South Carolina Football: Top-5 Gamecock moments from modern Carolina-Clemson rivalry
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina Football vs. Clemson Top Rivalry Moments:
No. 3 2001: A Gamecock Oddysey
South Carolina football fans had witnessed the best turnaround in college football history (at the time) from 1999 to 2000 when the Gamecocks went from 0 wins to 8 in one season after an Outback Bowl victory over Ohio State.
Unfortunately, the regular season finale was a loss to the rival Tigers after a famous/infamous play known by one side of the rivalry as “The Catch” and the other side as “The Push Off.” It was Carolina’s 4th-straight loss in the series.
2001, though, saw the Gamecocks enter the Clemson game with the same number of wins as the previous season. Coming into the game, USC had won 7 games, but the Tigers stood in the way of their 8th.
Gamecock fans set a then-attendance record at Williams-Brice Stadium when Clemson rolled into town. Every one of those 85,000 fans was a factor in one of the loudest games in stadium history.
With South Carolina up a score in the 4th quarter, USC had the ball at the CU 2-yard line on 4th and goal. Lou Holtz elected to go for it, sending in his backup quarterback. The athletic Corey Jenkins had some memorable performances in spot duty earlier in the season (especially against Georgia), so it came as no surprise to see the veteran coach put him in the game.
Operating out of the wishbone, Jenkins kept the ball on a simple triple option and leaped over the submarining defensive line dressed in orange and white. He crossed the plane of the goal line, and the score put the game away for Carolina’s first win in the series since 1996. Several minutes later after the final whistle, cries of “It’s over!” echoed through Williams-Brice.
Sheldon Brown was the player of the game, picking off two Woody Danzler passes and recovering a late-game onside kick, and Jenkins’ touchdown was the play of the game.