There has been a lot of talk about the atmosphere in and around Williams Brice Stadium for the 2019 Palmetto Bowl. Fans from both sides have noted that this year’s game just had no buzz.
The television ratings seem to back those claims up. The game did a 1.0 with just 1.77 million viewers. That’s the lowest number for a Clemson/South Carolina game since at least 2011.
For comparison sake, LSU vs Texas A&M did a 1.6 with 2.95 million, and that was a much bigger blowout. Ohio State/Michigan drew 12.42 million viewers and Alabama/Auburn drew 11.43 million.
The Friday night game between USF and UCF did a 1.1 with 1.76 million viewers. The AAC is drawing as many eyes as the Palmetto Bowl and that’s just sad.
It seems this rivalry is broken. When you look at Clemson’s recent run of success, and combine it with the trainwreck that was the 2019 season for South Carolina, it’s easy to understand. If you already know what’s coming, and know the result is going to be bad, why torture yourself for three or four hours watching it unfold?
