Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years: 40. South Carolina
(Lil Jon Voice) "Cocks, Cocks, Cocks Cocks Cocks Cocks"
We are now in the TOP 40. Just 40 teams left, we’ve gone through 91. What a ride it’s been, let’s finish strong.
Ok, now every South Carolina fan say “Thank you Mr. Spurrier.” Without the 2011-13 seasons, South Carolina would’ve fallen all the way to #57. Instead, they’re up to #40 and 9th in the SEC. South Carolina’s not a particularly dominant program historically, winning just 1 conference title and 1 division title, but in the last 40 years and more specifically since 1980, have a Heisman winner, 2 number 1 draft picks, and 6 AP Top 15 finishes. They also have one of the most epic kickoff songs in the nation with “Sandstorm” (SoNg NaMe?) playing in front of 82,000 fans.
Best Seasons and Highlights
+------+----------------+------+--------------+--------+
| rank | team | year | resume score | record |
+------+----------------+------+--------------+--------+
| 6 | South Carolina | 2013 | 39.38 | 11-2 |
| 9 | South Carolina | 2012 | 37.482 | 11-2 |
| 12 | South Carolina | 2011 | 35.399 | 11-2 |
| 10 | South Carolina | 1984 | 22.869 | 10-2 |
| 17 | South Carolina | 1987 | 20.793 | 8-4 |
| 23 | South Carolina | 2010 | 17.087 | 9-5 |
| 18 | South Carolina | 2001 | 16.713 | 9-3 |
| 25 | South Carolina | 2000 | 13.429 | 8-4 |
| 30 | South Carolina | 2017 | 13.158 | 9-4 |
| 34 | South Carolina | 2006 | 11.15 | 8-5 |
| 36 | South Carolina | 2022 | 7.684 | 8-5 |
| 34 | South Carolina | 1989 | 4.849 | 6-4-1 |
| 34 | South Carolina | 2005 | 4.215 | 7-5 |
| 41 | South Carolina | 1988 | 3.287 | 8-4 |
| 50 | South Carolina | 2014 | 1.197 | 7-6 |
| 49 | South Carolina | 2007 | 1.053 | 6-6 |
| 51 | South Carolina | 2009 | 0.686 | 7-6 |
| 50 | South Carolina | 2018 | -0.94 | 7-6 |
| 50 | South Carolina | 2008 | -1.041 | 7-6 |
| 47 | South Carolina | 1990 | -1.721 | 6-5 |
| 40 | South Carolina | 1994 | -1.994 | 7-5 |
| 42 | South Carolina | 1996 | -3.026 | 6-5 |
| 50 | South Carolina | 2004 | -6.689 | 6-5 |
| 64 | South Carolina | 2021 | -7.789 | 7-6 |
| 54 | South Carolina | 1992 | -8.496 | 5-6 |
| 50 | South Carolina | 1991 | -10.116 | 3-6-2 |
| 58 | South Carolina | 1997 | -11.081 | 5-6 |
| 64 | South Carolina | 2003 | -11.861 | 5-7 |
| 58 | South Carolina | 1986 | -12.076 | 3-6-2 |
| 71 | South Carolina | 2016 | -13.675 | 6-7 |
| 60 | South Carolina | 1983 | -14.944 | 5-6 |
| 79 | South Carolina | 2019 | -15.13 | 4-8 |
| 64 | South Carolina | 1995 | -16.578 | 4-6-1 |
| 69 | South Carolina | 2002 | -16.827 | 5-7 |
| 69 | South Carolina | 1993 | -20.361 | 4-7 |
| 70 | South Carolina | 1985 | -21.424 | 5-6 |
| 89 | South Carolina | 2015 | -25.896 | 3-9 |
| 115 | South Carolina | 2020 | -36.174 | 2-8 |
| 102 | South Carolina | 1998 | -44.862 | 1-10 |
| 110 | South Carolina | 1999 | -56.339 | 0-11 |
+------+----------------+------+--------------+--------+
Overall Score: 22958 (40th)249-223-6 record
0 conference titles
10-10 bowl record
3 consensus All-Americans
109 NFL players drafted
