ACC still wants Clemson to consider moving Palmetto Bowl to Black Friday
By Paul Harvey
Published:
The ACC has tried to create some unique scheduling opportunities for its programs in recent years, and the league still has interest in Clemson considering the idea of playing South Carolina in the annual Palmetto Bowl on Black Friday.
Last year, news broke that the ACC had an interest in moving the in-state rivalry off of its traditional Saturday slot to Black Friday. Georgia Tech and Georgia played Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate on Black Friday in primetime last season, which was also an adjustment from the traditional Saturday slate for the Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets.
However, Clemson reportedly put an end to the idea last year. The plan was to play a Black Friday match up in primetime last year, but the Tigers would not budge from Saturday. According to Chapel Fowler with The State, South Carolina had an interest in hosting a Black Friday rivalry game at Williams-Brice Stadium, but backed off when Clemson did not reciprocate.
Despite those decisions, Fowler cited key ACC official, Michael Strickland, who says the league still wants Clemson to consider the move. Strickland is the ACC’s senior associate commissioner for football, and he says the desire for Clemson to play on Black Friday is no different than the league’s interest in other schools being flexible:
“Our job is to try to find ways to maximize opportunities for each individual school and, at the same time, work for the collective good of the ACC,” Strickland said.
According to an email obtained by The State, Strickland previously wrote after last year’s decision by the Tigers that the ACC and ESPN secured scheduling “concessions” for Clemson in order to facilitate the change. That also included an agreement for South Carolina to host Clemson on Black Friday in the future.
Strickland also took time to commend Georgia Tech’s willingness to move its longstanding rivalry with Georgia, and he referenced the iconic overtime affair as a “classic ball game” with longstanding benefits for the Yellow Jackets:
“We talk with our schools all the time about scheduling opportunities, and sometimes it works for schools, and sometimes it doesn’t,” Strickland said in an interview. “Georgia Tech was eager to sign up for that opportunity, and they played a classic ball game. Just came up one second or one point shy, and Georgia Tech will reap a number of benefits from that for a number of years.”
For now, it doesn’t sound like the Palmetto Bowl moving to Black Friday is imminent, but don’t be surprised if Clemson gets another request to move the annual season-ending rivalry away from Saturday.
Last year, Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks pulled out a road upset over Dabo Swinney and the Tigers. We’ll see who gets the last laugh this season in a rivalry that could have serious College Football Playoff implications.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
