Future of Palmetto Bowl secure following SEC’s schedule announcement, per report
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
The SEC decision on Thursday to move to a 9-game conference schedule in 2026 means that some tougher decisions are coming for each member school’s non-league slate.
It looks like one major nonconference date is safe, though.
According to CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford, the annual Palmetto Bowl game between South Carolina and Clemson “will stay.” The long-running rivalry between the 2 schools will stage its 122nd game on Nov. 29.
As far as the ACC is concerned, all expectations are that it will move to a 9-game conference schedule itself. But it doesn’t sound like there is cause for concern for Clemson looking to scuttle the game, as it may be faced with scheduling decisions of its own shortly.
Outside of a trip to Clemson in 2026, South Carolina’s non-conference games that year are against Miami and FCS Towson. In 2027, the Gamecocks are scheduled to travel to Miami and host FCS Furman and Appalachian State before welcoming the Tigers to Columbia. Their 2028 schedule has home games against North Carolina and Wofford before ending the regular season in the Upstate.
Clemson will travel to LSU in 2026 as the second part of a home-and-home. Apart from South Carolina, it is scheduled to play Georgia Southern and Charleston Southern that year. Wofford and Notre Dame (both at home) are its only 2 scheduled non-league games for 2027 outside of the Palmetto Bowl. Troy, The Citadel, and a trip to Notre Dame are currently scheduled for the Tigers in 2028 before the Gamecocks’ trip to Death Valley.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
