1991 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

1991 South Carolina Gamecocks football
Conference	Independent
Record	3–6–2
Head coach	Sparky Woods (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Art Wilkins (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Tommy West (1st season)
Home stadium	Williams-Brice Stadium
Seasons ←  1990 1992  →

1991 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 9 East Carolina			–					11	–	1	–	0
No. 4 Florida State			–					11	–	2	–	0
No. 3 Penn State			–					11	–	2	–	0
No. 21 Tulsa			–					10	–	2	–	0
Louisiana Tech			–					8	–	1	–	2
No. 13 Notre Dame			–					10	–	3	–	0
Akron			–					5	–	6	–	0
Memphis State			–					5	–	6	–	0
Army			–					4	–	7	–	0
Cincinnati			–					4	–	7	–	0
Southern Miss			–					4	–	7	–	0
South Carolina			–					3	–	6	–	2
Southwestern Louisiana			–					2	–	8	–	1
Louisville			–					2	–	9	–	0
Northern Illinois			–					2	–	9	–	0
Tulane			–					1	–	10	–	0
Navy			–					1	–	10	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1991 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina as an independent team in the 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season, finishing with a 3–6–2 record. The team played its home games at Williams–Brice Stadium. The Gamecocks were led by Sparky Woods in his third year as head coach.

This was the Gamecocks' 21st and final season as an independent. South Carolina would join the Southeastern Conference for the 1992 season after joining the conference in all other sports on July 1, 1991.

Led by returning starting quarterback Bobby Fuller, ^[1] during a year when "if anything could go bad, it did", ^[1] South Carolina's three wins were its fewest since 1986. ^[2] In the season-opener against Duke at home, the Gamecocks were up by two scores near the end of the fourth quarter, but the Blue Devils scored fourteen points in the final seventy seconds to tie the game. ^{[1] [3]} For the Gamecocks, this would be the first of three consecutive losing seasons in the early 1990s, and the first of seven total losing seasons in the decade. ^[2]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 7	7:00 pm	Duke	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC		T 24–24	71,200	[3]
September 14	1:00 pm	at West Virginia	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV		L 16–21	51,989	[4]
September 21	7:00 pm	Virginia Tech	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC		W 28–21	68,200	[5]
September 28	1:30 pm	at East Carolina	Ficklen Memorial Stadium Greenville, NC		L 20–31	33,100	[6]
October 5	1:30 pm	East Tennessee State	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC		W 55–7	55,832	[7]
October 12	1:30 pm	Louisiana Tech	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC		T 12–12	52,400	[8]
October 19	1:30 pm	Georgia Tech	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC		W 23–14	67,220	[9]
November 2	4:00 pm	No. 19 NC State	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	ESPN	L 21–38	67,900	[10]
November 9	12:00 pm	at No. 1 Florida State	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	JPS	L 10–38	60,244	[11]
November 16	1:30 pm	at North Carolina	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC (rivalry)		L 17–21	47,500	[12]
November 23	1:30 pm	No. 14 Clemson	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC (rivalry)	JPS	L 24–41	74,200	[13]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[14]

Roster

Bobby Fuller* QB Wright Mitchell QB Brandon Bennett* RB Leroy Jeter* RB Rob DeBoer RB Terry Wilburn RB Albert Haynes RB Eddie Miller* WR Robert Brooks* WR David Pitchko WR Asim Penny WR Bralyn Bennett WR Bill Zorr WR Darren Greene WR Mike Whitman* TE Matthew Campbell TE Boomer Foster TE Roderick Howell TE Mathew Campbell TE Ernest Dye* OL Kenny Farrell* OL Jay Killen* OL Antoine Rivens* OL Rich Sweet* OL Vincent Dinkins OL Kevin Rosenkrans OL Cedric Bembery* DL Bobby Brown* DL Marty Dye* DL Troy Duke DL David Turnipseed DL Ernest Dixon* LB Eric Brown* LB Gerald Dixon* LB Robert Gibson* LB Keith Franklin LB Joe Reaves LB Keith Emmons LB Toby Cates* DB Jerry Inman* DB Bru Pender* DB Tony Watkins* DB Frank Adams DB Cedric Surratt DB Norman Greene DB Daren Parker P Harold Staley LS

References

1. Cloninger, David (October 15, 2016). "Bobby Fuller came to USC with Sparky Woods, earned starting QB job". The State. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
2. "South Carolina Gamecocks College Football History, Stats, Records". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
3. "Devils rally for tie". The News and Observer. September 8, 1991. Retrieved February 3, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. "W. Virginia little 'lucky' in 21–16 win". York Sunday News. September 15, 1991. Retrieved February 3, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. "USC survives Hokies rally". The State. September 22, 1991. Retrieved February 3, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. "USC falls hard". The Charlotte Observer. September 29, 1991. Retrieved February 3, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Gamecocks roll past ETSU, 55–7". Johnson City Press. October 6, 1991. Retrieved February 3, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Louisiana Tech rallies to tie South Carolina". The Charlotte Observer. October 13, 1991. Retrieved July 14, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Upset 2, Gamecocks trip Jackets". The Macon Telegraph & News. October 20, 1991. Retrieved February 3, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
10. "USC tripped up; Gamecocks lose finale in series with Wolfpack". The Item. November 3, 1991. Retrieved February 3, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
11. "FSU beats S. Carolina unimpressively 38–10". The Palm Beach Post. November 10, 1991. Retrieved February 3, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
12. "UNC Means business in bid for bowl". Florence Morning News. November 17, 1991. Retrieved February 3, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
13. "QB Cameron, Clemson beat S. Carolina". The Atlanta Journal & Constitution. November 24, 1991. Retrieved February 3, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
14. "1991 South Carolina Gamecocks Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 3, 2024.