South Carolina Football: Ranking the top-15 offensive performances in Gamecock history

In the up-and-down history of South Carolina football, there have been tons of memorable moments. Heartbreak has been at the center of many of these moments (“The Push-Off” vs. Clemson or the “Marquez North Catch” vs. Tennessee come to mind), but contrary to public perception, there have been positive moments in Carolina football history, as well.

Some of these positive times have been complete team efforts, but others have come at the hands of heroic efforts from specific players. But which players have put up the best single-game performances in the history of South Carolina football? For the purpose of this ranking, some of these performances will be from individual players, and some will be combo efforts that were just too hard to exclude.

Honorable Mention

George Rogers goes for 600: The 1980 Heisman Trophy winner was dominant. However, King George was consistently dominant and rarely put together an eye-popping stat line. Rogers rushed for at least 93 yards in every game of his final two seasons in Columbia and finished his career with 21 straight games going over 100 yards.

His top rushing totals came in three different seasons as he turned in three separate 200-yard performances. As a sophomore against Wake Forest, Rogers went for 237 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Gamecock blowout. In 1979, as a junior, Big George broke down the NC State defense for 217 yards and a touchdown in a closer victory. In his Heisman-winning 1980 senior season, Rogers went for 224 yards and a score against old ACC rival Duke.

Juice Wells vs. Clemson:  The week after going off against Tennessee, Antwane “Juice” Wells had a second dominant performance against another orange foe. The Clemson Tigers had no answer for #3 in Memorial Stadium in 2022 as Juice had 9 catches for 131 yards and two touchdowns. Those numbers are great, but what made Juice special against the in-state rival was the manner in which he put up those stats. Clemson was focused on stopping Wells, but it didn’t matter. Against man, against zone, against brackets, and against double teams, he got open.

He scored two huge touchdowns, but his most impressive play came on a simple gain of five yards. After taking the lead and in need of a first down to ice the game, Gamecock center Eric Douglas and quarterback Spencer Rattler implored offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield to “get the ball to Juice.” They did, and the dynamic receiver broke two tackles to convert the first down and seal the ball game in Carolina’s favor for the first time since 2013.

Ron Bass vs. North Carolina: Jeff Grantz’s backup at quarterback, Ron Bass had his best day against rival North Carolina. When Grantz missed the game with an injury, Bass stepped in and stepped up with a big day on the ground. He picked up 211 yards running the option for head coach Paul Dietzel. The Gamecocks beat the Tar Heels that day despite only completing one pass.

Dylan Thompson vs. Clemson: A game no one saw coming was “The Dylan Thompson Game” (sometimes called the “Jadeveon Clowney Game”). Shortly before kickoff of the 2012 Clemson game in Memorial Stadium, Connor Shaw was officially ruled out, and Thompson was called on to start. The Bowling Springs native had played more snaps than most backups as Shaw had missed some time at other points that year, but he really struggled his last time out against Florida.

Thompson certainly did not struggle against the Tigers. On the contrary, he threw for over 300 yards and 3 touchdowns against a very good Clemson defense. He also added 38 yards on the ground, including 3 first downs and a 3rd and 19 conversion that set up the final score that sealed the Gamecocks’ fourth-straight victory in the rivalry series.

Michael Scarnecchia vs. Missouri: One of the most memorable games of the Will Muschamp era was a monsoon-altered contest in which backup quarterback Michael Scarnecchia filled in for injured starter Jake Bentley against Missouri in 2018. Many fans of many other teams would have left during the halftime torrential downpour, especially with their team trailing with a backup quarterback in the game, but the Gamecock faithful were loud and made a difference.

The rain was strong, but Scarnecchia’s play was stronger. He ended the game 20-35 for 249 yards and 3 touchdowns in the only extensive action of his career despite playing much of the game with a soaking wet football. The back-and-forth affair saw Scarnecchia get the ball back with 1:18 to go with his team trailing. #12 led the Gamecocks down the field for the game-winning kick from Parker White.

Kenny McKinley, Zola Davis, Deebo Samuel, Tori Gurley, and Bryan Edwards share a record: Five of the best receivers in South Carolina football history share the record for the most catches in a game.

