're gonna have both teams excited to play and both teams have an open date and two weeks to prepare. None of that stuff matters," Swinney said. "All that matters is what you do for those four quarters. Nothing carries over, good or bad. You've gotta earn it on the field that day during those four quarters, and that's all our focus is."
Swinney has been a part of the South Carolina-Clemson rivalry since 2003 when he joined the Tigers' staff as a wide receivers coach.
He quickly learned how important the rivalry is.
"I realized it my very first spring at Clemson in '03 when I went out on the road for the first time. I had never recruited South Carolina, so going out in my area the first spring of '03 in the month of May, hitting the road, I quickly realized it was no different than living in Alabama," Swinney said. "Every time I'd go to a school, half the people would be happy to see you and half the people would be mad to see you. So I figured out it was the same thing here. It was a pretty easy transition for me because I was so used to an in-state rivalry."
Swinney is 6-5 as the head coach of Clemson against South Carolina and would love nothing more than to improve to 7-5 next Saturday.
Clemson sets five goals every season, and one of them is to beat the Gamecocks.
"We know it'll be a big challenge going down there, but our goal is to try to play our very best game and keep building momentum in our season," Swinney said. "It's a very personal game for everybody involved because you live with this one. This is one that everybody lives with in this state, for sure. I mean it's a huge game for both teams, for both fanbases. Just thankful to be able to be a part of a game like this in college football."
