This weekend, the NC State football team travels to Clemson, South Carolina, and will honor the lesser-known rivalry that has existed between the two schools for decades.

NC State has only won on the road 11 times against Clemson but hasn’t come away with a victory at Death Valley in 12 years. However, NC State looks to end that streak this weekend at Memorial Stadium.

The Wolfpack and the Tigers have been ACC rivals since 1953 when they were two of eight teams to form the conference. It isn’t exactly one of the nationally recognized matchups such as Alabama and Auburn, Michigan and Ohio State or even fellow ACC rivals Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill. It isn’t even the biggest rivalry for either of the teams; the Tigers have the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Pack has the Tar Heels. However, the rivalry does have its own unique history and name: the Textile Bowl.

Considered one of the cleaner and well-natured rivalries due to how similar the two schools are in terms of fan base, academics and overall mission, the matchup got its name as a marketing effort by the textile commissions of North and South Carolina. 

The textile industry has been historically important for both states’ economies, and the two schools were perfect representatives because they have two of the largest and most respected textile schools in the country.

Both football programs were established at about the same time, NC State’s in 1892 and Clemson’s in 1896. Even though the teams first played each other back in 1899, have been in the same conference since 1953 and have been playing annually since 1971, the game wasn’t known as the Textile Bowl until 1981. 

The winning team gets to take home a traveling trophy that it brings back to the game every year. In addition, North Carolina textile manufactures donate money to NC State’s scholarship fund in honor of the Wolfpack’s MVP in the game, according to NC State Athletics.

The clash has plenty of history with NC State traveling to ‘Death Valley’ to play Clemson for the 83rd time on Saturday, but Clemson leads the series 53-28-1 over the past 82 meetings.

The first ever game between the teams took place on Nov. 18, 1899, in which Clemson won handily 24-0. Last year, Clemson traveled to Carter-Finley Stadium and won 26-14 in NC State’s ACC opener.

Since the teams joined the ACC in 1953, Clemson leads 33-22. Since the teams started playing annually in 1971, Clemson leads 25-18. Since the game earned its name the Textile Bowl, Clemson leads the series 23-10 and has won nine of the last 10 meetings.

The only period of time that NC State was able to edge ahead of Clemson was during the 1970s, beating the Tigers in seven of nine contests during that decade.

The largest scoring game came just two years ago on Nov. 17, 2012, when the teams combined for 110 points as Clemson came away with a 62-48 victory. The lowest-scoring game came all the way back in 1906, when the game ended in the rivalry’s lone tie 0-0. 

NC State hasn’t been able to come up with a victory since 2011, when it beat Clemson 37-13 in Carter-Finley Stadium after losing to Clemson in the previous seven contests. The bottom line is, Clemson has dominated this rivalry over the past ten years. Before 2011, NC State hadn’t been able to come away with a win since 2003.

Clemson enters the game with the clear historical advantage, but an improving Wolfpack program under second-year Head Coach Dave Doeren and highly rated redshirt junior quarterback Jacoby Brissett could make this year’s incarnation of the Textile Bowl one of the most competitive yet.