Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Gamecocks come-f By Joa Sitarz CLEMSON ? It didn't look good for USC's Gamecocks last Saturday against the Clemson Tigers at Death Valley. Bad enough the game was on Tiger home turf, where USC hadn't won since 1970, but the Tigers also wore those allorange uniforms. In all-orange, the Tigers sported a 10-0 record going into the game. Trailing 21-12 as the fouth quarter began, Carolina fans may have given up hope for a Gamecock victory, but not the piayers. WITH JUST over three minutes left and still down 21-15, offensive guard Del Wilkes said the team felt they could pull off the victory. "We got the offense together and told ourselves that this was probably the last time we'd get our hands on the football," he said. "We needed to punch it into the end zone, score and win the ball game. We felt we could do it." Receiver Bill Bradshaw echoed Wilkes' thoughts. "We said, 'Listen guys, its the last time we're going to get the ball. This is going to decide the game. Its up to us, we've got to do it.' "Just like we've done all year long. We've grabbed down deep and did it. That's what winners do," Bradshaw said. rom-behind to rip "AND WE'RE winners." Going ahead 22-21 with 54 seconds left, the Gamecocks relied on the defense to stop Clemson's last scoring opportunity. After the game, Wilkes and Bradshaw both felt the Gamecocks were in better physical condition compared to the Tiger players. "I think we're in pretty good doggone physical condition," Wilkes said. "The coaches worked us hard all year, and going .nto the second half and fourth quarter, 1 think you could sense them tiring. "OUR CONDITIONING helped us in the end, especially in that last drive. We were able to get it down field pretty quickly and score," he said. "Wp'rp ir? hpttpr mnHitinn thon onuVinHu \ua nlav " Drorl " V IV 111 WVUVI vv AIV41 ilV/11 U1UU UUJ uuu; fTV ptuj | &J1 au shaw said. "I have to admit, though, I was tired ? extremely tired." Playing their interstate rival, and having a real chance to win, was enough to get the Carolina players up for the game. Receiver Chris Wade, who made the big pass reception on the final drive, said, "We beat Clemson. That was our (P3BTE3T iki Hb* Ml?;r ^ nLlHp'1' : ^^jBBWMBB'"1^^?^ ^ - -A^^XT3i-. v-_ -.* rag > f^"J' Clemson 22-21 ultimate goal." HE SAID he told the coaches that he wouldn't want to miss the Clemson game because it was such a big game to him. And then there's all that orange mystique. The Tigers hadn't lost wearing all-orange in 10 outings. Now they're 10-1. In the usual Death Valley tradition, the 89th CarolinaClemson game was played in the center of a ring of orange. HEAD FOOTBALL coach Joe Morrison said, "This was a big win for us. Any win is a big win. All that orange in the stands ? this one means a lot. "I really got the feeling this was going to be an exciting place to play, and it is. Being in-state, it is a big win." Wilkes added, "Beating Clemson is the ultimate." Doing so as the Tigers wore all-orange uniforms at home where they had won 25 in a row, he said it was "the icing on the cake." "It's the greatest feeling I've ever had," Bradshaw said. "It's so sweet after three straight years. This is something a lot of people aren't able to do ? beat them in those orange britches and take away their winning streak at home. It's a super feeling."