South Carolina Football’s GOAT Series: Top-10 greatest defenses of all-time

South Carolina Football’s Greatest Defense of All-Time:
1987

The 1987 defense takes the title as the greatest defense in Gamecock history. While not as talented as some of the defenses that played for Steve Spurrier or Lou Holtz, the ’87 group performed at a higher level than any other Carolina defense as they gave up under 240 yards per game in a newly offensive college football landscape of the late ’80s.

The 1987 South Carolina defense had the best nickname to go along with its best on-field performance. The “Black Death” defense was the real deal and carried the Gamecocks to a solid season against a brutal schedule. Carolina held seven of its twelve opponents to 10 or fewer points, and they held nine different teams to 13 points or fewer. All four of the Gamecocks’ losses in ’87 came away from home to top-20 opponents, and those games were also the only four contests in which a Gamecock opponent scored more than 12 points.

In short, the Black Death defense was dominant. All-Americans Roy Hart (defensive tackle) and Brad Edwards (safety) led the charge, but an astonishing five more Carolina defenders were all-conference players. The ’87 team set a school record with five different games simultaneously scoring 30+ points and holding the opponent to single-digit scoring.