The Palmetto Bowl, the storied annual clash between the Clemson Tigers and the South Carolina Gamecocks, is one of college football’s fiercest rivalries, dating all the way back to 1896. While the competitive fires burn hot—especially following a chippy conclusion to last season’s contest—the head coaches, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney and South Carolina’s Shane Beamer, have managed to forge a bond that transcends the intense state-line animosity.
This unique relationship stems from the shared experience of the college football coaching fraternity, and specifically, from the respect Swinney holds for the Beamer family patriarch, Frank Beamer.
Swinney recalled his early days as a head coach in 2009, describing his first ACC coaches meeting as an intimidating experience where he was surrounded by legends like Bobby Bowden and Paul Johnson. Frank Beamer, then the head coach at Virginia Tech, immediately made the 40-year-old Swinney feel welcome.
“Shane’s a friend. [His father] Frank was incredibly kind to me,” Swinney stated, emphasizing the warmth shown by the elder Beamer. “I learned a lot and have a lot of respect for him. I’ve always loved the Beamer family, they are just good people.”
Frank Beamer’s legacy continues through his son Shane, who took the helm at South Carolina in 2021. Now in his fifth season with the Gamecocks, Shane Beamer is quick to assert that his personal friendship with Swinney will have absolutely zero bearing on the rivalry’s competitive nature.
“We want to beat each other’s brains out on Saturday, there’s no question about it,” Beamer declared. He emphasized the gravity of the contest: “It’s a highly competitive game … it’s a fierce rivalry. I have a great appreciation to be part of this rivalry and a great respect for who we’re competing against across the field, too.”
Swinney echoed this sentiment, explaining that deep-seated dislike for an opposing coach isn’t a prerequisite for his players to perform with intensity. “If you are in this business long enough, sooner or later you have to coach against your friends,” Swinney noted. “This is a relationship business. I love his family. It doesn’t make me want to beat him any less, but I don’t have to hate their coach.”
The coaches may get along, but the same cannot be said for the teams’ interactions immediately following last year’s game. After South Carolina secured the win at Memorial Stadium, a postgame scuffle erupted when several Gamecocks players attempted to plant a flag on Clemson’s field—an act seen as highly provocative.
Swinney confirmed on November 25th that both programs have since agreed to put an end to such “extracurricular stuff.”
“I don’t think it leads to anything good,” Swinney said during his weekly news conference. “Win the game, celebrate, all that stuff. But the extracurricular stuff on people’s fields, we need to be better. On both sides.”
The latest chapter of the fierce, yet respectfully led, Palmetto Bowl rivalry—which marks quarterback Klubnik’s final regular-season game with Clemson—is scheduled for Saturday at noon ET, airing live on the SEC Network.