Just 249 wins, 0 conference titles, 3 consensus All-Americans…what gives, South Carolina? Plenty of great players have come through Columbia, but just didn’t quite do enough to get on the consensus AA teams. Also, South Carolina’s success is very concentrated in short spurts, namely 2011-13. SCar had a whopping 19 players drafted from 2012-15, averaging 4.8 players per draft, compared to 90 the rest of the 36 years, just 2.5 players per draft. The 3 consensus AAs were OL Del Wilkes (1984), DL Melvin Ingram (2011), and DE Jadeveon Clowney (2012). I also have to give a shoutout to QB Stephen Garcia, who was nowhere close to ever being an All-American, but completed 85% of passes with 3 TD in a win over #1 Alabama in 2010. The top players in the NFL have been DE John Abraham, WR Sterling Sharpe, CB Stephon Gilmore, DE Jadeveon Clowney, DE Melvin Ingram, DB Johnathan Joseph, WR Alshon Jeffery, and K Ryan Succop.
Top 5 Seasons
Worst Season: 1999 (0-11 overall, 0-8 SEC)
The 3 amigos (head coach Lou Holtz, offensive coordinator Skip Holtz, and defensive coordinator Charlie Strong) combined forces to bring South Carolina their first winless season in over 100 years. It wasn’t really their fault though, they were hired because South Carolina won just 1 game the previous year. Holtz would go on to win 8 games and SEC Coach of the Year in 2000. But in 1999 they had one of the worst offenses in Power 5/6 history, averaging just 7.9 PPG. In 9 of their 11 games, they scored 10 points or less. Unsurprisingly, they saved their best performance of the season for the Palmetto Bowl, losing 21-31 to Clemson after only being down by 3 points in the 4th quarter. A 30 yard Clemson passing TD on 4th and 10 with 6 minutes to go was the dagger. A 10-11 loss to Vanderbilt just a few weeks earlier, with both teams gaining less than 200 yards, was a riveting affair. 5 QBs played for South Carolina, with their stats as follows: Phil Petty 45% completions 1 TD 7 INT, Mikal Goodman 49% 3 TD 1 INT, Kevin Sides 30% 0 TD 4 INT, Kyle Crabb 32% 0 TD 3 INT, Josh Rogers 20% 0 TD 0 INT, for a combined team passing resume of 42% completions for 4 TD 16 INT.
5. 1987 (8-4 overall, Independent)
Despite winning 10 games in 1984, many South Carolina fans felt that 1987 was the most talented Joe Morrison-coached team, the Gamecocks’ head man from 1983-88. As you can see in my resume score, the 8-4 1987 team was pretty close to the 10-2 1984 team in terms of resume. A 2-2 start was just 2-0 vs FCS teams and 0-2 vs FBS teams, but those 2 losses were 6-13 to #20 Georgia and 21-30 to #2 Nebraska. The Gamecocks looked like one of the best teams in the country over the next 2 months, going 6-0 with wins over 8-4 Virginia, 7-4 Wake Forest, and #8 Clemson. The average score over those 6 games was a whopping 38-7! At that point, South Carolina was 8-2 and #8 in the country, but would lose a close game to #2 Miami (FL) then fall to #7 LSU in the Gator Bowl. The AP Poll took note of the strength of schedule in their 8-4 record, and ranked them #15 to end the season. The team had plenty of talent. QB Todd Ellis had flat out awful stats with just 10 TD and 24 INT, but was 3rd in the nation in passing yards with 3206 and is on the Mount Rushmore of Gamecock QBs. Fortunately he had 3rd Team All-American WR Sterling Sharpe to throw to, who ended up being a borderline Hall of Fame player in the NFL. DL Roy Hart and DB Brad Edwards were 2nd and 3rd Team All-Americans, respectively, on defense. Unfortunately, Morrison passed away unexpectedly in 1989, and we never saw the true heights he could’ve brought the program to.
