BIG FAT BOWL CHALLENGE

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DABO DABO DABO DABO

Today’s top story, of course, is that interim head coach Dabo Swinney has agreed to terms with Terry Don Phillips to become the next head coach of the Clemson Tigers.  An official announcement should be made today or tomorrow. The P&C says 4 years at $1 mil per.

According to The State,

According to a source, Swinney was not offered the job immediately after the USC game on Saturday because Clemson officials did not want people outside the program to think he received the offer only as a result of that game’s outcome.

Sure, they don’t want it to appear that way…. but that’s the way it was, wasn’t it?

Phil Kornblut, the Gamecock homer who supposedly “covers” recruiting in South Carolina, which in reality means him calling recruits and their mothers and throwing Sakerlina pitches at them, writes about what hiring Swinney as full-on head coach will do for Clemson recruiting.

As for our bowl outlook, it’s looking awful Champy. Possible opponents could be Iowa, Minnesota, or Wisconsin.

HO-HUM, ANOTHER SAKERLINA BEAT DOWN, BIG DEAL

Saturday the Tigers beat Sakerlina 31-14. Of course, we only won because of Chris Smelley if you listen to this guy. Hey man, whatever it takes for you to cope with it, I guess. Having a firm grasp of reality was never a strong point of Gamecock fans. On local radio stations the excuse of the year has been that Clemson just “cares” about the rivalry more than Carolina does, so they tried harder than the Gamecocks. Look, if you can’t get up for a game, it’s on the players and coaches, and if you can’t get up for your rival, what the hell? That’s not an excuse it’s a fucking tragedy.

Wait a minute… Gamecock fans leaving a game early… WHA??????

The State tells us what to take from the game and gives kudos to the coaches and the Clemson seniors, who went out with a bang.

Ron Morris predicted Sakerlina to win this game 46-3. Now, that’s the sort of prediction that says “I really am a delusional homer and think that Clemson will get the shit beat out of them, but I’m not confident enough to make an honest prediction so I’ll ham it up. That way if Clemson does win, I can say I was obviously joking.” He also is the sheepish reporter complaining to Spurrier that Gamecock fans are sick of losing to Clemson, to which Spurrier snapped back “Well, what do you want me to do, Ron!?!” at the end of this video. Morris takes out his frustrations on Spurrier with this article, “Amid Spurrier’s rust, in Dabo Tigers trust.”

The State on the last hurrah of Thunder and Lightning together at Death Valley. As proud as I was of the team on Saturday, I was most happy for James Davis. He made a tough decision to return for his senior year, and for much of the season it appeared to be a waste. He managed to find some redemption once Tommy Bowden resigned under pressure, and now stands 101 yards and 1 touchdown away from owning the school records for both categories.

The P&C reports on what the Gamecocks are doing to regroup.

BASKETBALL

Clemson travels to Illinois to play the Illini in the ACC-Big Ten “Challenge” and will be on ESPN2 Tuesday night at 7:30. The Tigers are 7-0 on the year.