As a Georgia native, Will Muschamp doesn’t have a lifetime of feelings surrounding the Palmetto State rivalry that many fans, and plenty of his players, do.

But in his second season, the notion of him being an outsider is long gone, and he even bristled at a question that suggested it.

“I’m not an outsider anymore,” Muschamp said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. “I get it. Maybe on (my) first day (on the job) when 38 people tell you to beat Clemson.”

Having said that, Muschamp maintained his previous stance that one game will not dramatically change the direction of the program, even for in-state recruiting.

A win, “would continue to show progress for our program,” the coach said. “There’s no doubt about that. I’ve said it many times, one game is not going to make a decision for a young man, and if it does, we probably don’t want him. That’s how I kind of look at that, but there’s no doubt, progress is being made.”

As a player, Muschamp was asked if he got emotional during rivalry games.

“I needed to get as emotional as I could, because I wasn’t very good,” he said. “I needed to be jacked up and ready to go every week. I had to be that way in practice every day.”

Muschamp and the Gamecocks will play host to Clemson Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium hoping to snap a three-game losing streak in the series.