2001 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

American college football season

2001 South Carolina Gamecocks football

Outback Bowl champion

Outback Bowl, W 31–28 vs. Ohio State

Conference| Southeastern Conference
Division| Eastern Division
Ranking
Coaches| No. 13
AP| No. 13
Record| 9–3 (5–3 SEC)
Head coach|

* Lou Holtz (3rd season)

Offensive coordinator| Skip Holtz (3rd season)
Offensive scheme| Multiple
Defensive coordinator| Charlie Strong (3rd season)
Base defense| 4–3
Home stadium| Williams-Brice Stadium

Seasons

← 2000

2002 →

2001 Southeastern Conference football standings

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| Conf. |  |  | Overall

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Team |   | W |   | L |   |  |  |   | W |   | L |
Eastern Division
No. 4 Tennessee x  |   | 7  | – | 1  |   |  |  |   | 11  | – | 2  |
No. 3 Florida  %  |   | 6  | – | 2  |   |  |  |   | 10  | – | 2  |
No. 13 South Carolina |   | 5  | – | 3  |   |  |  |   | 9  | – | 3  |
No. 22 Georgia |   | 5  | – | 3  |   |  |  |   | 8  | – | 4  |
Kentucky |   | 1  | – | 7  |   |  |  |   | 2  | – | 9  |
Vanderbilt |   | 0  | – | 8  |   |  |  |   | 2  | – | 9  |
Western Division
No. 7 LSU xy$  |   | 5  | – | 3  |   |  |  |   | 10  | – | 3  |
Auburn x  |   | 5  | – | 3  |   |  |  |   | 7  | – | 5  |
Ole Miss |   | 4  | – | 4  |   |  |  |   | 7  | – | 4  |
Alabama |   | 4  | – | 4  |   |  |  |   | 7  | – | 5  |
Arkansas |   | 4  | – | 4  |   |  |  |   | 7  | – | 5  |
Mississippi State |   | 2  | – | 6  |   |  |  |   | 3  | – | 8  |
Championship: LSU 31, Tennessee 20

* $ – BCS representative as conference champion
* % – BCS at-large representative
* x – Division champion/co-champions
* y – Championship game participant

Rankings from AP Poll

The 2001 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Gamecocks were led by Lou Holtz in his third season as head coach, and played their home games in Williams–Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina.

South Carolina followed up one of the biggest turnarounds in college football history in 2000 with another successful season in 2001. South Carolina's game on September 20 against No. 17 Mississippi State was the first NCAA Division I-A game played following the September 11 attacks.[1] Just over a week later, South Carolina defeated Alabama for the first time in program history, resulting in fans rushing the field.[2][3] By early October, the Gamecocks were 5–0 and ranked No. 9 in the AP Poll, their highest ranking since 1988.[4] The Gamecocks defeated No. 22 Ohio State in the Outback Bowl for the second consecutive year, finishing the season with a record of 9–3 and ranked No. 13 in both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. The final win total and final ranking were both the second highest in school history until then.[5][4]

With a 17–7 record, the 2000 and 2001 seasons represented the best two-year mark in program history until then.[5] Holtz became the first Gamecock head football coach to win two bowl games.[5]

## Schedule

[edit]

The November 10 game played host to ESPN's College Gameday, a first for the program. A game against Bowling Green was scheduled for September 15, but was canceled in the wake of the September 11 attacks.[6] The game was never played. South Carolina added Wofford to the schedule to replace the open date originally scheduled for November 3.[7]

Date| Time| Opponent| Rank| Site| TV| Result| Attendance| Source

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September 1| 7:00 pm| Boise State*| No. 21|

* Williams–Brice Stadium
* Columbia SC

| CSS| W 32–13| 83,019|
September 8| 7:45 pm| at No. 25 Georgia| No. 21|

* Sanford Stadium
* Athens, GA (rivalry)

| ESPN| W 14–9| 86,520|
September 20| 7:30 pm| at No. 17 Mississippi State| No. 18|

