South Carolina’s Frank Martin on the College Football Playoff championship game: ‘I got to pull for the SEC’

South Carolina coach Frank Martin has a tough decision to make when deciding who to root for between Clemson and Alabama in the College Football Playoff national championship game.

Martin and his 15-0 Gamecocks travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for a matchup with Alabama on Wednesday, which means they could be walking into a championship celebration at Coleman Coliseum if Alabama’s football team defeats Clemson Monday night.

Although South Carolina could be walking into an elevated environment in Tuscaloosa, Martin said he has to root for his conference and not his in-state rival.

“If Clemson was playing against any other team from any other conference, I’d pull for them,” Martin said according to The State’s David Cloninger. “But I got to pull for the SEC.”

Martin wants the Tide to roll on Monday, but did say he was worried about a potentially rabid environment for Wednesday’s game.

“That title atmosphere plus Alabama being a good basketball team has the likings of a bear trap on Wednesday,” Martin said according to Cloninger.

South Carolina will likely get every team’s best shot as long as it remains undefeated. But the Gamecocks may need to brace themselves for a pumped-up crowd during their next conference test on Wednesday night.

Of course, nothing is worse than rooting for an in-state rival.