The 2000 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina in the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) during the

2000 NCAA Division I-A football season The 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the Oklahoma Sooners claiming their seventh national championship and their thirty-seventh conference championship, the first of each since the departure of head coach Barry Switzer. Oklahoma ...

. The Gamecocks were led by

Lou Holtz Louis Leo Holtz (born January 6, 1937) is an American former football player, coach, and analyst. He served as the head football coach at The College of William & Mary (1969–1971), North Carolina State University (1972–1975), the New York ...

in his second season as head coach and played their home games at Williams-Brice Stadium in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

. 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 New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...

, came two years to the day after their previous win, against Ball State on September 2, 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 a heavily favored

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

team that ended the Gamecocks' SEC losing streak. South Carolina fans tore down the goalposts at Williams-Brice Stadium on both occasions in celebration. On New Year's Day 2001, the Gamecocks defeated

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

in the

Outback Bowl The ReliaQuest Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, usually on New Year's Day. The event has been formerly called the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1995 and the Outback Bowl from 1996 to ...

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

. South Carolina finished the season ranked #19 in the

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

and #21 in the

Coaches Poll The Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. The football version of the poll has been known officially ...

Schedule

Roster

Coaching staff

, head coach *

Skip Holtz Louis Leo "Skip" Holtz Jr. (born March 12, 1964) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Birmingham Stallions of the United States Football League (USFL). Previously, he was the head coach for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (201 ...

, offensive coordinator, quarterbacks *

Charlie Strong Charles Rene Strong (born August 2, 1960) is an American football coach who is currently the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at the University of Miami. He recently served as the assistant head coach and inside linebackers coach ...

, defensive coordinator, defensive line *

Dave DeGuglielmo Dave DeGuglielmo ( ; born July 15, 1968) is an American football coach who is the offensive line coach for the Boston College Eagles. He has previously been offensive line coach for the NFL's New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, I ...

, offensive line *

John Gutekunst John Gutekunst (born April 13, 1944) is an American former college football coach and player. He served as the head football coach at the University of Minnesota from 1985 to 1991, compiling a record of 29–37–2. Gutekunst came to Minnesota in ...

, defensive backs *

Oliver Pough Oliver may refer to: Arts, entertainment and literature Books * ''Oliver the Western Engine'', List of books in The Railway Series#Oliver the Western Engine, volume 24 in ''The Railway Series'' by Rev. W. Awdry * ''Oliver Twist'', a nove ...

running backs * Dave Roberts, tight ends *

Chris Cosh Chris Cosh (born May 12, 1959) is an American football coach and former player. He currently serves as the defensive coordinator at Hampton University. Playing career Cosh played linebacker for the Virginia Tech Hokies from 1977 to 1981.

, linebackers * Todd Fitch, wide receivers * Paul Lounsberry, offensive line

Rankings

References

{{South Carolina Gamecocks football navbox

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

ReliaQuest Bowl champion seasons South Carolina Gamecocks football seasons

South Carolina Gamecocks football The South Carolina Gamecocks football program represents the University of South Carolina. The Gamecocks compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern ...