2001 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

2001 South Carolina Gamecocks football
Outback Bowl Champions
Outback Bowl vs. Ohio State, W 31–28
Conference	Southeastern Conference Eastern Division
Ranking
Coaches	#13
AP	#13
2001 record	9–3 (5–3 SEC)
Head coach	Lou Holtz
Home stadium	Williams-Brice Stadium (c. 80,250, grass)

2001 SEC football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Eastern Division
#4 Tennessee x		7	–	1					11	–	2
#3 Florida  %		6	–	2					10	–	2
#13 South Carolina		5	–	3					9	–	3
#22 Georgia		5	–	3					8	–	4
Kentucky		1	–	7					2	–	9
Vanderbilt		0	–	8					2	–	9
Western Division
#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. The Gamecocks were led by Lou Holtz in his third season as USC head coach, and played their home games in Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, SC.

Carolina followed up one of the biggest turnarounds in college football history in 2000 with another successful season in 2001. The season was also notable in that the USC–Mississippi State game on September 20 was the first Division I-A game played following the September 11 terrorist attacks. On January 1, 2002, the Gamecocks defeated Ohio State in the 2002 Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida, and finished the season ranked #13 in both the AP and Coaches' Polls.

Schedule

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 cancelled in the wake of the September 11 attacks. The game was never played.

Date	Time	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	7:00 PM	Boise State*	#21	Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC		W 32–13	83,019
September 8	7:45 PM	at #25 Georgia	#21	Sanford Stadium • Athens, GA	ESPN	W 14–9	86,520
September 20	7:30 PM	at #17 Mississippi State	#18	Scott Field • Starkville, MS	ESPN	W 16–14	43,579
September 29	12:30 PM	Alabama	#15	Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC	JPS	W 37–36	84,100
October 6	1:00 PM	Kentucky	#13	Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC	PPV	W 42–6	80,250
October 13	3:30 PM	at Arkansas	#9	War Memorial Stadium • Little Rock, AR	CBS	L 7–10	53,514
October 20	1:00 PM	Vanderbilt	#16	Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC		W 46–14	83,104
October 27	6:00 PM	at #9 Tennessee	#12	Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN	ESPN2	L 10–17	107,530
November 3	1:00 PM	Wofford*	#17	Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC		W 38–14	77,922
November 10	7:45 PM	#4 Florida	#14	Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC	ESPN	L 17–54	84,900
November 17	12:30 PM	Clemson*	#22	Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC (Battle of the Palmetto State)	JPS	W 20–15	85,000
January 1	11:00 AM	vs. #22 Ohio State*	#14	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL (Outback Bowl)	ESPN	W 31–28	66,249
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.

Coaching staff

• Lou Holtz - Head Coach
• - Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
• - Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs
• - Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line
• - Recruiting Coordinator/Linebackers
• - Running Backs
• - Tight Ends
• - Defensive Line
• - Wide Receivers
• - Outside Linebackers
• - Defensive Video Graduate Assistant
• - Defensive Graduate Assistant
• - Offensive Graduate Assistant
• - Offensive Video Graduate Assistant