The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 15, 1995, Gamecock Football, Page 7, Image 13
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Head coach Joe Morrison
derella's hall and the crlass slinner
was garnet and black.
After falling behind 26-14 in the
third quarter, USC's bubble had apparently
burst But after a touchdown
and a two-point conversion, the Gamecocks
were back in it, narrowing the
score to 26-22. Hold then proceeded
to direct a 75-yard drive, scrambling
the final 33 for a touchdown to give
Carolina a lead it would never relinquish.
Beating the Irish 36-32 in the
shadow of Touchdown Jesus, the South
Carolina Gamecocks were now 6-0.
Offensive guard Del Wilkes said
after the game that the Gamecocks
weren't intimidated by the Irish mystique.
"We heard so much about the
stadium and so much about Notre
Dame," he said. "But we knew we
weren't coming up here to play Knute
Rockne or the Four Horsemen, we
were coming to play the Golics and
the Beuerleins and the Pinketts."
After the come from behind victo
7 f'l
^ Warn
|l^B
Hl
Runningback Kant Hagood
ry at Notre Dame, the term "Black i
Magic" was coined for USC's im- c
probable victory. It would stick ?
throughout the season and is still re- 1
membered by Gamecock fans every- c
where. t
Carolina Fever had hit the midlands
and beyond, as the Cinderella {
team of 1984 had cracked the top ten i
and landed at number nine in the na- s
tional polls. j
Coming home against East Car- 1
olina, Carolina quickly found them- s
selves quickly down 10-7 to the game (
Pirates. Enter Mike Hold. Hold hit i
Ira Hillary on the first play upon en- 1
tering the game with a 71-yard touch- c
down pass and Carolina never looked (
back, racing to a 42-20 rout.
The win boosted the Gamecocks 1
to fifth in both wire polls and boosted t
the record breaking win streak to sev- 1
en games. c
On the road again, Carolina took 1
its Black Magic act to North Caroli- (
na State and trailed the Wolipack 15- f
3athalftime. In a comeback typical l
of the 1984 season, Carolina pound
ed State's defense in the second half f
for 423 yards, 20 first downs and 32 ?
points. It was a miracle to others, but .
Gamecock players, coaches and fans t
were used to it, for this was their year, t
The exhilaration of victory was
sobered by a broken leg suffered late c
in the game by leading rusher Kent {
Hagood. He gained 111 yards before v
he was injured, his second 100 yardplus
game. Carolina remained fifth j
in both wire service polls. t
The South Carolina Gamecocks ].
were 8-0 and headed for a New Year's r
TV 1 1 -#L1 -i?- 1 1
uay LHjwi, possmiy a national cnam- ?]
pionship. In arguably the biggest c
1984 GAMECOCKS m
use-31 Citadel-24
USC* 21 I Duke- 0
i USC -17 Georgia -10
use-49 Kansas State-17
USC-45 Pitt-21
uau - oo s; ivuue L/ajn? 5
USC - 42 E. Carolina - 20
USC-35 |NC State * 28
USC- 38 Florida State - 26
USC - 21: Navy - 38 Pi
USC - 22 Clemson - 21
USC - 14 |Okla. State -21
?ame in USC football history, the
Gamecocks were set to take on Bobby
Bowden's Florida State Seminoles in
WilUams-Brice stadium. TheSemiaoles
came into the game with a 6-11
record and a vaunted offense that
tiad the potential to put loads of points
mi the scoreboard.
A record crowd and an ABC national
television audience watched
South Carolina whip the Seminoles
38-26, all the while silencing the critics
who favored Florida State to win.
Fhe game wasn't even as close as the
score indicated, as USC raced to a 381
lead in front of75,000 Carolina fens.
It was the "Fire Ant" defense, credted
for much of USC's success, that
:ame through for USC. Led by free
safety Bryant Gilliard, the unit forced
line Seminole turnovers in the sec>nd
half, including a record seven interceptions.
After each touchdown, a sea of ormges
would litter the field from fans
n hope of a national championship
showdown in the Orange Bowl. Bowl
scouts indeed liked the Gamecocks for
their unmarked enthusiasm and fan
support as well. ESPN's Beano Cook
;ven went so far to say that if Carolila
won the next week's game at Navy,
hey would be a lock for the national
hampionship in Miami against either
Dklahoma or Oklahoma State.
The next week, the 9-0 and num>er
two-ranked Gamecocks traveled
to Annapolis, Maryland to play the
owly Navy Midshipmen. In what was
supposed to be a tune-up for the folowing
war versus Clemson, the Gamesocks
were treated to a loss that sent
11 11 . i i i .
inocK waves ail tne way oacK to uoumbia.
In true military fashion, Navy reused
to relinquish the battle, and ?
stealing a play from USC's playbook
? used enthusiasm, big plays and
heir opponent's mistakes to roll to a
18-21 upset over the Gamecocks.
"I think we just overlooked them,"
lefensive back Joe Brooks said after
he game. "We were looking more tovard
the Orange Bowl and Clemson."
