It was clear that I had no love for U. of South Carolina before. Like most of the Clemson alumni and Tiger faithful, I severed all ties to SC once my acceptance to Clemson became official. In those nearly 6 years, Clemson’s all around reputation and performance have been improving. SC, of course, has been moving in the opposite direction. While their football program is somewhat better than it was six years ago, it is nothing to be proud of. Head-to-head Lou Holtz was able to win only 1 of 6 games against Tommy Bowden. This year SC had the opportunity to keep Clemson from a bowl game by denying them bowl eligibility. Anyone who looks at some of the stats (like: USC ran 55 plays with four of them starting in Clemson territory) can tell that SC was never in that ball game. They were dominated. It was impossible for their play to keep Clemson from going bowling for the 6th straight year under head coach Tommy Bowden.
… Oh the agony. The latest news:
Clemson University announced Monday that the school will not accept a bid for its football team to play in a bowl because of the brawl during Saturday’s game against the University of South Carolina.
Despite overcoming so much this season to gain bowl eligibility, Clemson’s lack of self-control, and ultimately mental toughness, finally came back to bite us all in the ass.
There is plenty of blame to spread on both sides of that brawl. I wish there wasn’t.
But now both universities (and I use that term loosely with USC) are going to decline bowl invitations. I hate it for all the players who kept their heads, for all the coaches and support staff who just do their jobs, for the fans who had already blocked off vacation time for the bowl season, and ultimately for everyone who lost something because of that fight.
But these self-imposed penalties do not fix everything. The animosity between schools and fans alike surely cannot be expected to decrease. Every interaction between both sides will grow more bitter. At this time next year, the two teams will meet once again. The 103rd game in the series will be met with an increased anticipation and desperation. The motivation for next year’s rivalry has been given an amazingly solid foundation.
So the schools are trying to atone for their errors. The basic problem is not solved. Both schools hate each other. Denying bowl games only increases the hatred. Keeping the teams out of bowl games is not the wrong decision, but it sure as hell ain’t right.
