Celebrate the new year with some important South Carolina football moments.
South Carolina will not participate in a bowling match this postseason after dropping out of a Gasparilla Bowl fight with UAB due to COVID problems in the locker room. Although Gamecocks have to be left out this year, we can still celebrate the new year by reliving some of the key moments of the program’s New Year’s Day.
As we welcome 2021, let’s take a look at the many memorable plays and games that helped Gamecocks sound the new years of the past, starting with a 2013 meeting with Michigan at the Outback Bowl.
The success
It’s hard not to start here when looking at the main New Year’s Day moments for Gamecocks. Flashback to the 2013 Outback Bowl, a charged South Carolina defense facing the Michigan Wolverines.
A bizarre second-half vacancy resulted in Michigan winning a first down conversion to a fourth down in its own territory. The ball appeared to be very close to the winning line, but the referees moved the chains anyway.
This set the stage for Jadeveon Clowney’s defensive side to take control of the game. On the next play, Clowney broke Michigan’s offensive line without touching and nearly beheaded Wolverine’s running back, Vincent Smith, forcing a fumble that Clowney caught with his left hand.
Gamecocks would score on the next move and win the game by 33-28.
Last second field goal
In a 2002 edition of the Outback Bowl, South Carolina faced Ohio State for the second time in two years. The previous year, the Gamecocks beat the Buckeyes 24-7, and things seemed to be trending in this direction as well, with South Carolina holding a 28-0 lead at the end of the second half.
The Buckeyes fought, however, finally drawing the game at 28-28. With the game seemingly slipping out of the Gamecocks’ hands, the attack mounted a final blow, which ended with a last-second attempt at field goal by kicker Daniel Weaver.
Weaver’s kick had just enough leg, while he split the columns with the final seconds ticking over, preserving the Gamecocks’ 31-28 win.
Ryan Brewer v. OSU
In the year before the heroism of Weaver’s last game, South Carolina embarrassed the Buckeyes behind a performance by Ryan Brewer, a native of Ohio.
Brewer was overlooked in the recruiting process by his home state program, but he was the last to laugh in this 2001 contest. He would score all three Gamecocks touchdowns, accumulating over 200 total attack yards on his way to MVP honors. Outback Bowl.
Shaw finds the endzone in three different ways
Connor Shaw is the most decorated Gamecock quarterback in the show’s history, and he had perhaps his best game as a player in his final game. The 2014 Capital One Bowl put a team of 10 wins in South Carolina against Wisconsin.
Shaw would play for a season record of 312 yards and three scores, adding another 47 yards on the ground. He also had his first touchdown reception in his career and was responsible for all the scores of the five Gamecocks.
South Carolina would win the game 34-24.
Second half return
In Gamecocks’ most recent bowl victory, they used a 23-point run to wipe out a 19-3 deficit in the third quarter and defeat the Michigan Wolverines.
South Carolina scored three touchdowns in the final 18 minutes of the game and forced the Wolverines to five turnovers, leaving Tampa with a 26-19 victory. The victory culminated in a nine-game winning streak for Gamecocks and is the biggest single-bowl victory in the program’s history.
Jake Bentley shot for more than 200 yards, taking home the game’s MVP award, while the best receiver of all time, Bryan Edwards, hit a touchdown pass.