South Carolina is going to a bowl game in year one under Shane Beamer.
The Gamecocks stormed back from a double-digit deficit and outscored Auburn 21-3 to end the game and clinch a bowl berth for the first time in three seasons with a 21-17 win over the Tigers.
Things could not have started worse for South Carolina, trailing 14-0 after one quarter and mustering just 46 totals yards, but things quickly changed.
The Gamecocks got on the board with a fourth down touchdown pass to ZaQuandre White, a 28-yard catch and run, then took advantage of a short field thanks to Auburn failing to convert on a fourth down backed up into their own territory.
South Carolina drove down and tied the game on arguably the play of the year with Jason Brown connecting with offensive lineman turned fullback Trai Jones for a big-man touchdown.
That would hold through the end of the half and then the Gamecocks would take the lead in the third quarter after Auburn kicked a field goal with Brown leading a six-play, 67-yard drive ending with a Josh Vann touchdown catch.
Brown finished 10-for-15 on the night for 157 yards, three scores and an interception, but the story of the day was the Gamecocks’ running backs who helped secure the ever-elusive sixth win of the year.
White had his best day as a Gamecock, rushing 16 times for 99 yards, an average of 6.2 yards per carry.
The defense also came up huge time after time, twice being backed up inside their own five yard line and holding Auburn to just three points. The Tigers would miss a field goal in the red zone and not take advantage of a chance to make it a one-point game.
They’d also force a stop near midfield with Carlins Platel making an incredibly important pass breakup on third down to force a punt.
The game was clinched with Auburn touching a punt before a would-be game winning drive and giving the ball back to South Carolina to kneel it out.
It’s the Gamecocks’ sixth win of the year, meaning bowl eligibility and the first time in program history they’ve beaten Auburn in back-to-back matchups.
The Gamecock defense came up big once again, forcing an Auburn punt with just over four minutes to go and the Gamecocks were able to milk all the clock they could and secure the win.
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