It gets lost, but the South Carolina team stunned by The Citadel in 1990 was hardly terrible — those Gamecocks had the fourth-ranked defense in the nation at the time of that game, would go on to finish 6-5, and passed on a potential bowl bid due to conflicts with final exams. USC entered that game at 4-1, and Columbia wasn’t exactly on upset alert — quite the contrast to today, when anything seems possible against a USC team short on talent and suffering through its first losing season in over a decade.
Timing is everything
After two competitive efforts on the road, USC was brought back to reality last week by Florida, which manhandled the Gamecocks for three quarters.