The BIG One Today in South Carolina

Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina is the setting for this year's meeting between 2 long-time in-state football rivals--the University of South Carolina Gamecocks and the Clemson Tigers.

The game begins at high noon today as over 80,000 college football fans pack the stadium to see who earns 'bragging rights' for the year.

Historically the Tigers have the edge in this meeting, having beaten the Gamecocks in roughly 6 out of 10 of these gridiron clashes. But this year the Tigers have even more of an edge, given their red-hot streak of winning their last 6 games.

The Gamecocks, on the other hand, have lost their last 3 in the super-tough Southeastern Conference.

South Carolina has a bowl game on the line this year. With a 6-5 record going into today's game, one more win will secure a bowl invitation. A loss will effectively doom any chance of that happening.

Lest anyone think that the Gamecocks are a pushover, their last 3 losses were close calls. Had one single play in each game gone the other way, they would have won 3 in a row rather than lost, and that includes their respectable performance against the Florida Gators, who have won 20 straight games.

But all bets are off on this one game. You can throw out the stats, the record, the history, all of it. In this game, expect the unexpected.