January 4, 2002

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina put an exclamation point on another successful football season by finishing 13th in both national polls. The Gamecocks, who concluded a 9-3 run with a 31-28 Outback Bowl victory over Ohio State on New Year1s Day, were 13th in both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN coaches polls.

The final ranking is the second highest in school history and the highest for a Carolina team since the 1984 team finished 11th in the AP poll. That squad won a school record 10 games.

For the first time in school history, USC has garnered consecutive top 20 national rankings. Carolina finished 19th in the AP poll a year ago, after compiling an 8-4 record.

The two-year record of 17-7 is the best back-to-back run in school history. Another high water mark was established with USC winning consecutive bowl games for the first time ever.

Head coach Lou Holtz, the architect of this remarkable turnaround and whose 233 career victories rank third on the active win list and 10th all-time, directs the credit to the players and assistant coaches.

“All the credit should go to the players, assistant coaches, administration and to our fans,” said Holtz via telephone early Friday morning. “The players really did an outstanding job. We have developed a family atmosphere at South Carolina. It1s great for the entire state and I1m extremely proud to be associated with this program. We were fortunate enough to be able to combine the talents of the new players with the talents of the players that were already in the program. The core values became the same. Now, we need to have a good recruiting year and bring in the caliber of players that will help us reach our goal of getting to the promised land.

“I have been blessed with great health and the doctors say I1m in excellent physical shape,” Holtz continued. 3I am as excited and enthused as I1ve ever been. I plan on coaching for as long as I can, as we still have some high goals that we want to reach here at South Carolina.2

A LOOK BACK AT THE 2001 FOOTBALL SEASON

USC’s final national ranking of 13th is the highest for the program since the 1984 team finished 11th in the final Associated Press poll.

For the first time in the program’s history, USC has been nationally ranked in back-to-back seasons. Last year, the Gamecocks finished 19th in the final AP poll.

The Gamecocks were nationally ranked the entire season, another first in school history. Dating back to the final 2000 national poll, USC has been ranked in 18 consecutive national rankings.

USC’s two year (2000-01) record of 17-7 is the best two-year stretch in school history, surpassing the previous best mark of 16-8 that was achieved twice (1979-80 and 1987-88).

USC finished 11th nationally in home attendance, averaging a school-record 82,614 fans per home game

For the first time ever, USC won nine games in a season. That win total is the second best in school history.

Over the past two seasons, USC has defeated six teams that were nationally ranked at the time the Gamecocks played them. In 2000, Carolina defeated Georgia (#9), Mississippi State (#25) and Ohio State (#18). In 2001, USC defeated Georgia (#25), Mississippi State (#17) and Ohio State (#22).

USC was one of five Southeastern Conference teams to finish in the final AP poll. Florida (#3), Tennessee (#4), LSU (#7), and Georgia (#22) were also nationally ranked. The SEC leads the country with five schools listed in the final national AP poll.

USC appeared on national television a school-record six times in 2001, including games against Georgia (ESPN2), Mississippi State (ESPN), Arkansas (CBS), Tennessee (ESPN2), Florida (ESPN), and Ohio State (ESPN).

Carolina is 10-6 in the SEC over the past two seasons, the best two-year SEC record ever for the Gamecocks.

The 2001 season saw more Gamecocks earn postseason honors than any year in school history. Linebacker Kalimba Edwards was a semi-finalist for both the Butkus and Rotary Lombardi Awards, cornerback Sheldon Brown was a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, and quarterback Phil Petty was on the watch list for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. Edwards and Brown were also named to All-America teams. Seven Gamecocks earned some type of All-SEC honors. Edwards and cornerback Andre Goodman were named SEC Defensive Players of the Week.

For the first time ever, USC defeated top 25 teams in consecutive games on the road (Georgia and Mississippi State).

Coach Lou Holtz is now 12-8-2 in bowl games. His 12 victories tie him with former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne for fourth on the all-time coaching list, while his 22 bowl appearances tie him with former BYU coach LaVell Edwards for fifth on that career list.

For the second straight season, USC had a player named MVP in the Outback Bowl. Quarterback Phil Petty was the 2002 winner, while receiver/tailback Ryan Brewer was the 2001 winner. Petty finished 17-6 over his last 23 starts at quarterback for the Gamecocks.

Carolina has won its last three bowl games – the 1995 Carquest Bowl (24-21 over West Virginia), the 2001 Outback Bowl (24-7 over Ohio State), and the 2002 Outback Bowl (31-28 over Ohio State).