The Feed Pail: Rivalry Week has arrived

Welcome back to the feed pail, where we take a look around the internet for some choice South Carolina Gamecocks tidbits and share it back here with you. Since it’s Clemson week, I’ll be including some pieces from the Tigers’ viewpoint as well.

What Will Muschamp said about Clemson Sunday - Hale McGranahan, SEC Country

Muschamp got into the big game a bit on his Sunday teleconference, giving us some insight on his perspective of the rivalry and how the team is approaching it after last season’s debacle.

If you don’t get excited about playing your archrival, then something is wrong with you. That’s the way I look at it. Regardless of the score, whether it was last year, two years ago or three years ago, it doesn’t really matter. We’ve got a lot of new faces on our football team.

Dabo Swinney on traveling to improved South Carolina team: ‘We all know the emotion that’s tied to this game’ - Grace Raynor, Post and Courier

Swinney also recounted his experience with the rivalry on his Sunday teleconference, describing how it has felt like “home” with his Auburn-Alabama background. He was also complimentary of the Gamecocks and Muschamp’s approach thus far.

“They're very aggressive. I think they try to be good at what they do, you know? I don't think they try to be all things to all people. I think (Muschamp) has done a good job of knowing his team and putting them in a position to be successful," Swinney said. "This is a team that has created a bunch of turnovers. I think that's a credit to them knowing what they're doing. They're not making a lot of mistakes."

Spurrier on USC’s five-game win streak against Clemson: ‘There weren’t any nail biters’ - Josh Kendall, The State

The Head Ball Coach resurfaced to talk about his part in the Palmetto Bowl with his usual candor. He also revisited his initial experience with the rivalry, and how he instilled a culture change at South Carolina.

“When I got there, there were all kinds of signs all over the coach’s office and down in the locker room, ‘Beat Clemson.’ ‘Beat Clemson,’ ” Spurrier said. “We took all those down. To me, if you have their name all over the place, you are sort of putting them on a pedestal. We didn’t want our guys to think they were any different than any of the other teams we were going to play. That’s my attitude, treat every game the same.”

Danny Ford mellowing on Carolina-Clemson rivalry - Josh Kendall, The State

The State caught up with another former coach in Clemson’s Danny Ford, who has apparently gone soft with age. Time and distance from the rivalry, as well as personal relationships, have given him a different view.

“I’m for Clemson, of course. I hope Clemson wins, but I’ve got a lot of friends I never thought I would have who are Carolina people. That’s the only change that I see. I still want to beat them, but I do have some very close friends who are Gamecocks, and I would have never, ever thought I would be friends with when I was coaching.”

In football-frenzied SEC country, volleyball and soccer gain ground in fight for fall footing - Graham Hays, espnW

So this isn’t rivalry related, but it includes the South Carolina women’s soccer team and is an interesting read about how SEC football money and branding has helped other programs in their journey to relevance.

Georgia Dome imploded after 25 years of use - CNN

I threw this in just for fun, since the Georgia Dome was a house of horrors for South Carolina between the 2010 SEC Championship game and many, many terrible performances in the SEC basketball tournament. Bye, Felicia.