CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Clemson coach Dabo Swinney pats Howard's Rock and then leads his team down the hill into a hyped Memorial Stadium. There are few pregame rituals in college football as recognizable as the Tigers' blood-pumping entrance.
But before Death Valley becomes one of the most raucous sites in sports, it falls as quiet as church while a prayer is said by a local religious leader over the public address system.
Faith and football go together at Clemson, as they do at many universities. Here, though, where Swinney's devotion to Christianity is a pronounced part of his and the team's identity, may be one of most prominent displays of religion at a public university.