2004 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

2004 South Carolina Gamecocks football
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionEastern Division
Record6–5 (4–4 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorSkip Holtz (6th season)
Defensive coordinatorRick Minter (1st season)
Home stadiumWilliams-Brice Stadium
Seasons
← 2003
2005 →
2004 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Eastern Division
No. 13 Tennessee x   7 – 1     10 – 3  
No. 7 Georgia   6 – 2     10 – 2  
Florida   4 – 4     7 – 5  
South Carolina   4 – 4     6 – 5  
Kentucky   1 – 7     2 – 9  
Vanderbilt   1 – 7     2 – 9  
Western Division
No. 2 Auburn x$   8 – 0     13 – 0  
No. 16 LSU   6 – 2     9 – 3  
Alabama   3 – 5     6 – 6  
Arkansas   3 – 5     5 – 6  
Ole Miss   3 – 5     4 – 7  
Mississippi State   2 – 6     3 – 8  
Championship: Auburn 38, Tennessee 28
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2004 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Gamecocks were led by Lou Holtz in his sixth and final season as head coach and played their home games in Williams–Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. They finished the season with a 6–5 record.[1]

Senior Dondrial Pinkins and sophomore Syvelle Newton shared the quarterback position.[2][3] Wide receiver Troy Williamson became a focal point of the offense, nearly doubling his production.[4] Free safety Ko Kimpson was named the SEC Freshman of the Year.[5]

Holtz had privately indicated in the summer that the upcoming season might be his last.[6] The Gamecocks started the season somewhat successfully, with five wins and two close conference losses.[1] However, to Holtz's surprise,[6] the Gamecocks then played poorly against No. 12 Tennessee at home, the first of three losses in South Carolina's final four games.[1][6] During the two weeks between the losses to Tennessee and Florida, in secret, Holtz informed the athletics department that it would be his last season and former Florida head coach Steve Spurrier agreed to replace him.[6]

Two days before the regular season finale against archrival Clemson, Holtz informed his players of his decision.[7] Down 7–29 against the Tigers near the end of the fourth quarter, a fight broke out between the two teams.[8] Although they had their first winning season since 2001,[9] South Carolina declined to accept a bowl bid due to the team's involvement in the brawl, marking the first time the school had declined a bowl bid since 1990.[8] Over the next several days, Holtz retired from coaching after 44 years and Spurrier was introduced as the next head coach at South Carolina.[10][11]

Schedule

The September 11 game against Georgia played host to ESPN's College Gameday.

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 412:30 pmat Vanderbilt
JPSW 31–633,670[12]
September 115:30 pmNo. 3 Georgia
ESPNL 16–2084,300[12]
September 187:00 pmSouth Florida*
  • Williams-Brice Stadium
  • Columbia, South Carolina
W 34–378,900[12]
September 257:00 pmTroy*
  • Williams-Brice Stadium
  • Columbia, South Carolina
PPVW 17–779,700[12]
October 26:00 pmat Alabama
ESPN2W 20–382,141[12]
October 91:00 pmOle MissdaggerNo. 25
  • Williams-Brice Stadium
  • Columbia, South Carolina
PPVL 28–3179,100[12]
October 167:00 pmat Kentucky
PPVW 12–763,086[12]
October 3012:30 pmNo. 12 Tennessee
  • Williams-Brice Stadium
  • Columbia, South Carolina (rivalry)
JPSL 29–4381,400[12]
November 612:30 pmArkansas
  • Williams-Brice Stadium
  • Columbia, South Carolina
JPSW 35–3278,800[12]
November 137:00 pmat Florida
ESPN2L 14–4890,294[12]
November 2012:00 pmat Clemson*
JPSL 7–2982,382[12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "2004 South Carolina Gamecocks Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on November 13, 2024. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  2. ^ "Gamecocks Win!". wltx.com. September 25, 2004. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  3. ^ "Gamecocks Roll Past South Florida, 34-3". University of South Carolina Athletics. September 18, 2004. Archived from the original on November 12, 2024. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  4. ^ Rosa, Poch de la (October 13, 2021). "What Happened To Troy Williamson? (Complete Story)". Pro Football History. Archived from the original on November 12, 2024. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  5. ^ "Ko Simpson named SEC Freshman of the Year". 247Sports. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d Spear, Bob (July 29, 2016). "How Steve Spurrier became a Gamecock". The State. Archived from the original on September 18, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  7. ^ Iacobelli, Pete. "Holtz to retire after season, Spurrier on tap to replace him". Gadsden Times. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Both South Carolina and Clemson opt out of bowl games due to brawl". WIS News. November 20, 2004. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  9. ^ "South Carolina Gamecocks College Football History, Stats, Records". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  10. ^ "Lou Holtz Announces Retirement From Coaching". University of South Carolina Athletics. November 22, 2004. Archived from the original on November 13, 2024. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  11. ^ "Steve Spurrier Announced as New Head Football Coach at South Carolina". University of South Carolina Athletics. November 23, 2004. Archived from the original on November 13, 2024. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Cumulative Season Statistics". University of South Carolina.