Holtz Leads South Carolina into Outback Bowl Matchup With Ohio State – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/29/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 29, 2000
It may be stunning to see South Carolina in a bowl game, but there is little surprise that Lou Holtz led the Gamecocks to one.
Holtz will complete his latest rebuilding job on New Year’s Day when he leads South Carolina into the Outback Bowl to face No. 19 Ohio State.
Holtz’s first season in South Carolina was a disaster, as the Gamecocks went 0-11 to extend their losing streak to 21 games. They rebounded this season to go 7-4, the biggest regular-season improvement in Southeastern Conference history.
While the improvement was stunning, it was in line with other work done by Holtz. He now becomes the only coach to take six schools to bowl games, and all of them qualified for a postseason game by the end of his second season.
South Carolina’s turnaround may have been his most impressive work. The Gamecocks entered the season with the longest losing streak in the country, and had never even finished with a winning record in the SEC.
“Coach Holtz does a phenomenal job of handling a team,” said offensive coordinator Skip Holtz, his son. “He holds us all to high standards. I don’t think our turnaround occurred because we changed defenses or we changed offenses. I think the primary reason was because Coach Holtz grabbed a hold of this team and demanded nothing less than their best.”
The season ended on a down note, however, as the Gamecocks dropped their final three games in the regular season. A 41-21 loss at Florida on Dec. 11 cost South Carolina the SEC East championship, and a 16-14 loss to Clemson in the regular-season finale dropped the Gamecocks out of the Top 25.
Ohio State (8-3) also ended the regular season on a down note, losing to rival Michigan 38-26 in its finale. That cost the Buckeyes a share of the Big Ten title, though they plan to refocus for this game.
“We are taking this game very seriously, it’s much more than just a trip to Florida,” linebacker Joe Cooper said. “We are playing a good team and we know we need to play our best game of the year.”
Cooper was part of a strong Ohio State defense that led the Big Ten in rushing and scoring defense this season. The Buckeyes allowed averages of just 91.6 yards rushing and 18 points.
That will make things even tougher for South Carolina, which will play without leading rusher Derek Watson. Watson, who rushed for 1,066 yards and scored 12 touchdowns, was suspended by Holtz for breaking unspecified team rules.
“It saddens me that Derek will not play in this game, because his performance this season is a big reason why our team was in a position to be selected to play in the Outback Bowl,” Lou Holtz said. “I hope he will be with us in the future, but that will have to be decided by Derek.”
South Carolina is just 1-8 in bowl games. Holtz, on the other hand, is 10-8-2. He is 0-4, however, against Ohio State, where he once served as an assistant coach.
The Buckeyes are appearing in their 32nd bowl game. They will be playing on New Year’s Day for the eighth time in nine years.