Zola Davis was the first Gamecock to catch 14 balls for Carolina as he logged 206 yards and a score against Vanderbilt.

Kenny McKinley matched Davis’ 14 catches in the 2007 Tennessee game when he went off for 151 yards and a touchdown.

Like Davis, Tori Gurley had 14 catches against Vanderbilt. He picked up 112 yards and a touchdown, but he would have had 15 grabs (and the record all to himself) if a penalty didn’t call one completion back.

Deebo Samuel had 14 catches for 190 yards and a score against South Florida in the Birmingham Bowl.

The most recent 14-catch game belongs to Bryan Edwards who tied the record against Vanderbilt. He had 139 yards and a touchdown.

Marcus Lattimore vs. Kentucky: As a freshman, Marcus Lattimore took the college football world by storm. One of his best performances came against the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington. #21 was dynamic in both the running and passing games as he put up over 210 yards of offense and 3 touchdowns before leaving the game with an ankle injury. Without Lattimore, the offense sputtered, and the defense couldn’t hold on to a late-game 28-10 lead, so the Gamecocks lost.

Connor Shaw vs. Clemson: The greatest quarterback to ever wear the garnet and black saved some of his best performances for the rival Tigers. Shaw was 2-0 against Clemson as the starter and the Gamecocks were 4-0 against their upstate rivals while Shaw was on the team.

In 2011, just a half-season into being the full-time starter, Shaw put on a show against the Tigers. #14 threw for 210 yards and 3 touchdowns while adding over 100 yards and a touchdown on the ground. In 2013 (he missed the 2012 game with an injury), Shaw put up 250 yards of offense and two touchdowns despite coach Steve Spurrier’s intentional plan to run as few plays as possible in an effort to keep Clemson’s offense off the field.

Mike Davis vs. UCF: Marcus Lattimore’s successor doesn’t get enough credit for how good he was with the Gamecocks. In 2013, Davis took over as the full-time starter and was an All-SEC performer. His best game of the year came on the road against an elite Central Florida team. Davis carried the ball 26 times for 167 yards and three scores to lead the Gamecocks to victory. It was the Knights’ only loss of the year.

Sterling Sharpe vs. Virginia schools:  In back-to-back weeks in 1987, Sterling Sharpe made life miserable for college football fans from the state of Virginia. Against Virginia Tech, the now-retired #2 jersey crossed the goal line 3 times as a rusher, and against Virginia, Sharpe had over 100 yards receiving and scored 2 59-yard touchdowns, including a massive punt return score to put the game out of reach. The Gamecocks beat the Hokies and Cavaliers by a combined score of 98-20.

Steve Taneyhill vs. Kent State: Though not against premium competition, the Gamecocks’ mullett-clad gunslinger was extremely impressive against Kent State in 1995. #19 went 20 of 24 for 263 yards and 4 touchdowns against the Golden Flashes. At the time, Taneyhill’s performance was the most efficient passing performance (by completion percentage) in program history.

Rico Dowdle vs. Western Carolina: True freshman running back Rico Dowdle was really good in an injury-limited 2016 season. The offense struggled most of the season, and the defense was undermanned, so even against the Western Carolina Catamounts, it took a herculean effort from Dowdle to pull out the victory. Despite relatively poor offensive line play in the game, the converted high school quarterback Dowdle rushed for 226 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries to lead the ‘Cocks to just a two-score victory and grant USC bowl eligibility.

Alshon Jeffery vs. Kentucky: As a true freshman in 2009, Alshon Jeffery had his breakout game against the Kentucky Wildcats when he caught 7 balls for 138 yards and 3 touchdowns, including two one-handed scores. As it turned out, the Gamecocks needed every bit of #1’s production as Carolina won a closer-than-it-should-have-been game against the Wildcats.

Connor Shaw vs. Missouri: No, not that Missouri game. Connor Shaw must be pretty high up Missouri fans’ most-hated list as the Gamecock captain torched the Tigers both times he played them. In his first game against Mizzou, Shaw broke Steve Taneyhill’s completion percentage record with a 20/21 performance. In addition to his efficiency, he racked up 290 yards of offense and a couple of touchdowns in the 2012 victory.