The University of South Carolina Fighting Gamecocks and Clemson University Tigers  have been longtime rivals.

The competitiveness stirs from being the biggest schools in South Carolina. 

The first football game between the two was Nov. 12, 1896, according to the website of the Palmetto Bowl, the official name for the annual rivalry game.

That is nearly 128 years of feuding. 

“During the late 1800s, tension arose in the South Carolina state government over the state’s flagship university,” according to USC’s website. “Some state politicians viewed USC as elitist and founded Clemson Agricultural College as an alternative. As the two colleges vied for students and funding, a rivalry was born.” 

USC holds many events leading up to the big game, from casual trash talk on social media all the way to the most infamous ritual, “the tiger burn.” 

“Both schools are pretty old and have a lot of history,” USC senior Nick Fortino said. “We have cool traditions like the tiger burn, Palmetto Bowl, and others. I also know a lot of schools in the SEC don’t necessarily have one main mutual rival, so I like the fact that we do.”

The “burn” comes when engineering students build a 30-foot tall tiger and then set it on fire to kick off rivalry week. It has been a USC tradition for more than 100 years. There are other events, such as the Clemson vs. USC blood drive and a canned food drive, a new take to help others while encouraging friendly competition. The tiger burn is set to take place this year on Nov. 19 at 6 p.m.