Outback Bowl: South Carolina Beats OSU
T A M P A, Jan. 1 -- Ryan Brewer didn’t fit the mold of an OhioState tailback, so he wound up at South Carolina.
The Buckeyes’ loss turned out to be the Gamecocks’ gain intoday’s Outback Bowl.
Brewer gained 219 total yards and scored three touchdowns,pacing a 24-7 victory over Ohio State that capped a remarkablecomeback for Lou Holtz and South Carolina. The Gamecocks, winlessin 1999 and losers of 21 straight entering the season, finished themost dramatic one-year turnaround in Southeastern Conferencehistory.
Brewer ran for 7,656 yards and scored 761 points as a prep starin Troy, Ohio, but wasn’t recruited by Ohio State. On Monday, herushed for 109 yards on 19 carries and scored on runs of 7 and 2yards, as well as a 28-yard screen pass play.
Unlikely MVP
“I never dreamed anything like this would happen,” Brewer, theunlikely MVP said. “My only thought was to go out there and playthe best that I can.”
A wide receiver most of this season, Brewer was part of aplatoon of runners Holtz used in place of Derek Watson, a1,000-yard rusher the coach suspended for the game for violating ateam rule.
The 5-10, 210-pound sophomore gained 66 yards rushing and caught33 passes for 326 yards and one touchdown during the regularseason.
“I said, ‘You’re not here to prove anything to anybody at Ohio State. You’re here to help your teammates.’ And that he certainly did,” Holtz said. “The longer the game went, the better heplayed.”
Like Brewer, Holtz grew up in Ohio and got a lot of satisfactionout of the victory. He beat Ohio State for the first time in fivetries, improving his bowl record to 11-8-2 in a career thatincludes stops at William & Mary, North Carolina State, Arkansas,Minnesota and Notre Dame.
It was another frustrating day for Ohio State coach John Cooper,who fell to 3-8 in bowl games at the Big Ten school. The Buckeyes(8-4), who avoided a shutout when offensive lineman Mike Gurrrecovered Jonathan Wells’ fumble in the end zone for athird-quarter touchdown, never have beaten a SEC team (0-6) in thepostseason.
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