South Carolina Football: Ranking the top-10 defensive performances in Gamecock history
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina Football’s No. 2 Greatest Defensive Performance of All-Time:
Bryant Gilliard vs. Florida State
The 1984 matchup with Florida State was highly anticipated as the upstart Gamecocks met up with national power Florida State when both teams were ranked inside the top-11 in the country. 5th-ranked South Carolina was undefeated and welcomed the 1-loss Seminoles to Williams-Brice Stadium for the contest.
The game initially looked to be a blowout in favor of the Gamecocks as the home team was leading 24-7 in the third quarter after a kickoff return by Raynard Brown, but the Seminoles came storming back in the second half. Bobby Bowden’s team scored 19 points in the second half, but safety Bryant Gilliard kept it from becoming much worse.
After star linebacker James Seawright left the game with an injury, Gilliard picked off four passes in the second half of the game and recovered a Florida State fumble. His five takeaways were a school record, and his four interceptions tied a record. Carolina’s defense was getting gashed by the ‘Noles in the second half, so without Gilliard’s takeaways, Florida State very well may have come all the way back.
Instead, South Carolina pulled off the win and went on to have one the best seasons in school history.