4. 1984 (10-2 overall, Independent)
Maybe the most memorable season in South Carolina history. Nicknamed “Black Magic” for their black jerseys, the 1984 team became the first in school history to win 10 games, and was on a quest for perfection. The Gamecocks, despite starting unranked, would rise all the way to #2 with a 9-0 start, beating #12 Georgia 17-10, Pittsburgh 45-21, Notre Dame 36-32, and #11 Florida State 38-26. Then, in perhaps the biggest upset of the season, 3-5-1 Navy took a 38-7 lead on #2 South Carolina, winning 38-14. Still, they kept their heads on straight, and in the Palmetto Bowl, South Carolina rallied from a 3-21 deficit against Clemson to win 22-21. South Carolina had actually missed the go-ahead extra point with 54 seconds left, but Black Magic struck again, as a Clemson penalty gave them a retry which they’d hit to win by 1 point. South Carolina lost to #9 Oklahoma State in the Gator Bowl, but still finished the year #11. OL Del Wilkes and LB James Seawright were both 1st Team All-Americans, and DB Bryant Gilliard was 2nd in the nation with 9 interceptions. Joe Morrison was the Walter Camp Coach of the Year.
3. 2011 (11-2 overall, 6-2 SEC)
But according to my algorithm, no South Carolina team comes close to the early 2010’s. I remember South Carolina being scary during this era, seemingly able to beat anyone in the country on any given week. Coming off their first division title in school history, SCar was ranked #12 to start the season. RB Marcus Lattimore was projected to be one of the best players in the country, rushing for nearly 300 yards and 4 TD in opening wins over East Carolina and Georgia. They had a pretty favorable schedule, starting 7-1 but just 2 wins over teams that finished with a winning record. #10 South Carolina would lose on the road to #8 Arkansas, but was perfect after that, beating Florida, #18 Clemson 34-13, and #21 Nebraska 30-13 in the Capital One Bowl. Do not forget, those Spurrier-coached South Carolina teams always showed up to play vs Clemson, they had Dabo’s number.
With starting QB Stephen Garcia struggling on the field and causing trouble off the field, he was dismissed from the team at midseason and Connor Shaw took over as the starter over the next 3 years. Shaw threw 14 TD 6 INT while rushing for another 8 TD. Unfortunately, Lattimore would suffer a season-ending knee injury after just 7 games, but still ran for 818 yards and 10 TD. I mean, WR Alshon Jeffery was playing at the time too, this team had some DOGS. Defensive linemen Melvin Ingram and Jadeveon Clowney were coming off the edge, combining for 18 sacks with Ingram earning consensus All-American honors and Clowney winning SEC Freshman of the Year. Future NFL Defensive POTY CB Stephon Gilmore had 4 interceptions, and S DJ Swearinger liked to hit people.
2. 2012 (11-2 overall, 6-2 SEC)
2012 was the year of Jadeveon Clowney, who became the face of the program. Clowney, a sophomore, was the former #1 recruit in the nation, and is one of just 5 recruits in history to have a perfect 1.000 recruit rating. In 2012 he took over, racking up 13 sacks, 10.5 TFL, and one major hit we’ll get to, earning consensus All-American honors and winning the Ted Hendricks Award. South Carolina opened with the highest preseason ranking in school history at #9, opening with a 6-0 record. #5 South Carolina hosted #6 Georgia for ESPN College GameDay, and the Cocks completely dominated, looking like the best team in the country winning 35-7. Rising all the way up to #3, SCar looked like a legit national title contender until dropping 2 straight to #9 LSU and #3 Florida to fall to #17. They won out in the regular season though, and as usual, Clemson didn’t want that smoke, the Gamecocks beating the #12 Tigers 27-17 in Death Valley. Down 21-22 to Michigan in the bowl game with 8 minutes to go, South Carolina came up with a huge 4th down stop, except the refs didn’t see it, and gave Michigan the first down. Spurrier and the SCar sideline were furious. Thus leading to the biggest karmic justice moment in college football history…”WHAT A HIT! BALL IS FREE! ON THE GROUND! South Carolina deserves to have it, and they do!” Clowney ran unblocked at RB Vincent Smith, popping both the ball and Smith’s helmet off, and picked up the loose ball for South Carolina. SCar would come back to win 33-28 to finish the year #8 and complete back-to-back 11-2 seasons.
