Outback Bowl
2002
South Carolina 31
Ohio State 28
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- With the score tied and no time left, South
Carolina kicker Daniel Weaver knew his 42-yard field goal attempt wasn't
his best effort. So he put his faith in the wind. The kick barely
cleared the crossbar, allowing No. 14 South Carolina to avoid a big
embarrassment with a 31-28 victory over Ohio State (No. 23 ESPN/USA
Today; No. 22 Associated Press) in the Outback Bowl on Tuesday (video).
"I don't know what would've happened if that sucker didn't go through,"
South Carolina coach Lou Holtz said. But the kick did, and the Gamecocks
(9-3) had their second consecutive Outback victory over Ohio State. "I
knew it wasn't my greatest kick ever, but I was hoping the wind might
take it," Weaver said. "I was lucky enough to make it."
Steve Bellisari, playing for the first time since his November arrest
and suspension on drunken driving charges, led Ohio State from a 28-0
deficit to tie the score. But he was intercepted by Sheldon Brown, whose
return to Ohio State's 29 with 23 seconds left set up Weaver's first
game-winning kick. Four plays and two Ohio State timeouts after the
interception, Weaver delivered. "I just give Ohio State a lot of credit
to be down by 28 and never give up," Holtz said.
Phil Petty, the game's most valuable player, threw for 227 yards and two
touchdowns, and Andrew Pinnock scored twice for South Carolina. But none
of that mattered when Bellisari finally got the Buckeyes (7-5) going. He
ran for a 2-yard score to close the third quarter, then hit Darrell
Sanders with a 16-yard touchdown pass with 10:18 to go that cut the lead
in half. "We were at the lowest we've been all year when we were down
28-0," Bellisari said. "The team really pulled together and we showed
some real heart and grit right there." Bellisari, who was 21-for-35 for
320 yards, then drove Ohio State to the South Carolina 18, but lost the
snap. South Carolina linebacker Jermiah Garrison recovered. On the next
play, Derek Watson fumbled right back to Ohio State's Mike Doss. Three
plays later, Jonathan Wells' 1-yard run made it 28-21 with 5:02 to go.
Ohio State got the ball back on its 11 with 3:56 to play and Bellisari
was magnificent. He went 6-for-6 for 86 yards, tying the game on
Sanders' 9-yard catch.
Cie Grant gave the Buckeyes a chance for victory at the end,
intercepting Petty with 1:12 left. A celebration penalty backed them up
to their 18, but no one at Raymond James Stadium was doubting Bellisari.
However, the long pass was picked off by Brown, whose twisting, cutback
37-yard return gave the Gamecocks hope. The pass "was my call," Ohio
State coach Jim Tressel said. "And it was the wrong call, I guess."
Weaver waited out the timeouts, reared back and kicked the dying ball
through. Only two years ago, South Carolina was 0-11 in Holtz's first
season. Since then, the Gamecocks are 17-7 and won consecutive bowl
games for the first time in 108 seasons. Ohio State, off its first
victory at Michigan in 14 years and talking of revenge against the
Gamecocks, dropped to 0-4 at the Outback. South Carolina beat the
Buckeyes 24-7 a year ago.
Much of the credit for South Carolina's turnaround goes to Petty, an
unspectacular yet efficient senior who has started the past three years.
Petty had throws of 9 yards to Watson and 13 to Brian Scott that set up
South Carolina's first score, a 1-yarder by the beefy, 250-pound Pinnock.
On the Gamecocks' next drive, Petty passed to Scott for 30 yards and
Pinnock for 9, ending things with Scott's 7-yard grab over freshman
safety Dustin Fox to lead 14-0 at the half.
Petty started the third quarter with a 50-yard touchdown throw to Andrea
Gause. Pinnock's 10-yard run made it 28-0 before the fun began. Ohio
State started strongly, forcing three first-quarter punts, including a
bowl record 70-yarder by Tyeler Dean that beat Syracuse's Cooper
Gardiner's 63-yard kick in 1989. But after Bellisari hit Sanders on a
17-yard pass that was Ohio State's longest play at the time, defensive
end George Gause stripped the ball to start the Gamecocks' first
touchdown drive.
South Carolina's Andrew Pinnock scored twice in the first half.
OSU's Darnell Sanders scored twice, as well.
Daniel Weaver's field goal wins it with 7 seconds left.
Two Outbacks in a row for Holtz and USC
Attendance- 66,249
Scoring Summary
Second Quarter
USC- Pinnock 1 Run (Weaver kick)
USC- Scott 7 pass from (Weaver kick)
Third Quarter
USC- Gause 50 pass from Petty (kick failed)
USC- Pinnock 10 run (Watson pass from Petty)
OSU- Bellisari 2 run (Nugent kick)
Fourth Quarter
OSU- Sanders 16 pass from Bellisari (Nugent kick)
OSU- Wells 1 run (Nugent kick)
OSU- Sanders 9 pass from Bellisari (Nugent kick)
USC- FG 42 Weaver
Individual Statistics
Rushing
OSU- Wells 19-37, Ross 1-13
USC- Brewer 5-61, Pinnock 12-49, Derek Watson 11-27
Passing
OSU- Bellisari 21-35-320
USC- Petty 19-37-227
Receiving
OSU- Jenkins 8-15, Vance 5-61, Sanders 5-56, Gamble 2-32, Martin 1-19
USC- Scott 7-83, Watson 4-37, Gause 3-72, Brewer 2-17, Pinnock 2-10
