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Top 5 Home Openers

Williams-Brice Stadium
Williams-Brice Stadium

South Carolina Football is less than 10 weeks away and every week until the season begins we at Gamecock Scoop are going to take a look at the top 5 wins in program history against the Gamecocks 2022 opponents. Obviously, there are going to be some weeks where that is impossible. The Gamecocks have never faced Georgia State or Charlotte. They've played South Carolina State twice and the Gamecocks have yet to beat Texas A&M in eight tries. For those weeks we are going to have to get creative. Since Georgia State is the 2022 home opener, we decided to give you our Top 5 home openers in program history.

The options were pretty limited, most of Carolina's better week 1 wins came on the road. Also like most Power 5 schools, the Gamecocks don't have a long history of scheduling top-tier competition in week 1.

#5 1896 12-6 over Clemson. The Unforgettable First Win Over the Tigers

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Coach H.W. Whaley's 1896 South Carolina College Football Team
Coach H.W. Whaley's 1896 South Carolina College Football Team (Garnet And Black, 1963; USC/South Caroliniana Library)

South Carolina was fresh off a Halloween Day whooping at the hands of the Charleston Y when they returned to the friendly confines of the Old State Fair Grounds for the first-ever Palmetto Bowl on November 12, 1896. William McKinley had been elected the 25th President of the United States just nine days earlier. Also in an event that can only be chalked up to fate, Also sprach Zarathustra would be performed for the first time ever 15 days after this game in Frankfurt, Germany.

Carolina would largely dominate the first-ever meeting between these rivals winning 12-6. Clemson's only touchdown came on a 60 yard trick play. South Carolina would get touchdown runs from N.W. Brooker and Cansen Foster and two converted two-point drop-kicks from team captain C.H. McLaurin to defeat Clemson in front of 2,000 screaming fans. 1896 college football rules allowed for no forward passes and teams had 3 downs to move the ball 5 yards. Cansen Foster would go on to ink a huge NIL deal with Standard Oil after this game. (All but one sentence regarding this 1896 game is true).

#4 1971 24-7 over Georgia Tech. The Only Home Opener to See Carolina Defeat a Ranked Team

Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech (JOL Staff)

It is hard to believe that the Gamecocks have only defeated a ranked team once in a home opener. There had been some other close calls but the 1971 win over the Ramblin' Wreck is the only such instance. The Yellow Jackets entered Williams-Brice Stadium in 1971 as the nation's 17th ranked team. Ironically, South Carolina had been ranked 17th in 1970 when they went into Atlanta on week 1 and lost 20-23. 1971 was payback.

South Carolina scored 18 of their 24 points off a Dickie Harris 77-yard punt return, a Harris blocked punt that was picked up by defensive lineman Jimmy Nash for a score, and two safeties, including Tech snapping the ball over their punter's head and out of the back of the end zone. Georgia Tech scored their only points when Gamecock quarterback Jackie Young threw a pick-6.

54,842 fans left the newly expanded Williams-Brice with smiles on their faces, until they encountered the newly enacted South Carolina Highway Patrol's postgame traffic routes. (They've yet to be updated). The crowd was the largest ever to attend a Gamecocks home game at the time.

#3 2000 31-0 over New Mexico State. The Death of the Streak

I can't believe this game is available on YouTube. For those that don't have 99+ plus minutes to watch the entire game, fast-forward to the 99:00 minute mark to see why this win over lowly New Mexico State makes this list. Gamecock fans had suffered through 21-straight losses when the Aggies rolled into Columbia to begin a new decade of Carolina football. After the 31-0 win, the Gamecock students stormed the field and tore the north end zone goal post down before Lou Holtz could get off the field.

The game itself was not terribly exciting. The Gamecocks had only 354 yards of offense and completed just 14 passes. Derek Watson led all Gamecocks with 114 rushing yards and Andrew Pinnock scored twice from within 5 yards. The Gamecocks fumbled the football six times but luckily only lost two. Gamecock reserve Andre Offing scored a defensive touchdown. Offing would go on to be a Richland County Deputy and assistant coach at Dutch Fork.

#2 1989 27-21 over Duke. The HBC's First Trip to Columbia as the HBC

The cursive Duke helmet worn by Spurrier's Blue Devils
The cursive Duke helmet worn by Spurrier's Blue Devils (USA TODAY Sports)

1989 did not start off well for the Gamecocks. Beloved head coach Joe Morrison had died of a heart attack in February. Sparky Woods was hired on short notice from Appalachian State and the 1989 season was underway. No one knew that the 1989 Duke Blue Devils would win the ACC and finish the season by taking the infamous scoreboard photo after trouncing rival North Carolina 41-0. Duke would also upset #7 Clemson in Durham 21-17 and finish the season 8-4.

Duke was led by future NFLers Dave Brown at quarterback and Randy Cuthbert at tailback. The Gamecocks were led by Todd Ellis and got off to a 5-1-1 start and a top 25 ranking before Ellis' Carolina would career would end on a questionable hit against NC State. Carolina would finish the year 6-4-1. No one knew the win over the Blue Devils would come against the Gamecocks' all-time best coach, the 1989 ACC Champions, and longtime NFL quarterback.

#1 2013 27-10. Battle of the Carolinas

The Tar Heels entered 2013 under head coach Larry Fedora as a trendy pick in the ACC. They had finished 8-4 in Fedora's first year and looked to build in year 2. The Gamecocks had won 11 games two years in a row and entered the season ranked 6th in the county.

Any thoughts of an upset were extinguished early when Connor Shaw hit Shaq Roland for a 65-yard touchdown strike on the first drive of the game. The Gamecocks would jump out to an early 17-0 after the 1st quarter. UNC was twice able to cut the Carolina lead to 10, the second time coming midway through the 3rd quarter. Mike Davis would answer with a 75-yard touchdown run erasing all doubt of an upset. Davis would finish the game with 115 yards.

Carolina fans would have to wait out a 1-hour and 45-minute thunderstorm before the final whistle blew. This game takes the top spot because South Carolina had more at stake in this game than other home openers. This was a rivalry game against a dark horse team, a loss would have ended the Gamecocks' season before it really started. And the Gamecocks were a legit national title contender.

We hope you enjoyed this countdown. As always continue to follow Gamecock Scoop for the latest in the Gamecock Sports. Have something to say? Join the conversation yourself over on the Insider's Forum.

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