South Carolina Football: Ranking the top plays in Gamecock history
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina Football’s No. 10 Greatest Play of All-Time:
Mike Hold to Raynard Brown vs. Pittsburgh
The Situation: The Gamecocks were on the road against the Pitt Panthers in 1985, and the Panthers were out for revenge after Carolina beat them the year before. Unfortunately, for Gamecock fans, Pitt was a much better team than Carolina was that season, and the Gamecocks lost in lopsided fashion.
Impressiveness: This play is outrageously impressive. The individual effort from Mike Hold is one of the best quarterback plays in college football history as evidenced by the play’s inclusion in ESPN’s “Plays of the Decade” for the 1980s. After the ball bounced off the hands of Anthony Smith, Raynard Brown made a quick-reflexed play and then outraced the defense for the score.
Impact: Sadly, the impact on this play was virtually zero. Pittsburgh blew out the road Gamecocks 42-7 as Brown’s touchdown was the only score for South Carolina football that day.
Improbability: In terms of improbability and uniqueness, this play ranks pretty highly. Very few times in Gamecock history has a quarterback even escaped pressure in such a wild fashion, let alone thrown an Immaculate Reception-lite touchdown after the fact.