South Carolina Football: Top-5 Gamecock moments from modern Carolina-Clemson rivalry
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina Football vs. Clemson Top Rivalry Moments:
No. 4 Brilliant Brison, Cooper to Wilds, and “High Five, Dabo!”
Under Steve Spurrier, the South Carolina football program reached new heights and was a few unfortunate plays away from competing in the SEC Championship game (with a shot at the National Championship game on the line) in three straight seasons.
A butt-sliding catch for Auburn and a clock operator error in the same game in 2011, an uncharacteristic 2-interception game from Connor Shaw against LSU in 2012, and a ridiculous helmet-catch by Tennessee’s Marquez North in 2013 kept the best team in the SEC East (and maybe the entire conference) out of the title game three years in a row.
While USC missed out on those trophies from 2011-2013, they were in the midst of a nice streak of wins for another one. From 2009-2013, the South Carolina Gamecocks owned the in-state rivalry over Clemson. Each one of the Palmetto Bowl matchups was a double-digit victory for the good guys.
The 2013 contest arguably was the most competitive of the five wins, and it produced two massive in-game moments and an ongoing “moment” during the offseason that all sit in high places in South Carolina football history.
The game started with what looked to be a sure Clemson touchdown as Tiger wide receiver Sammy Watkins attempted a double-pass to a wide-open Adam Humphries. Or at least, he seemed wide-open. Backside safety Brison Williams read the play better than anyone else in the stadium and flew in from across the field to intercept the pass in the end zone.
Then, with Clemson hoping to get a late-game stop on 3rd down, Steve Spurrier dialed up some brilliance. Freshman wide receiver and wildcat quarterback Pharoh Cooper took the snap, faked the QB power, and pulled up. Instead of blocking, running back Brandon Wilds faked the block and leaked through the line for a dump-off pass for the 1st down…except no one from Clemson could catch up to Wilds, and he scampered all the way to the end zone to put the game away. “Chaos! Chaos in Williams-Brice!” was the appropriate call from play-by-play man Todd Ellis.
After the win, Gamecock fans were on cloud nine. Multiple times during the offseason, South Carolina football fans would ask Clemson fans for pictures, only to covertly hold up five fingers. The best of these photos came when Gamecock fans got Clemson coach Dabo Swinney with the troll. A number of offseason pictures with the caption “High Five, Dabo!” circulated the internet.
Gamecock fans didn’t quite realize how good they had it back then.