Three trips, two wins: How South Carolina has fared in past editions of Citrus Bowl

South Carolina and Illinois will face off for the first time in both football program’s histories in this year’s edition of the Citrus Bowl on Dec. 31. But it won’t be the Gamecocks’ first time playing in the Orlando-based postseason event.

South Carolina has appeared in three previous iterations of the bowl game, which all came under different names. Here’s how the Gamecocks have fared in those contests.

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1975 Tangerine Bowl versus Miami-Ohio

South Carolina finished the 1975 regular season on a high note. The Gamecocks recovered from a late three-game losing streak to pick up double-digit victories over Wake Forest (37-26) and Clemson (56-20) to finish the campaign 7-4.

But a losing streak in bowl games still hung over the program’s head. Up to that point, South Carolina had only participated in the Gator Bowl in 1946 and Peach Bowl in 1969 – and both games resulted in defeats.

The Gamecocks would meet the same fate against the Miami-Ohio RedHawks, as they fell 20-7.

South Carolina’s starting quarterback at the time, Jeff Grantz, delivered a strong individual performance for the team. He completed 18-of-29 passes for 228 yards – almost double the number of yards Miami-Ohio’s quarterback accumulated – in the contest.

The Gamecocks’ defense could not contain the RedHawks’ rushing attack, though, as it out-gained South Carolina’s 238-56. Two rushing touchdowns also helped Miami-Ohio build an early 17-0 lead it would hold the rest of the game.

The Gamecocks eventually got on the scoreboard in the third quarter on a three-yard touchdown run by Tom Amrein. The score capped off a 13-play, 73-yard drive on which Grantz contributed 60 passing yards.

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2012 Capital One Bowl versus Nebraska

South Carolina reached the peak of its powers in the early 2010s, as it rattled off three straight 10-win seasons for the first (and only) time in program history.

The 2011 campaign kicked off this dominant stretch for Gamecock football, and a 30-13 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers all but placed South Carolina amongst the best teams in the country at the time.

Both squads engaged in a high-scoring affair in the first quarter, which ended 13-9 in favor of Nebraska. But from that point onward, it was all Gamecocks. South Carolina scored 21 unanswered points across the second and fourth quarters to claim the win.

Former Gamecock wideout Alshon Jeffery was the star of the show, taking home Most Valuable Player honors after a four-catch, 148-yard performance. He also scored a touchdown that helped South Carolina gain the lead as time expired in the first half.

Connor Shaw also played an important role in the team’s offensive success. While he attempted just 17 passes, his 11 completions went for 230 yards and two touchdowns. He also gained 42 yards and an additional score on the ground.

But the Gamecocks’ elite defense ultimately played the largest role in the win. South Carolina held the Cornhuskers to just 64 yards in the second half and did not allow them to score after the first quarter. The Gamecocks registered six total sacks – two of which came from Jadeveon Clowney, and another 1.5 which came from Melvin Ingram.

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2014 Capital One Bowl versus Wisconsin

After a one-year absence from the Capital One Bowl — South Carolina picked up a 33-28 win over Michigan in the 2013 Outback Bowl — the Gamecocks returned to Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium (now Camping World Stadium) in 2014.

This time, the Gamecocks took on a Wisconsin Badgers team that possessed a 9-3 record heading into the postseason. But South Carolina made it three straight years with a bowl game win through a 34-24 victory.

Shaw followed up his 2012 performance with one of his best individual games donning Garnet and Black. He had just as many passing touchdowns as he did incompletions (three), throwing for 312 yards on 22-of-25 passing. In addition to supplying 48 rushing yards and one touchdown on 16 carries, he also caught a nine-yard pass from Bruce Ellington (who had six receptions, 140 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns to his name).

Overall, Shaw generated 369 total yards of offense and accounted for five touchdowns.

Wisconsin’s potent rushing duo of Melvin Gordon and James White left behind an impact on the other sideline. Gordon gained 143 yards on 25 carries, while White gained 107 on 12 attempts. As a whole, the Badgers ran for 293 yards to South Carolina’s 112.

But neither tailback found the end zone, as Wisconsin scored its points on two passing touchdowns, one field goal and a 91-yard kickoff return by Kenzel Doe. The Badgers’ special teams score made it 27-24 early in the fourth quarter.

Shaw then drove South Carolina 88 yards down the field, culminating in his one-yard rushing touchdown to make it a two-possession ball game.

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