Current players share memories of 2010 upset win

SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS FOOTBALL

It’s been nine years but T.J. Brunson still remembers the sounds to emanate from the stadium.

Brunson, who grew up in Columbia, wasn’t at the South Carolina game against No. 1 Alabama, opting instead to watch it with his aunt who didn’t live too far from Five Points, a place within earshot of Williams-Brice on game day; at least that day it was.

“It was loud,” Brunson said. “That was the biggest thing. It was so loud and seeing the crowd and the fans and everyone go up after they won, the love the fans have for the Gamecocks is second to none.”

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That day the Gamecocks notched the biggest win in program history, upsetting the top-ranked Tide 35-21 at Williams-Brice, a memorable for day for guys who grew up in the state and lived it as middle schoolers.

They probably don’t remember much—the oldest guys on this year’s team would have been in middle school when the upset happened—but Brunson still remembers the cheers.

“I remember being at her house when they won and hearing the crowd from the stadium from up there,” he said.

The Gamecocks obviously have plenty of South Carolina players on this year’s team, most of whom grew up and saw the upset happen in real time as kids and got to see the aftermath of it the following weeks.

“I remember it being front page out there and everyone’s talking about it,” Bryan Edwards said. “It was just a lot of excitement.”

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Will Tommie, another in-state kid, is the first to admit he grew up in a Clemson household but still remembers where he was that day. He wasn’t in the stadium or even hunkered down to watch the game on a television somewhere.

He was near the stadium, though, at another sporting event.

“I had a soccer tournament that day,” he said. “I was actually in Columbia and could hear the fireworks coming off every time they scored.”

Will Muschamp spent 2010 in Austin, his final year as the Longhorns’ defensive coordinator. While Texas had a bye that weekend, Muschamp laughs and says he doesn’t remember exactly what he did that day.

As he got around the South Carolina program more as head coach, he was able to really take an in-depth look back at the game that was a spark plug for the program’s highest point.

"It was an awesome game, an awesome victory here at the University of South Carolina,” Muschamp said. “They beat the No. 1 ranked team in the country. There's no doubt it. It was a great game, a great atmosphere, and I know it will be a great atmosphere on Saturday as well."

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South Carolina gets a chance to pull another upset this week with the No. 2 Tide rolling back into Columbia for the first meeting between the two teams since that day in Columbia.

Muschamp said the team is embracing this opportunity knowing how big it could be for the program, and the guys are ready for it.

“I mean they did it. But this is a new era. It’s a new coach,” Javon Kinlaw said. “We have a chance to play them again.”