It might have been ugly, but Clemson football defeated South Carolina in Columbia on Saturday. The Tigers won the game 16-7 after the only two touchdowns of the entire 60 minutes were scored during the first quarter.
Not only did the low-scoring bout extend itself to hostility, there is always going to be some jarring back and forth when the two in-state rivals get together on the gridiron. Both sides were going at each other well before kickoff.
A Clemson coach took the bait!
Amid all the shenanigans, a group of Gamecocks got on the Tigers as they warmed up right in front of the student section. They called the visiting players “gangsters,” among other names.
A Clemson coach, who appeared to be defensive player development assistant Daniel Boyd, just couldn’t help himself and was baited into a response. The whole exchange was caught on video!
The unnamed staffer turned back to the students and told them that they “aren’t s—.” He also reminded them that “gangsters don’t go to college” and chirped that one of them is a “lawyer’s kid.”
Admittedly, while you love to see a college football coach standing up for his players, the guy probably should have let that one go. His comeback was so weak, and it only riled up the students even more.
They openly mocked his anger while encouraging him to hop into the stands for a fight.
Immediately going to the “lawyer’s son” quip is a terrible progression. If the coach, who is a full-grown man, really needed to respond to a bunch of 18-21 year olds, he should have come with a better line.
In the end, it doesn’t really matter. Clemson lost the pregame trash talk by a large margin but the Tigers got the last laugh by winning the game on South Carolina’s home turf.