2000 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

The 2000 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina as a member of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by second-year head coach Lou Holtz, the Gamecocks compiled an overall record of 8–4 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for second in the SEC's Eastern Division. The team played home games at Williams–Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina.

2000 South Carolina Gamecocks football
Outback Bowl champion
Outback Bowl, W 24–7 vs. Ohio State
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Eastern Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 21
AP	No. 19
Record	8–4 (5–3 SEC)
Head coach	Lou Holtz (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Skip Holtz (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Charlie Strong (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Williams–Brice Stadium
Seasons ← 1999 2001 →

2000 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Eastern Division
No. 10 Florida x$		7	–	1					10	–	3
No. 19 South Carolina		5	–	3					8	–	4
No. 20 Georgia		5	–	3					8	–	4
Tennessee		5	–	3					8	–	4
Vanderbilt		1	–	7					3	–	8
Kentucky		0	–	8					2	–	9
Western Division
No. 18 Auburn x		6	–	2					9	–	4
No. 22 LSU		5	–	3					8	–	4
Ole Miss		4	–	4					7	–	5
No. 24 Mississippi State		4	–	4					8	–	4
Arkansas		3	–	5					6	–	6
Alabama		3	–	5					3	–	8
Championship: Florida 28, Auburn 6
$ – BCS representative as conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

South Carolina made one of the biggest turnarounds in college football history, going from a winless season in 1999 to an eight-win campaign in 2000. Their first win of the season, against New Mexico State, snapped a 21-game losing streak which dated back to 1998.^[1] South Carolina's turnaround in conference play was also one of the biggest in SEC history, going from 0–8 in 1999 to 5–3 in 2000, including a victory against heavily favored No. 10 Georgia that ended the Gamecocks' SEC losing streak.^[2] South Carolina fans tore down the goalposts at Williams–Brice Stadium on both occasions in celebration.^[1][2] Before the program's last-ever "Orange Crush" ending the regular season,^[3] the Gamecocks were ranked No. 17, their highest ranking since 1988.^[4] On the first day of the 21st century, the Gamecocks defeated No. 19 Ohio State in the Outback Bowl, their first bowl appearance since 1994 and only the second bowl victory in school history.^[5] South Carolina finished the season ranked No. 19 in the AP poll and No. 21 in the Coaches Poll, which was only the fourth final ranking in program history.^[4]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 2	7:00 pm	New Mexico State*		Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	PPV	W 31–0	80,814	[6]
September 9	3:30 pm	No. 10 Georgia		Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC (rivalry)	ESPN2	W 21–10	83,605	[7]
September 16	7:00 pm	Eastern Michigan*		Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	PPV	W 41–6	80,922	[8]
September 23	12:30 pm	No. 25 Mississippi State		Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	JPS/CSS	W 23–19	79,949	[9]
September 30	3:00 pm	at Alabama	No. 23	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL	PPV	L 17–27	83,818	[10]
October 7	7:00 pm	at Kentucky		Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	ESPN2	W 20–17	69,334	[11]
October 14	12:30 pm	Arkansas	No. 24	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	JPS	W 27–7	81,935	[12]
October 21	2:00 pm	at Vanderbilt	No. 18	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	PPV	W 30–14	33,369	[13]
October 28	12:30 pm	Tennessee	No. 17	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC (rivalry)	JPS	L 14–17	84,200	[14]
November 11	3:30 pm	at No. 4 Florida	No. 21	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	CBS	L 21–41	85,718	[15]
November 18	3:30 pm	at No. 14 Clemson*	No. 25	Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC (rivalry)	ABC	L 14–16	85,187	[16]
January 1	11:00 am	vs. No. 18 Ohio State*		Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL (Outback Bowl)	ESPN	W 24–7	65,229	[17]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[18][19]

Rankings

See also: 2000 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	23	—	24	18	17	22	21	25	—	—	—	19
Coaches Poll	—	—	—	—	—	23	—	24	19	18	24	25	—	—	—	—	21
BCS	Not released									—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released

Personnel

Roster

2000 South Carolina Gamecocks football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 4 Andrew Pinnock So QB 5 Dondrial Pinkins Fr RB 6 Trevin Smith Fr WR 7 Michael Ages So WR 8 Ted Crawford  Fr QB 14 Phil Petty Jr WR 15 Kevin Sides Sr RB 16 Jamaica Jackson Fr QB 17 Mikal Goodman So QB 18 Josh Rogers Jr RB 19 Andrea Gause Fr QB Erik Kimrey Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 24 Sheldon Brown Jr DB 32 Dunta Robinson Fr LB 33 Jeremiah Garrison Fr LB 34 Rod Thomas So CB 35 Andre Goodman  Jr DE 55 Kalimba Edwards Jr NT 57 Langston Moore So DB 30 O'Rondai Cox Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Lou Holtz Coordinators/assistant coaches Oliver Pough (Running backs coach) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 2000-11-09

Coaching staff

• Lou Holtz, head coach
• Skip Holtz, offensive coordinator, quarterbacks
• Charlie Strong, defensive coordinator, defensive line
• Dave DeGuglielmo, offensive line
• John Gutekunst, defensive backs
• Oliver Pough running backs
• Dave Roberts, tight ends
• Chris Cosh, linebackers
• Todd Fitch, wide receivers
• Paul Lounsberry, offensive line