How Clemson overcame the effects of Hurricane Helene to attend a college football game

Hurricane Helene, a tropical storm as it made landfall in South Carolina on Friday morning, did not derail Clemson’s game plans on Saturday. It posed significant challenges for both the Tigers and visiting Stanford a day after it swept the region.

Strong winds and severe flooding caused widespread property damage, multiple deaths and hundreds of thousands of power outages in the Carolinas.

“It’s been a tough few days,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said after Saturday night’s 40-14 win over Stanford. “There is a lot going on for everyone affected by the hurricane. Thoughts and prayers are with them. Many of our employees were affected, including me.

“Many players were affected. We had employees with trees through their house. I’ve had trees fall. Most of us had no electricity. We had a lot of children from Florida who were affected. It’s a challenge for everyone.”

The ESPN broadcast team said Clemson’s team spent Friday night in their apartments, dorms and houses instead of staying together in a hotel, which is typically the case the night before a game.

ESPN commentators also noted that the Tigers used local and regional buses instead of the buses they normally take from Asheville. Western North Carolina was hit particularly hard by Helene.

“I don’t think anyone really expected the storm to hit us this badly,” Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik said. “It threw a little bit of a wrench into our routine in terms of Friday and Saturday schedule.”

Swinney said defensive tackles coach Nick Eason was away from the team Wednesday through Friday, dealing with “family challenges” related to the storm. Eason returned to Saturday’s game.

“I’m just proud of our team because there were a lot of breaks in the routine,” Swinney said. “There were a lot of things that were just different than normal game preparation. I’m just really proud of how they responded.”

The storm also hit Clemson’s opponents. Stanford was scheduled to leave California on Thursday but wasn’t able to land in South Carolina until Friday around 7 p.m., 24 hours before kickoff.

The Cardinal had no problems getting into the stadium on Saturday.

Shortly after play began, poweroutage.us still reported more than 940,000 outages across the state, including over 500,000 in the Upstate.

Clemson announced around noon Friday that the university intended to proceed with original game plans after evaluating the campus and surrounding areas.

“The decision to host Saturday’s game came after a detailed assessment of the impact of the storm, with a primary focus on the ability to safely accommodate our opponents and fans on campus,” Clemson University said in a statement to The State. “City of Clemson and Clemson University officials, as well as first responders across the state, have worked tirelessly in their recovery efforts so far. We look forward to supporting community recovery efforts.”

Parking lots opened at 10 a.m., two hours later than usual. That was the only real change in the game plan.

And the fans, many of whom had no power in their homes, came to Clemson for a few hours. The number of visitors for Saturday evening was reported as 80,295.

Klubnik said it meant a lot to the players that so many people came out to support them during this difficult time.

“Amidst all the chaos, we just wanted to put a smile on some people’s faces today and I hope we succeeded,” Klubnik said. “There are people on our team who have lost homes. There are a lot of Clemson fans who have had a lot of trouble over the last few days.”

Clemson opens campus facilities to community

Clemson is making some of its buildings on campus available Sunday “to all community members and city residents in need of respite following the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene,” the school announced in a news release.

“In addition, the Hendrix Student Center will be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. for the community to find a cool spot, charge electronic devices and access public Wi-Fi,” the statement said.

The Littlejohn Coliseum and Snow Family Outdoor Fitness and Wellness Complex are open Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“Littlejohn Coliseum will feature power plants, access to Wi-Fi, limited food and beverages at select concession stands, and limited showers (6 total) for members of the community,” Clemson said. “The Snow Family outdoor fitness and wellness complex will have four showers for family use, including accompanied minors.”