Carolina/Clemson 1987/1981

Here is the intro to the 1987 game...

USC: November 21, 1987. That was the intro to one of the bigger match-ups between USC and Clemson (at least when it comes to national rankings). The Gamecocks entered the game ranked #12 while the Tigers were ranked #8. The Gamecock captains that year were Sterling Sharpe and Brad Edwards. Clemson’s defense that year included senior Michael Dean Perry, but it was the Gamecock defense that stole the game with 3 interceptions. Tiger QB Rodney Williams left the field that night to the taunting chants of “Rod-ney, Rod-ney, Rod-ney” from the USC faithful. The Gamecocks, in front of 75,043 fans (plus a national TV audience watching on ESPN) smacked the Tigers all over the field for a 20-7 win. (***Side note: I remember watching this game at the Freeman’s house [they lived down the street from us]. After this game, I never watched another Clemson game at their house. End Side note***). The Tigers would bounce back in the Citrus Bowl to hand Joe Pa and his Penn State team the worst bowl beating ever (at least at the time... not sure if that’s still true). The Tigers would end the season at 10-2 (6-1 in the ACC... ACC Champs) and would have a final AP ranking of #12. USC would travel to play at Miami (again on ESPN) the week after the Clemson game where they would fall to the #2 ranked Hurricanes 20-16. I remember this game because it was the first time I learned you can’t spell “THUG” without The “U”. For what it’s worth, I still think USC got cheated in this game.

Anyway, the Gamecocks would end their season with a Gator Bowl loss to LSU. The final record for the Gamecocks in 1987 was 8-4 and they ended up ranked 15th in the final AP poll.

Clemson: November 21, 1981. Coach Danny Ford took his undefeated, #2 ranked Clemson Tigers down to Columbia to face Coach Jim Carlen’s Gamecocks. The Gamecocks wanted nothing more than to give the Tigers their first loss of the season in front of 56,971 fans (plus an ESPN audience). The Tigers would have none of it as they used a punishing ground game to rush for 254 yards and 3 TDs to win 29-13. The Tigers would go on to beat Nebraska in the Orange Bowl to end their season as National Champions with a 12-0 record (6-0 in the ACC). Two major wins for the Tigers that year (other than the Orange Bowl win) came against Georgia (final AP ranking #6) and North Carolina (final AP ranking #9). The Gamecocks ended their season with a loss at Hawaii to give them a final record of 6-6.


Cleveland Cavs update: The Cavs are in Detroit tonight to face the Pistons.

Winthrop Eagles update: The Eagles are off until Monday.