Tampa Bay Football History Network

2001 Outback Bowl

Ohio State and South Carolina came to town for the fifteenth version of the game. Ohio State (8-3) was ranked nineteenth and it was the third time head coach John Cooper brought his Buckeyes to Tampa. It was OSU's thirty- second bowl appearance. For South Carolina (7-4), it was their first visit to the Outback Bowl and first bowl trip in six years. The Gamecocks had one victory in ten previous bowl trips. Before this season, they had lost twenty-one straight games, including an 0-11 record last year in the first season for Lou Holtz as the South Carolina head coach. With USC's Cinderella season, the first meeting between the schools sold out fast with 65,229 attending the game.

While South Carolina would dominate the game, the first quarter was scoreless and the Gamecocks held a 3-0 lead at the half. The teams each scored touchdowns in the third quarter, before USC put the game away with two fourth quarter TDs. Ohio State quarterback Steve Bellisari (14 of 25 for 157 yards with an interception) was sacked four times and USC defensive back Deandre Eiland tied the Outback Bowl record with two interceptions. South Carolina QB Phil Petty (9 of 19 for 175 yards with an INT) threw a touchdown pass, but Ryan Brewer was game MVP. He tied the Outback record by scoring all three of USC's touchdowns. Brewer carried the ball nineteen times for 109 yards with a pair of scoring runs, caught three passes for 92 yards with a touchdown and returned two punts for a total of 18 yards. South Carolina controlled the game and rushed for 218 yards against the Big Ten's best rushing defense. Lou Holtz said after the 24-7 victory, "This was our day and we were not going to be denied it." The day after the game, and after thirteen seasons at Ohio State, John Cooper was fired as head coach.

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