Like I mentioned earlier, Clowney won a host of awards and was the second most talked about player in the country only behind Johnny Manziel. Surprisingly Clowney was the only South Carolina player to make 1st Team All-SEC. QBs Connor Shaw and Dylan Thompson split time, Shaw completing 68% for 1956 yards 17 TD 7 INT with 435 rushing yards and 3 TD, and Thompson completing 52% for 1027 yards 10 TD 2 INT. RB Marcus Lattimore unfortunately suffered a career-ending injury against Tennessee, and finished his time at South Carolina with 3444 yards and 41 TD in just 29 games. Because he was so talented though, the San Francisco 49ers used a 4th round NFL Draft pick on him for the slight chance at recovery. 6 other South Carolina players were drafted that year as well.
1. 2013 (11-2 overall, 6-2 SEC)
South Carolina was so scary during this era because they seemed to keep getting better. In the opening 27-10 win over North Carolina, Clowney was unimpressive, and would not post his usual stats in 2013, facing lots of double teams. South Carolina didn’t have the start they were hoping, falling to just #20 at 5-2, but rebounded in a big way with a road win over #5 Missouri. In the Palmetto Bowl it was the first time in the rivalry’s history it featured both teams in the top 10, with #6 Clemson vs #10 South Carolina, and once again, Spurrier had Dabo’s number, beating Clemson for the 5th straight time 31-17. I think newer fans who have seen Clemson’s dominance think of Nick Saban and Alabama as Dabo’s kryptonite, but for a good bit of time it was Spurrier and South Carolina who OWNED Clemson, no matter the time or place. Because the SEC was so stacked, even though they went 10-2 for the third straight year they still weren’t invited to a BCS Bowl, and settled for beating #19 Wisconsin in the Capital One Bowl. South Carolina had their highest postseason ranking in school history at #4, and I had them at #6 in my rankings.
QB Connor Shaw finally blossomed into the full-time starting QB, and left no crumbs, throwing for 2447 yards with 24 TD to just 1 INT, to go with 558 rushing yards and 6 TD. RB Mike Davis had a very productive 2nd Team All-SEC season with 1535 yards and 11 TD from scrimmage, and WR Bruce Ellington who played on both the football and basketball teams had 775 receiving yards and 8 TD. DE Jadeveon Clowney (3 sacks 8.5 TFL) and DT Kelcy Quarles (9.5 sacks 4 TFL) were both 1st Team All-Americans on a defense that ranked 12th in the country in PPG allowed.
2013 South Carolina is my 188th best team since 1983.
5th Quarter
What are your thoughts on South Carolina? Do they deserve to be this high, over Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri, etc.? What’d you think of those 2011-13 Spurrier teams? How good was Marcus Lattimore, and how good was Clowney in college? Is Connor Shaw the most underrated QB in SEC history? Why didn’t South Carolina use those years as a jumping off point to becoming an elite program? If Joe Morrison doesn’t unexpectedly pass away in 1989, would he have made them elite? Who’s a player/play/game I didn’t mention that you are fond of? Who’s next in the list?
Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years - Main Hub
If you didn't see Marcus Lattimore play, you missed out. We'd be talking about where he is among the NFL's all-time greats had he stayed healthy.