In the 130 years and 630 victories of South Carolina Gamecock Football history, there has not been a plethora of great comebacks on the gridiron. It seems like generally when the Gamecocks win, they win and don't have to come back late. There are some exceptions, below we've identified five, and maybe a bonus one, that we believe comprise the greatest in school history.

Virginia had dominated South Carolina on the football field in competition prior to this game, winning eight of ten meetings, most of them by multiple scores. The two schools held their 1952 meeting in Norfolk as part of a longstanding state of Virginia tradition, the Oyster Bowl. The Oyster Bowl is a regular-season college game played annually in the Hampton Roads area of the state. The game has featured match-ups between high school, NCAA Division III, and FCS/FBS teams, at various points in its existence. It is sponsored by the Norfolk-based Khedive Temple of the Shriners, with a portion of the revenue going to children's charities. The Gamecocks played in the Oyster Bowl on one other occasion in 1955.

For the first three and a half quarters, this one looked like another resounding UVA win for the nation's 16th-ranked team. The Cavs' defense had stifled the Gamecocks all afternoon leaving UVA up 14-0 with under eight minutes to play in the game. In the span of 1:45 minutes of game action, the Gamecocks scored three touchdowns and escaped Norfolk with a 21-14 win. Carolina got on the board with a 25-year pitch and catch from quarterback Dick Balka to Clyde Bennett. Less than a minute later, USC tailback Mike Caskey plunged in from a yard out to tie the game. A costly Caviler fumble was recovered in the endzone for the go-ahead score by Bob King to complete all scoring and the Gamecock comeback win over #16 Virginia. South Carolina is 18-5-1 against Virginia since this comeback win.

Bennett would play one season of professional football in Canada and then enter the US Air Force where he would rise to the rank of Colonel. Bennett capped off his military career serving in the 2nd Regiment of the French Foreign Legions Elite Airborne Rangers. The Gamecock great passed away in 2021.

South Carolina had just suffered their worst loss in program history. The Gamecocks entered Annapolis, Maryland with a #2 national ranking and left with a 38-21 beating at the hands of a bad 4-6-1 Navy team. Making matters worse, #1 Oklahoma lost to Nebraska the same day. On a sunny afternoon at Memorial Stadium, it looked like Navy was going to beat the Gamecocks twice.

The 1984 Clemson Tigers were on probation for cheating earlier in the decade. They had also been ranked as high as #2 in the country earlier in the year. Clemson entered this game at 7-3, Carolina had dropped to #9 and entered 9-1. The Tigers' last home loss prior to this game was on November 8, 1980, to UNC. Clemson was not eligible for postseason play and they treated South Carolina like their bowl game.

Clemson raced to a 21-3 lead on three rushing touchdowns late in the first half. In the last minutes of the first half, South Carolina drove toward Clemson's goal line, but Scott Hagler missed a field goal with 46 seconds to play before halftime. A penalty on the Tigers gave South Carolina a second chance and Coach Joe Morrison elected to go for it on fourth-and-4 from the Clemson 5. It worked as Quinton Lewis ran off the left side and into the end zone to make the score 21-10 in Clemson's favor at the half.

"We ran a trap and swung the momentum in that game," Lewis said.

The Black Magic Gamecocks emerged from the locker room to start the second half. Carolina sacked Clemson quarterback Mike Eppley for a safety in the third quarter, and Hagler hit a 41-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to cut the Tigers' lead to 21-15.

The Gamecocks got the ball back at their own 16-yard line with just over three minutes left. Quarterback Mike Hold found Chris Wade for a 36-yard reception to put USC into Clemson territory. Two more first-down runs moved Carolina to Clemson's 11. Hold rushed two more times and, Clemson was called for a face-mask penalty, setting up first and goal at the 1. Hold again called his own number on a sneak to the right side to tie the game at 21 with 54 seconds left. Hagler, who had not missed an extra point all season, hooked the attempt to the left, and it looked like the two teams were destined for a tie. Again Clemson was caught cheating with 12 men on the field - and Hagler would get another chance. This time he connected and South Carolina led 22-21. Carolina's defense would force a turnover on downs on the next Tiger possession to preserve the win.

For the Gamecocks, it was their first win in Clemson since 1970. The first time Clemson had lost in their "orange britches", and it was the first ever ten-win season for the Gamecocks.