* Scott Field
* Starkville, MS

| ESPN| W 16–14| 43,579|
September 29| 12:30 pm| Alabama| No. 15|

* Williams–Brice Stadium
* Columbia, SC

| JPS| W 37–36| 84,100|
October 6| 1:00 pm| Kentucky| No. 13|

* Williams–Brice Stadium
* Columbia, SC

| PPV| W 42–6| 80,250|
October 13| 3:30 pm| at Arkansas| No. 9|

* War Memorial Stadium
* Little Rock, AR

| CBS| L 7–10| 53,514|
October 20| 1:00 pm| Vanderbilt| No. 16|

* Williams–Brice Stadium
* Columbia, SC

| CSS| W 46–14| 83,104|
October 27| 6:00 pm| at No. 9 Tennessee| No. 12|

* Neyland Stadium
* Knoxville, TN (rivalry)

| ESPN2| L 10–17| 107,530|
November 3| 1:00 pm| Wofford*| No. 17|

* Williams–Brice Stadium
* Columbia, SC

| | W 38–14| 77,922| [8]
November 10| 7:45 pm| No. 4 Florida| No. 14|

* Williams–Brice Stadium
* Columbia, SC (College GameDay)

| ESPN| L 17–54| 84,900|
November 17| 12:30 pm| Clemson*| No. 22|

* Williams–Brice Stadium
* Columbia, SC (rivalry)

| JPS| W 20–15| 85,000|
January 1| 11:00 am| vs. No. 22 Ohio State*| No. 14|

* Raymond James Stadium
* Tampa, FL (Outback Bowl)

| ESPN| W 31–28| 66,249|

* *Non-conference game
* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
* All times are in Eastern time

[9]

## Roster

[edit]

2001 South Carolina Gamecocks football team roster

Players  | Coaches
Offense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

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RB | `4` | Andrew Pinnock | Jr
QB | `9` | Corey Jenkins | Jr
QB | `` | Erik Kimrey | Sr
Defense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

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NT | `57` | Langston Moore | Jr
Special teams | Pos. | # | Name | Class

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Head coach

* Lou Holtz

Coordinators/assistant coaches

* Oliver Pough
(Running backs coach)
* John Gutekunst
(Defensive backs coach)

* * *

Legend

* (C) Team captain
* (S) Suspended
* (I) Ineligible

* Injured
* Redshirt

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Cleveland, Rick (September 12, 2021). "Sept. 20, 2001: When football was played and patriotism broke out". Mississippi Today. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
2. ^ "The last time every SEC team rushed the field". Saturday Down South. August 26, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
3. ^ "Winsipedia - South Carolina Gamecocks vs. Alabama Crimson Tide football series history". Winsipedia. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
4. ^ a b "South Carolina Gamecocks Poll History". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
5. ^ a b c "South Carolina Gamecocks College Football History, Stats, Records". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
6. ^ "Remembering 9/11 and the SEC's initial mistake". September 5, 2011.
7. ^ "NCAA Football - Wofford vs. South Carolina".
8. ^ "Gamecocks' eyes now set on Florida". Florence Morning News. November 4, 2001. Retrieved July 12, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ "Cumulative Season Statistics". University of South Carolina. Archived from the original on April 20, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2011.

* v
* t
* e

South Carolina Gamecocks football

Venues|

* Old State Fairgrounds (1894, 1896–1898)
* Shandon Park (1895)
* College Park/Davis Field (1899–1925)
* Melton Field (1926–1934)
* Williams–Brice Stadium (1934–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Clemson
* Georgia
* North Carolina
* Tennessee

Culture & lore|

* Spurrier
* Cocky
* "The Fighting Gamecocks Lead the Way"
* Mighty Sound of the Southeast
* "Sandstorm"
* The Brawl
* University of South Carolina steroid scandal

People|

* Head coaches
* Statistical leaders
* NFL draftees

Seasons|

* 1892
* 1893
* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901
* 1902
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919
* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

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*[v]: View this template
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*[Conf.]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[No.]: Number