What was 1984 Gamecock football season like?
- Thread starter manders3
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I'll never forget the Navy game.
9/8 vs. Citadel (non-IA) W 31 24
9/22 vs. Duke (2-9) W 21 0
9/29 vs. Georgia (7-4-1) W 17 10
10/6 vs. Kansas State (3-7-1) W 49 17
10/13 vs. Pittsburgh (3-7-1) W 45 21
10/20 @ Notre Dame (7-5) W 36 32
10/27 vs. East Carolina (2-9) W 42 20
11/3 @ North Carolina State (3-8) W 35 28
11/10 vs. Florida State (7-3-2) W 38 26
11/17 @ Navy (4-6-1) L 21 38
11/24 @ Clemson (7-4) W 22 21
12/28 vs. Oklahoma State (10-2) L 14 21 @ Jacksonville,
Was on IF, too.
9/22 vs. Duke (2-9) W 21 0
9/29 vs. Georgia (7-4-1) W 17 10
10/6 vs. Kansas State (3-7-1) W 49 17
10/13 vs. Pittsburgh (3-7-1) W 45 21
10/20 @ Notre Dame (7-5) W 36 32
10/27 vs. East Carolina (2-9) W 42 20
11/3 @ North Carolina State (3-8) W 35 28
11/10 vs. Florida State (7-3-2) W 38 26
11/17 @ Navy (4-6-1) L 21 38
11/24 @ Clemson (7-4) W 22 21
12/28 vs. Oklahoma State (10-2) L 14 21 @ Jacksonville,
Was on IF, too.
Most of what I know about it came from this book. My copy is signed by Tom Price and JoMo (dedicated to my dad) B-)
Surreal. We just kept winning games somehow. And then Navy.
Still, I wouldn't trade that season for any other. First time in my life Gamecocks got into top 10.
Still, I wouldn't trade that season for any other. First time in my life Gamecocks got into top 10.
A lot like when the basketball team went on that Final Four run, only it lasted longer. Campus was buzzing with excitement, beating all those big name programs, talks of Orange Bowl and National Championship games, was pretty cool.
Yes, I attended the games, including the Navy game, as well as the Clemson game. That Clemson game was the greatest win I ever witnessed.
Yes, I attended the games, including the Navy game, as well as the Clemson game. That Clemson game was the greatest win I ever witnessed.
When the team came back from Notre Dame everyone piled in their cars and headed to the airport. People were driving up and down Knox Abbott Drive blaring their car horns. I will never forget it.
You have to understand one thing in re: to the 1984 season: It was PRIOR to Holtz & Spurrier (who convinced us 'Why Not Us'). We didn't know that we were capable of greater things. '84 changed all that. As the team marched victorious game-after-game, the emotions mounted and then . . . Navy. Whomever scheduled that game on-the-road should have been banned from college sports, FOREVER!
My wife and I were both Students at USC that year. It was magical. We were at the Clemson game in DV. It was the best time ever. I was walking through tailgate sites and just sitting down and eating their food and talking smack. They were in shock. It was funny. It was wasn't like it is today where people are violent. It was just fun, and they (Clemson fans) were just in shock. Very quiet. Although to hear my wife talk about it today she thought I was going to get us killed. Simply the best game ever.
You should have seen Mike Hold look at The Fridge and hand him the ball (or drop the ball at his feet) when it was over.
You should have seen Mike Hold look at The Fridge and hand him the ball (or drop the ball at his feet) when it was over.
I was a freshman in '84 living in Snowden. I remember how we struggled to beat the Citadel in the first game...and I told my roommate that we'd be lucky to win 3 games. Thankfully I was wrong...very wrong. A GREAT way to get initiated into the college experience.
Heard the team went off and got wasted the night before the Navy game and were hungover for the game.
I didn't realize the records of the teams we played that year where that bad.
I didn't realize the records of the teams we played that year where that bad.
That is an eye-opener. Of course, all of those teams sans Navy had one less win, and one more loss, because of us.
As stated above, the season was so special because we were beating programs we weren't supposed to beat. Georgia, Pitt, Notre Dame, and Clemson were not far removed from national champion squads and were all considered national powers. FSU had been good for a number of years under Bowden and he was beginning to establish them as a power.
