Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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\1 IllllllWIIillf LARRY WltUAMS Sports Editor Before the 1984 football season, the "Stree and Smith's College Football Yearbook predicted the University of South Car olina football team to have a 5-6 seasoi and considered that a good year. "Athlon's Atlantic Coast Football Mag azine" had this to say: "there are sign that the renaissance has begun at South Car olina," while going on to say, "it's one of the na tion's most difficult schedules." Little did every one know that, over the next four months, th< South Carolina Gamecocks would turn Colum bia upside down and proceed to rock the collegi football world with easily its most remarkabl* and successful season in history. The Gamecocks, with second-year head coacl Joe Morrison at the helm, rode a wave of ex citement and enthusiasm to a 9-0 start, a num ber two national ranking, and a permanent plaa in the hearts of all Gamecock fans. Before the season, no one dared dream tha Carolina would finish the regular season at 10 1 and earn a berth in the Gator Bowl; howev er, spirits were high for the future of the foot ball team. The prior season's efforts included i miraculous win over national powerhouse South ern California and some other outstanding ef forts in the late Joe Morrison's inaugural sea son. The team had shown a spark and enthu siasm under Morrison that wasn't present before The fans were convinced ? Joe Morrison w&< their man. In an auspicious 1984 opener against th< Pitarlel the ninHerpllfl season was almost on< that never was. The Gamecocks found them selves down 21-14 at halftime thanks to thre< second period touchdown passes by Bulldoj quarterback Robert Hill. With a minute an( two seconds to play, USC found themselves tiec with the Bulldogs 24-24. Needing some rare trickery to pull the gam< out, South Carolina used Quintan Lewis' 40 yart halfback pass to Chris Wade to give Carolinj the lead at 31-24, but it wasn't over yet. Mik< Lewis returned the kickoff 77 yards only to b< stopped by Chris Major, who made the game saving tackle. Otis Morris intercepted a fourtl 1984 STATISTICS i use .. i-OPP 613 Rushing attempts 542 j 3301 Yards gained rushing 2329 1 230 Rushing yards / game 156 masses compieiea 1/5 3 244 Passes attempted 355 194 Passing yards/game 186 5095 Total offense 4108 424 Total offense /game 342 a 5 down pass in the end zone with nine seconds J left to preserve the win. After an open date to regroup, the Game1 cocks showed improvement against Duke, lim iting the Blue Devils to 50 yards rushing as Carolina registered its first shutout since 1980 with 5 a 21-0 decision. Quarterback Allen Mitchell scored once, passed to Eric Poole for a toucht down, and Raynard Brown scored on a 17-yard - run. South Carolina's record stood at 2-0, but no - one was making bowl reservations ? yet. The * Citadel and Duke were nothing compared to the - rest of schedule, which included college football - heavyweights such as Georgia, Pittsburgh, Notre - Dame, Florida State and Clemson. The next week, the Georgia Bulldogs came to town, and a few people expected the Game3 cocks to put on a good show before conceding defeat to the Bulldogs, who were ranked 12th 2 nationally. To make matters worse, the Dawgs, - led by Vince Dooley, were coming off a last-second 26-23 win over Clemson on Kevin Butler's i last-second field goal. No one suspected this I would be the beginning of the roller coaster ride 1 of USC fans' lives. 1 Playing inspired football to a capacity home crowd, the Gamecocks found themselves tied at 1 1A 1A Rull/Wic lofo in flio innrfli " JLV7~.LV/ Wild A UIU iUUgilVJ X^uuuvgu iuvw ui wj.v ivvu w* 1 quarter. Deep in their own territory, the Game1 cocks were in need of a spark against the vaunt< ed'Dawg defense. Exit starting quarterback * Allen Mitchell. Enter reserve quarterback Mike - Hold. i sf , 411, ^|j^ \V* ^ j N ^ Hold, who did not play against the Citadel and saw limited action against Duke, unleashed a spectacular 62 yard pass to Ira Hillary that set up the winning touchdown and sent Carolina faithful into a frenzy that would last until season's end. Players celebrated on the field, and Georgia coach Vince Dooley remarked that the Gamecocks had taken his Bulldogs "to the woodshed." On the game breaking pass, Hold gave credit to Hillarv for the reception. "If I wouldn't have completed it, it would have been a horrible pass because he was wide open." The South Carolina Gamecocks, 3-0 for the first time in seven years, appeared in the national rankings for the first time with a tie for 20th in the UPI poll. The next week, the Kansas State Wildcats came to town to face the undefeated Gamecocks. South Carolina had no hangover effects in this one, as they drubbed the Big Eight doormat 4917. Running back Thomas Dendy scored two touchdowns for the Gamecocks as they improved their record to 4-0. The undefeated Gamecocks jumped to 14th in thp UPI noli and 17th in the AP. and excite ment was brewing in Columbia. The next weekend, the Gamecocks would take on the mighty Pittsburgh Panthers to close out their five-game homestand. A preseason pick among the nation's top five, the Panthers a. Mm ^ - -* *3smL km mrMB kIk^ : /IF S- I f, y w -JS Linebacker James Seawright were indeed "one of the big boys." If indeed there was a game to determine if the Gamecocks were for real, this was the one. South Carolina, behind 245 yards rushing and 198 passing yards, beat the vaunted Panthers in every phase of the game and used a 17point fourth quarter burst to blast Pitt 45-21. 73,100 fans saw the Gamecocks improve to 50, their best start in 56 years. Using what would turn out to be prophetic words, Pitt coach Serafino "Foge" Fazio said that the Gamecocks were for real. "They are a big play team who I think has top 10 potential." Now ranked 11th in the nation, the Gamecocks were for real. Tom Gadd, the defensive coordinator at the time, came up with a catchy nickname for the USC defense ? The Fire Ants. They were aptly named considering the smaller size of the defenders; however, Gadd was also referring to something else about his defense ? tenacity, quickness, and enthusiasm. The next week, South Carolina would take their first road trip of the season to battle a team with one of the most storied traditions in college football: the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. If history had any control on this day, the Gamecocks winning streak would come to a screeching halt. Many signaled that the mystique and tradition of playing at Notre Dame would be too much for the Gamecocks, but these people must not have realized that this was Cin