2003 Clemson vs South Carolina Football: 63-17

On a late fall night in November 2003, the Clemson Tigers administered one of the most savage beatdowns in the history of the Palmetto Bowl series, as Charlie Whitehurst and Chad Jasmin turned Williams-Brice Stadium into their own personal Bojangles. When all the feathers had been plucked and all the chickens had been fried, the scoreboard read 63-17. Though the hometown scoreboard operator did his best to quickly turn out the lights on the latest Gamecock low point, generations of Clemson fans would nonetheless fondly remember the night the lights went out in Cola. As Lou Holtz marched up and down his sideline all night, powerless to stop the onslaught on both sides of the ball, a resurgent Tiger team continued an improbable run that would include 2 top 10 victories and 2 wins over different coaches with 200+ wins.

The Clemson defense, led by linebackers Leroy Hill and John Leake and featuring a fierce front four and opportunistic secondary, opened the game in appropriate fashion with a sack of UofSC QB Dondrial Pinkins. Before the unwashed masses in Willy B had time to throw up a middle finger or toss some doodoo ice on the field, Charlie Whitehurst piloted an aerial assault punctuated by 3 deep strike TDs to Derrick Hamilton, Airese Currie, and Ben Hall. As the Clemson defense pounded the Gamecock offense into submission while mixing in a couple of Jamal Fudge interceptions, Tommy Bowden unleashed senior running back Chad Jasmin who rang up 4 TDs while overshadowing his overhyped counterparts in garnet and black. The night was capped with a long TD run by backup QB and future all-conference WR Chansi Stuckey, as the poor Tiger mascot found himself executing 315 push-ups en route to 63 points. Whereas kicker Aaron Hunt began his career against the cocks with a game winning FG as a freshman, he merely had to settle for 9 extra points in his final game in the rivalry.

It would take the Tigers another decade and change to truly build upon the momentum Charlie Whitehurst and crew generated during that magical run in 2003, but the shock and awe that transpired that night gave Tiger fans a glimpse into what the future would hold under a then first year WR coach who spent the evening signaling in plays. Few could have known at the time that young Dabo Swinney would have more national titles before the age of 50 than HOFer Lou Holtz, or that fired Gamecock coach and Bowden family confidante Brad Scott would watch his own flesh and blood help bring Clemson to the summit of college football. As the final whistle sounded, Coach Tommy Bowden enjoyed a well deserved ride on the shoulders of his players, as perhaps in his finest hour in orange he carved his own place in Clemson history alongside the immortal memories of 45-0 and 56-7. Somewhere in orange heaven, the dearly departed Jim Phillips looked on and smiled, while in another part of the universe entirely, the bloated strains of "Touchdown Clemson! Touchdown Chad Jasmin!" cycled into eternity.

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