This was also at a time when sports weren't on TV 24/7 like they are now. We read the local newspaper sports section and watched the local news during the week to get our fix between the games. We weren't used to reading about and hearing the Gamecocks mentioned in national sports news. But we were that year.
Opening game The Citadel was giving us fits. They led most of the game. Cocks scored to take lead on a halfback pass with about 3 minutes remaining. The Citadel returned the ensuing KO back to around our 20. The Fire Ant defense stood up to preserve the win. The next week we beat Duke and then a big upset of UGA. Couple of wins against some poor competition. Then the ‘84 went on the road at ND and were down big entering the 4th quarter...,but Mike Hold led a huge comeback on the road at Norte Dame. 6-0! After a cakewalk against ECU, A thrilling victory at NCSU kept the momentum rolling. 8-0. Top 10 ranked FSU rolled into Columbia. Raynard Brown took the 2nd half KO to the House (Controversial over if his knee touch....and it probably did.) I attended most games that year....and in this game I started a “we’re number one” chant which grew loud through the stadium. 9 and 0 baby! A buddy and I took a bus with other gamecock fans up to Annapolis for game no. 9 against Navy. Navy wasn’t having a good year and their stud RB, Nepoleon Macallum had been lost for the year. The weather was bad, misting rain and cold. The Midshipmen ran to the end zone and did pushups every time Navy scored. They scored often! It was miserable. Clemson was playing at Maryland that day so we were seeing lots of Clemson fans on the interstate, luckily Clemson had lost as well. We likely blew a shot at the Orange Bowl and the National Championship. We were ranked number two going in and number one Oklahoma lost that Saturday as well. The team regrouped though, winningba thrilling victory next week at Clemson. We actually missed the extra point to take the lead but offsides was called on Clemson and the rekick was good. A 22-21 victory in Death Valley. That final drive for the winning score, led by Mike Hold is still in my mind the best one drive ever in Gamecock history!
I apologize for any misspellings and grammar errors.
I apologize for any misspellings and grammar errors.
We did beat a lot of "big name" schools, but most of them were having down years, like Pitt and ND>
I think they showed replay numerous times that Brown’s knee was not down when he actually caught the kick.
Was it after the FSU game (?), Beano Cook and Jim Lampley were on ABC and said 'South Carolina already has reached a deal to play in the Orange Bowl regardless of what happens the rest of the season'. This was a mini-scandal, because deals like this didn't happen 25 years ago with games to be played. But, it was a done-deal that we would beat Navy, and I think we would have made the Orange Bowl even with a loss to Clem.
I believe Nebraska may have been the opponent in the Orange, who may have been a better matchup than Thurman Thomas, Jimmy Johnson, the TE we couldn't tackle, and OK State.
I believe Nebraska may have been the opponent in the Orange, who may have been a better matchup than Thurman Thomas, Jimmy Johnson, the TE we couldn't tackle, and OK State.
Magic is the best word known to describe the season. I was a senior in high school and lived in the Columbia area. Every weekend, especially after beating Notre Dame on the road in mid-October, its seemed like the Gamecocks were lifting off into outer space.
Consider this: The season began with a halfback pass in the 4th Quarter to beat The Citadel -- The Citadel! Expectations for the season were LOW after squeaking by with that victory. Then we beat Georgia, then Notre Dame on the road, and the highlight was the nationally televised game against Florida State that featured a 99 yd kickoff return where there is still a great debate of whether Raynard Brown's knee touched the ground, Quinton Lewis twisting and spinning his way to a touchdown, and the longest 3rd Quarter in the HISTORY of college football with the lights of the stadium clock showing completely BLACK.
And, one other thing you really have to keep in perspective: The team only had two nationally televised games that whole season -- Florida State and the Gator Bowl vs Oklahoma State. (I think that's right -- I can't recall the Georgia game being on TV at all) The mystique was built up even more when you could only see the action live once a year during the regular season.
