South Carolina Football: Ranking the top plays in Gamecock history
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina Football’s No. 3 Greatest Play of All-Time:
Connor Shaw to Bruce Ellington on 4th and 15 vs. Missouri
The Situation: Coming off of a heartbreaking, last-second loss on the road against Tennessee, South Carolina football was again on the road against top-5 and undefeated Missouri. Connor Shaw’s injured knee was too banged up to play, and Dylan Thompson started at quarterback. Thompson was not on his game and struggled tremendously.
The Gamecocks were down 17-0 in the 4th quarter, and Shaw was brought into the ball game, essentially playing on one leg. He led an astounding comeback (including this ridiculous throw-and-catch with Bruce Ellington) and pushed the game to overtime. Missouri scored to make the score 24-17, and Carolina had the ball on 4th and goal from the 15 with the game in the balance.
Impressiveness: The pass from Connor Shaw was perfect and much further than one might think because it was thrown across the field. However, the throw is significantly more impressive because Shaw had a sprained knee on his plant foot. It’s a wonder he was able to throw the ball with enough velocity to score on the play.
Impact: Without the score, the Gamecocks lose to Missouri. It also preserved a third-straight 11-win season in Columbia. Shaw and Ellington kept one of Carolina’s best-ever seasons alive, and had another team been able to beat Missouri that year, the Gamecocks would have represented the SEC East in the SEC Championship Game with a spot in the National Championship on the line.
Improbability: According to data from the National Football League, professional teams convert on 4th and 17 or longer at a rate less than 12% (with almost half of those conversions coming on a penalty). While the college game is not the NFL, the numbers are likely pretty similar, meaning that the successful 4th and 17 play (without aid of a defensive penalty) sits right around 6%.
Add to the fact that the Gamecocks needed a touchdown and the game was, quite literally, over if the conversion was missed, and Shaw to Ellington becomes an extremely improbable play. Oh, yeah. And the quarterback was playing on one leg and threw the ball to a basketball player.