Tuesday, Nov. 09, 2010

Morris: 5 most important games in USC history

IT IS KIND of sad. For most SEC schools, finding the five most important games in program history is a sorting-out process. At South Carolina, it involves scrounging around.

In fairness, part of that has to do with the fact USC was not affiliated with a conference from 1972 through 1991. As a result, USC went two decades without competing for a championship.

Few bowl-game victories and only a handful of end-of-season rankings compound the problem of finding important games in USC history. In its ninth try, USC won a bowl game with a victory against West Virginia in the 1995 Carquest Bowl. The Gamecocks have finished in the final rankings five times, with No. 11 being the highest finish, following the 1984 season.

With all that knowledge, here goes. The five most important games in USC football history:

An SEC East Division championship is at stake. A berth in the SEC championship game is on the line. There are no qualifying factors. USC can win a championship, plain and simple. This is the first time USC has had a chance to win a championship outright in one game.

In 2000, if USC had defeated Florida, the two teams would have finished in a tie atop the SEC East. USC would have won the tiebreaker and advanced to the championship game. Florida won 41-21.

In 1967, USC had a chance to force a three-way tie for the ACC championship with a win over Clemson in the final game of the regular season. But Clemson won 23-12. N.C. State finished second and USC was third.

Only 25,000 fans attended the game on a snowy afternoon at Groves Stadium in Winston-Salem, but it turned out to be a historic day for USC football.

Quarterback Tommy Suggs completed eight of 15 passes for 96 yards and three touchdowns. All three touchdowns were set up by Wake Forest turnovers; the Demon Deacons turned the ball over nine times in the game.

At about the same time USC was turning back Wake Forest 24-6, Clemson was losing up Tobacco Road in Chapel Hill to North Carolina. The combination of a USC win and Clemson loss clinched the only championship in Gamecocks football history.

A week later, USC waved its ACC championship banner in the face of Clemson with a 27-13 victory.

USC basked in the national spotlight in back-to-back games early in the 1980 season, first losing at fourth-ranked Southern California then playing before 104,213 fans in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Michigan entered the game ranked 17{+t}{+h} and appeared to have the game in hand with a 14-3 halftime lead. But George Rogers and USC came alive in the second half and rallied to win 17-14.

Rogers carried the ball 36 times for 142 yards and propelled himself into the Heisman Trophy picture. He eventually won the Heisman, and USC rolled to an 8-4 record. Michigan did not lose again, defeated Washington in the Rose Bowl and finished No. 4 in the country.

USC entered this showdown unbeaten in eight games and ranked fourth. Florida State was 6-1-1 and ranked No. 11. A then Williams-Brice Stadium record crowd of 75,000, a national television audience and Orange Bowl scouts were treated to a stirring 38-26 USC victory.

USC rolled to a 38-7 lead behind Thomas Dendy, who scored on touchdown runs of 57 and 2 yards and finished with 113 yards rushing. Raynard Brown returned the second-half kickoff for a touchdown. On defense, USC forced nine Florida State turnovers. The Gamecocks intercepted seven passes, including four by Bryant Gilliard.

The win gave USC nine wins in a season for the first time in program history.

Some might claim a USC loss the following week to lowly Navy was more important to the program’s future, but let’s not be cruel.

West Virginia carried a 7-0 record, 13-game winning streak and No. 8 ranking into this game against a USC team that was unranked and 5-2.

USC under coach Rex Enright broke out a new 6-1-1-3 defense designed to stop West Virginia’s split-T offense. It worked as West Virginia managed two touchdowns in USC’s 20-14 victory.

Quarterback Johnny Gramling was USC’s star with two touchdown runs and another through the air. USC was a passing team most of the season but stayed on the ground in this game; Gramling completed two of eight passes.

USC defeated Wofford the following week and was invited to play in the Sun Bowl. Enright and USC declined the invitation then lost to Wake Forest in the season finale. USC finished the season ranked in the final poll for the first time, at No. 15.

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