Consider this: The season began with a halfback pass in the 4th Quarter to beat The Citadel -- The Citadel! Expectations for the season were LOW after squeaking by with that victory. Then we beat Georgia, then Notre Dame on the road, and the highlight was the nationally televised game against Florida State that featured a 99 yd kickoff return where there is still a great debate of whether Raynard Brown's knee touched the ground, Quinton Lewis twisting and spinning his way to a touchdown, and the longest 3rd Quarter in the HISTORY of college football with the lights of the stadium clock showing completely BLACK.
And, one other thing you really have to keep in perspective: The team only had two nationally televised games that whole season -- Florida State and the Gator Bowl vs Oklahoma State. (I think that's right -- I can't recall the Georgia game being on TV at all) The mystique was built up even more when you could only see the action live once a year during the regular season.
My first year at Carolina. Very very special time I’ll cherish forever in spite of the Navy game.
Fun fact. I was in the band in high school and one of my band mates was in the USC band. When they went to ND, the halftime show they performed included Beatles songs. It turns out Paul Mcartney (a good catholic boy) was watching the game. He called to the ND stadium and over the PA system he thanked our band for playing his songs and he thought it was well done.
How about that!
Fun fact. I was in the band in high school and one of my band mates was in the USC band. When they went to ND, the halftime show they performed included Beatles songs. It turns out Paul Mcartney (a good catholic boy) was watching the game. He called to the ND stadium and over the PA system he thanked our band for playing his songs and he thought it was well done.
How about that!
I heard that after the game, Coach Joe walked into the lockerroom and wrote on the chalkboard "#1 ranking, $2 Million, Orange Bowl, National Championship". Didn't say anything, just let it sink in. I think Nebraska was #1 that week and had lost earlier in the day. We were #2 in the AP and UPI polls but USA Today had us at #1 (I still have the paper with that poll).
As for the Clemson game, I was there (freshman year at USC). My mom was listening to the game on the radio in Columbia and said afterwards that she thought it was a home game for us because our fans were so much louder then Clemson's. :>)
To put things into perspective, Georgia had just beaten Clemson (ranked #2 at the time) when we beat Georgia, Florida State was 6-1-1 with a win against then 4th ranked Miami when we beat them; we beat Notre Dame at South Bend after being down 12 points in the second half (Notre Dame went to Baton Rouge the next week and beat #7 LSU) we were also down 12 points in the second half on the road against N.C. State, a game we won with 50 seconds on the clock. A game that featured among other things Mike Hold catching a 2 point conversion from Quentin Lewis. Almost every game had something amazing
I went to the Gator Bowl. Drove down early that morning. Seem to remember a lot of smoke on I-95? Got to Jacksonville, bought some shrimp and steak for my tater buddy. Found some place to park. Oh my, the days before GPS! Whipped out my tiny little gas grill, popped my buddies steak and shrimp on and cooked ‘em. Put mine on and pffft, ran out of gas. No steak, no shrimp for me. Get in the stadium, find my crappy end zone seats and here comes the inevitable drunk dude. Yep, right behind me! Spills his drink on me......TWICE! Slobbering apologies all over me the entire time. But hey, he’s a Gamecock so he gets a pass, right? Well, he’s cussing so bad that others around are tired of his act so they get the cops. He is literally pulled out of his seat by his hair! Standing O for the cops! Then we lose and then I drive home! What a day/night. Ahh, the exuberance of youth! I wouldn’t change a thing. Except for a victory of course!
Notre Dame, FSU, and Navy were televised live. Most of the games were tape delayed and shown at 11:30pm Saturday nights.
I knew we were in trouble against Navy when the team captains came out for the coin toss with their hair combed and their chests puffed out.
I laugh when I hear and read folks talking about how loud W-B was for the Ole Miss game, the Alabama game, the Rodney game, etc etc. I can say unequivocally that the 84 FSU game is EASILY the loudest it has ever been at W-B.
Ate at the ex-wife's grandparents house the day after the Clemson game, where her Clemson cousins were the bigshots of the family. They took great umbrage at our wide receiver (forget the name) that was cutting flips in the end zone at the end after we had tied it up. It was great.
Mike Hold became a living legend that year.
