# 2000 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

The 2000 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Gamecocks were led by Lou Holtz in his second season as head coach and played their home games at Williams–Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina.
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. 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. South Carolina fans tore down the goalposts at Williams–Brice Stadium on both occasions in celebration. Before the program's last-ever "Orange Crush" ending the regular season, the Gamecocks were ranked No. 17, their highest ranking since 1988. 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. 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.

## Schedule

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

## Rankings

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

## Personnel
### 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