Clemson, not South Carolina, is in danger of staying home for the holidays.

Despite those subplots that make Saturday's game critical for Bowden's Tigers (5-4, 3-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), more pressure rests on the shoulder pads of Holtz's 22-ranked Gamecocks (7-3, 5-3 Southeastern Conference).

South Carolina's 64-year-old coach said as much Saturday, minutes after his team suffered a 54-17 whipping to Florida in perhaps the most anticipated game of his program's history.

"The most important game of the season is next week," Holtz said of Saturday's tilt at Williams-Brice Stadium. "This one was big, but the one next week is more important."

Beating the Tigers is important, if not imperative, for several reasons. Chief among them is avenging last year's 16-14 defeat in Death Valley.

There's also the issue of progress. South Carolina had the same record (7-3) this time last year, and a win Saturday would demonstrate a one-game improvement despite deflating losses to Arkansas, Tennessee and Florida.

The Gamecocks closed last season on an uplifting note by upsetting Ohio State in the Outback Bowl, but a loss to the Tigers could keep them from returning to a New Year's Day bowl.

There were more pressing concerns Monday. Holtz gave his team the day off to try to figure out how to replace linebacker Kalimba Edwards (knee), quarterback Phil Petty (shoulder) and linebacker Jeremiah Garrison (hamstring), all of whom are doubtful for the game.

"It means a lot for the program," said senior safety Willie Offord. "We always want to take it to another level. Last year, we finished with eight (wins), and this year we're going to try to finish with nine - keep it going in a positive direction, not a negative direction."

A loss to the Tigers would continue South Carolina's four-game losing streak against Clemson. the Tigers have also won the last six games played in Columbia."I hear it all the time in class," Brown said. "No matter how many games you win, people always say, 'What about Clemson? Make sure you win the Clemson game.' And that's all they really care about."

Reach Larry Williams at (706) 823-3645 or larrywill7@yahoo.com.