I knew we were in trouble against Navy when the team captains came out for the coin toss with their hair combed and their chests puffed out.
I laugh when I hear and read folks talking about how loud W-B was for the Ole Miss game, the Alabama game, the Rodney game, etc etc. I can say unequivocally that the 84 FSU game is EASILY the loudest it has ever been at W-B.
Ate at the ex-wife's grandparents house the day after the Clemson game, where her Clemson cousins were the bigshots of the family. They took great umbrage at our wide receiver (forget the name) that was cutting flips in the end zone at the end after we had tied it up. It was great.
Mike Hold became a living legend that year.
Citadel had a 1st and goal after a TD saving tackle on that KO return. Then they threw 4 incomplete passes.
My dad’s senior year. Said he cried the day of the Navy game I’m about to cry just thinking about it
Pitt was not a good team that year and we dominated them like a good team should.
ND didn't have a spectacular record, but they didn't have that much of a down year. As somebody pointed out above, the week after we beat them IN SOUTH BEND, the Irish rolled into Baton Rouge and beat #6 LSU on national TV. Two weeks later, they DESTROYED Penn State, and they finished the season beating #14 USC in the Coliseum. Aside from us, their other 3 regular season losses included games against a ranked Miami team and a very good Air Force team. The only head-scratcher was an opening game loss to Purdue in the Hoosier Dome. Notre Dame's bowl game was a close loss to the Pony Express at pre-death-penalty SMU. Make no mistake, that win at South Bend was a big time road win - one of the biggest road wins in Gamecocks history.
Yep!! Freshman Chris Major...who was a member of the mythical National Champion Valdosta High School team the previous year...showed excellent fundamentals by not biting on any of the fakes by the return man. Made a textbook tackle that really saved that game!!
Of course was an awesome season. The team just kept winning and surprsing everyone. I lived in Greenville at the time and it still felt like the entire state was Gamecock fans that year. The Florida State game was surreal...the biggest game in WB history up to that point. Most thought we would lose and come crashign back to earth. The atmosphere was euphoric when it became obvious that not only we woudl win, but we were blowing them out. Back in those games there were only a handful of national telecasts each Saturyday. It was the ABC game of the week and at that time, that would have been the only game on TV at that time.....a true national broadcast.
The Gator Bowl that year was a big letdown. Ok State was a good team but Carolina should have won. They didnt play well (normal in bowl games for the Cocks at that time) but the stadium was literrally a sea of Carolina fans. Its hard to tell on old video because everyone was in black but it was literally 90% Gamecocks and was loud for SC. I think the 1980 and 1984 Gator Bowls established Carolina as a bowl travel powerhouse in terms of fans traveling.
The Gator Bowl that year was a big letdown. Ok State was a good team but Carolina should have won. They didnt play well (normal in bowl games for the Cocks at that time) but the stadium was literrally a sea of Carolina fans. Its hard to tell on old video because everyone was in black but it was literally 90% Gamecocks and was loud for SC. I think the 1980 and 1984 Gator Bowls established Carolina as a bowl travel powerhouse in terms of fans traveling.
Almost as bad as being at the SC-Tater game the next week and Tater fans throwing lemons on the field instead of oranges.
That maybe the most creative thing I have heard regarding Pickens......
Like ever
Tops the slide & rivals the baptisms.
87 was mostly Gamecocks too vs a very rabid LSU fanbase. Amazing Carolina hasn't been back since
It is the final four run that lasted nine weeks. Just the most fun and craziness I have ever experienced as a Gamecock. It made what we have today possible.
Thanks. I was trying to remember the kid from Valdosta who might just have saved the season for us. Chris Major played some good football for us.
I took one of my church basketball players to watch the live closed circuit broadcast of the Clemson game at the coliseum. It was his 13th birthday. There was a fat, obnoxious Clemson brat screaming in his ear the entire time. He wanted to punch him, but I wouldn't let him. The crowd might have been the loudest that I ever heard during our winning drive. I took the my guy home after the game and sat around and drank beer with his dad. His two older brothers rolled in from having gone to the game at Clemson, and we all we to Al's Upstairs Italian. The Dad paid. A good time was had by all.
