 "Photo: Sam Bennett/The Daily Gamecock")
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As I sat in the press box at Memorial Stadium in Clemson on Saturday, I quickly began to learn one huge detail about the Carolina-Clemson rivalry.
Maybe it hit me when the score went final and the all-time series record of 65-37-4 was flashed throughout the stadium and stayed there until I left late in the evening.
Maybe it was when I sat in their press conference room, where I saw a picture of former Clemson wide receiver Rod Gardner catching his infamous push-off touchdown against USC in 2000 on the wall.
Either way, Clemson dominates this rivalry based on the simple fact that they want it more.
Year after year, I see the same thing happen between the two schools. When the leaves are green and the air is still warm at the first game of the season, the Tigers are already talking about their game with USC while the Gamecocks are just focused on the opponent they're playing.
Sure, I understand that your team should never look ahead to a team or overlook the opponent it's playing against that weekend. But to dismiss what lies ahead entirely is something that's plagued Carolina for years. Maybe that's based on the fact that Clemson has no exciting league games to look forward to in a weak league while USC plays Georgia, Florida and Tennessee every year. But that shouldn't be an excuse.
I must admit that when Steve Spurrier was hired, I was elated. I knew the head ball coach would do big things for a program that has been perennially stuck in neutral since the Depression. I knew that coach would recruit hard, bring a winning attitude to Williams-Brice, and shower the Gamecocks with glory season after season.
But two key things have me concerned about where the program is setting its sights.
One of the first things Spurrier did when he arrived was remove every "Beat Clemson" sticker on the walls and in the locker rooms of Williams-Brice Stadium.
Later on, Spurrier emphasized to the media and Carolina faithful that Clemson was "just another game" and no more important than the team's conference tilts.
As the seasons progressed, Spurrier added that winning conference games was Carolina's top priority, and that success in-conference was more important than beating Clemson.
Sorry Coach, but no dice.
While I pray every year that the Gamecocks will stun the college football world and capture the SEC East title, realistically it's probably not going to happen.
I truly believe that Spurrier can get the job done, and I would take no one other than him to lead the team, but the fact that Florida and Georgia have a stranglehold on the league and the Southeast's top recruits make it too tough a hill for USC to climb.
So what should you do? Hope to win the league, perform your best, and when the dust settles and you have a couple of losses, continue to hold your head high. Then beat Clemson.
Never should Carolina accept losing to Clemson. The Tigers, as far as I'm concerned, have nothing in their current program that USC doesn't.
So what should USC start doing? Caring.
The Gamecocks had all the talent in the world to beat Clemson last Saturday. But it was evident from the start of the game that Clemson was more emotionally amped and more confident in its team than Carolina was.
That should never be the case. Ever.
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