USC's bubble had finally burst,
eaving them with a 9-1 record and
heir national chamDionshin hones all
>ut shattered. However, one game renamed:
A clash with the Clemson
rigers in Death Valley, who were still
lavoring a national championship of
their own. ri\
There was no doubt, this game mi
wasn't a gimme. Along with the fact to
of it being a heated rivalry, the odds- th
makers even favored the Tigers as a im
slight one- to two-point favorite.
Clemson, on probation, had no bowl tin
game to look forward to, and consid- Ca
ered this game their postseason play, de
Signs hanging from the upper deck pa
taunted the Gamecocks, issuing such Le
phrases as "Welcome to your Orange str
Bowl, South Carolina." Because of their boi
defeat a week earlier, the Gamecocks dei
had spoiled their chances at an ap- qu
pearaiice in Miami.
Going into the game, Clemson's se- toe
niors were 27-0 at Death Valley. The as
true seniors at Clemson had never lost 3:4
at home. To make matters worse for th<
Carolina, the Tigers ran down the hill ^
before the game in their fabled orange toi
pants. The Tigers were 10-0 in the or- An
ange britches. wo
Clemson raced to a 21-3 lead in the wa
second quarter, and it appeared that hai
the Gamecocks were still suffering m
from the effects of the Navy game; ^
however, Black Magic was not to be th<
denied, as USC battled back in the sec- ^ *
ond half to close the gap to 21-15. 21With
just minutes left in the game,
USC found itself with the ball at their ter
pa*
Hilti just minules lefl in Itie game. US
fheir own lfi-pd-line and 84 qards
mould summarize Hie season. Carolifli
ing and timing Hie ball miH
own 16-yard-line and 84 yards from ou*
victory. In a drive that would sum- 860
marize the season, Carolina raced
down the field, passing and throwing 000
the ball with a reckless abandon. With koi
54 seconds left, Hold dashed into the
end zone to cap off the drive and tie
the game. Scott Haglefs record 43rd 8111
extra point gave Carolina the improb- naj
able victory. Nu
Jubilant receiver Bill Bradshaw er ^
had this to say after the win: "If s the
greatest feeling I've ever had," Brad- P^
shawsaid. "It's so sweet after three ^
straight years. This is something a lot 863
of people aren't able to do ? beat them P^3
in those orange britches and take away ^
their winning streak at home. It's a 1113
super feeling." J
After the game, South Carolina was rea
rewarded for their stellar season with
an invitation to play in the Gator Bowl ^
on December 28 against the Oklahoma rei
State Cowboys. Despite the loss to ^rl
Navy, this was a fine reward for a man- ^
orable season. 8013
In the Gator Bowl, the South Car- ^
olina Gamecocks went up against an ^
Oklahoma State Cowboy team that tea- 618
tured such stars as Thurman Thomas, we
Leslie U'JNeal and Kusty Hilger. The 11 a
Cowboys, still smarting over a loss to ^a
me
ral Oklahoma, was more than a for
dableopponent The game was played
a partisan Gamecock crowd, wKh
e sea of black making an indelible
pression on all who were present
The Cowboys raced to a 13-0 half
le lead, but as the custom was in M
irolina got rolling quickly to close the
ficit to 13-7 on a 24-yard halfback
3s from Quintan Lewis to Chris Wade
nn 4-V* n? T*-V
as Lxiciii uvc iiiiiiuuca icxvci, v^oiuuiua
uck again as Hold threw a 57-yard
mb to Ira Hillary to give USC a sudti
14-13 lead to close out the third
arter.
As fate would have it, Carolina left
> much time on the clock this time,
the Cowboys mounted a drive with
1 left in the game. The Pokes moved
3 ball slowly upfield and with 1:54
t, the Cowboys were faced with a
irth-and-six situation. If the Fire
t defense could hold them now, they
iuld surely win the game, but this
s not to be Carolina's day, and OSU
i a first down. Finally, with 1:04 left
the game, Cowboy tight end Barry
nnah caught a pass and tiptoed down
} sideline for a 25 yard touchdown,
wo-point conversion made the score
14, Oklahoma State.
Carolina's last minute comeback atopt
was stopped by an intercepted
3S with 54 seconds left and OSU ran
C found ilself with lite ball ar
from victory. In o drive \M
a raced doinn toe field nass
i] iiTh wTi rrnrn
; the clock. USC suffered only their
ond loss of the season, 21-14.
Despite the bowl loss, thel984 Gamek
football team was recognized natially
for their efforts. The late Joe
irrison was named national coach of
syear. Offensive guard Del Wilkes
1 linebacker James Seawright were
ned to the AP Ail-American team,
merous other players received othlonors.
For a team that was not even pxrted
to have a winning season, the
34 team defied all odds to end the
son with a 10-2 record and an 11th
ce finish nationally (both were school
ords). The squad captured the imagtion
of thousands and led their fans
a level of excitement never before
iched.
Mike Bender, who was the offene
line coach of the ^ team and curltly
holds the same position at
tansas, had this to say about the *84
lerience: "Without a doubt, that seai
was the most exciting, most exhiliting,
and most satisfying of my *a
; coaching career. The young playon
that team were so special; there
re no dominating players, they did
is a unit The 1984 season at South
rolina is truly my most cherished
mory in the coaching profession."