It was Thanksgiving Day in 2012 when then-redshirt sophomore Dylan Thompson learned he would be filling in as quarterback against Clemson for the injured Connor Shaw.
Thompson had started one game previously, but none as big as the annual Palmetto Bowl, a game with elevated importance, he admitted.
"You have no idea," Thompson said when asked how important it was to get the win against Clemson. "My sister graduated from here, so we always mess around. We never thought it would come to this growing up."
A 310-yard, three-touchdown performance by Thompson led South Carolina to its fourth consecutive win over Clemson.
Flash forward two years and Thompson is now the top passer in the Southeastern Conference and guides the No. 26 offense in the nation, a unit that averages 461 yards per game.
On Saturday afternoon, Thompson will lead his offense into Death Valley against the top defense in the country, statistically.
Through 11 games, the Tigers have surrendered 2,776 total yards, the lowest in the nation by seven yards. However, on two separate occasions, Clemson has given up over 400 total yards — 459 yards against Georgia and 478 yards versus North Carolina.
In their three games against ranked opponents this season — Georgia, Florida State and Georgia Tech — the Tigers have given up an average of 32 points. In the remaining eight games, that figure shrinks to 12.3 points per game.
"Should be a heck of a game next week. Clemson has had an excellent year and they'll be ready for us," head coach Steve Spurrier said. "We're bowl eligible, they're bowl eligible and it should set up for an excellent matchup between two teams."
Clemson is holding its opponents to 252.4 yards per game, which is also the lowest in the nation. The last time South Carolina was held to 252 or less total yards against the Tigers was in 2004 before Spurrier's arrival. The Gamecocks netted 197 yards of offense in a 29-7 loss that year. Since then, South Carolina has won six of its last nine matchups against the team's upstate rival.
Saturday afternoon Clemson will be tasked with slowing one of the toughest offenses it has seen all season, as South Carolina has scored at least 30 points in five of its last six games.
Much of the Gamecocks' offensive explosion this season can be attributed to the success of the team's leading receiver, sophomore Pharoh Cooper.
Cooper has tallied 11 touchdowns this season — eight receiving, two passing and one rushing — and has accounted for a quarter (25.5 percent) of Thompson's completions this season.
Paired with a two-headed ground game featuring junior running backs Mike Davis and Brandon Wilds, South Carolina has not necessarily found difficulty in moving the ball, but sustaining possession.
Last weekend, South Alabama forced five Gamecock turnovers, something South Carolina will need to reduce in order to win in Death Valley. In two road games against Kentucky and Auburn, Thompson has thrown six interceptions, but fared better in his last road contest against Florida.
But Thompson, who already owns more wins in the rivalry than any Clemson player, knows the environment he will be playing in Saturday.
With his days in a South Carolina uniform numbered, he considers himself lucky just to be a part of the program.
"It's just been a blessing to be at this school. I know all the seniors are grateful to coach Tanner, coach Spurrier and everybody on the staff who had a part in them getting here," Thompson said. "We feel like it's the best university in the nation."
"And I'm just thankful to have been a part of it for the past five years."