Don’t let COVID-19 stop South Carolina and Clemson from playing, SC’s Graham urges
Add U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham to the list of those disappointed that the South Carolina and Clemson football game won’t be played this season.
Graham, the state’s senior senator, voiced his displeasure about the game’s cancellation Monday while visiting the University of South Carolina’s School of Medicine in Columbia to discuss telemedicine.
“The ACC apparently was willing to play one non-conference game. The SEC for some reason told everyone in the conference you’ve got to stay within the conference. That makes no sense to me,” Graham said. “You’ve got some rivalry games that have been going on for a very long time and I think we have the ability as a state to manage a game between Clemson and South Carolina safely and the idea of stopping this rivalry for the pandemic bothers me. I’m disappointed and I think it’s unacceptable.”
The Southeastern Conference announced Thursday it would only allow its football teams to play conference games in a 10-game schedule that will begin on Sept. 26. The SEC’s announcement came a day after the Atlantic Coast Conference said it would let its football teams play one out of conference game in an effort to preserve some of the rivalries between ACC-SEC schools.
South Carolina and Clemson was one of four ACC-SEC rivalry games not going to be played this season. Others include Florida-Florida State, Kentucky-Louisville and Georgia-Georgia Tech.
South Carolina and Clemson have played every year on the gridiron since 1910.
“We can’t let this pandemic stop this rivalry,” Graham said Monday. “And I’m going to call and object. I can’t make them do anything they don’t want to do, but I think I’m speaking for a lot of people who want to see football between Clemson and South Carolina. ...To me it doesn’t make sense to stop the Clemson-South Carolina game if you’re going to play other games.
South Carolina did its part to try and keep the game for the season, with USC president Bob Caslen taking a stance to preserve the matchup.
Gamecocks Athletic Director Ray Tanner said Friday that playing Clemson would regrettably not happen this year.
“You never say never but I expect that the schedule will remain intact,” Tanner said. ”Nobody wants to lose the rival games, and certainly we didn’t.”
SportsTalk reported Monday that Clemson is considering adding Coastal Carolina or N.C. State to fill the void left on the schedule by losing the South Carolina game. Neither the SEC or the ACC has released a revised schedule of games yet.
This story was originally published August 3, 2020 at 4:46 PM with the headline "Don’t let COVID-19 stop South Carolina and Clemson from playing, SC’s Graham urges."
