The 1987 Gator Bowl was a college football bowl game between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the LSU Tigers. LSU defeated South Carolina, 30–13.
Background South Carolina competed as an independent and was tied for fourth-best record among independent schools. LSU finished second in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The game would be vaunted as a matchup between the "Black Death" defense of SC versus the prolific pro-style LSU offense led by Tommy Hodson at QB and Wendell Davis, one of the best wideouts in all of college football.
Game summary
First quarter LSU – Wendell Davis, 39-yard pass from Tommy Hodson (David Browndyke kick) LSU – Davis, 12-yard pass from Hodson (Browndyke kick) South Carolina – Collin Mackie, 44-yard field goal
Second quarter LSU – Browndyke, 27-yard field goal South Carolina – Mackie, 39-yard field goal LSU – Browndyke, 18-yard field goal
Third quarter LSU – Davis, 25-yard pass from Hodson (Browndyke kick)
Fourth quarter South Carolina – Harold Green, 10-yard run (Mackie kick) LSU – Browndyke, 23-yard field goal
Statistics Statistics South Carolina LSUFirst downs 21 17Rushing yards 25 122Passing yards 304 224 Total yards 329 346 Passes (Att-Comp-Int) 47–28–4 32–20–0 Punts–average 2–40.5 3–37.6Fumbles–lost 2–1 5–3Penalties–yards 6–49 10–107
Aftermath South Carolina was invited to join the Southeastern Conference in 1990, and began playing football in their new conference in 1992. The Gamecocks and Tigers first met as SEC opponents in 1994 at Baton Rouge. South Carolina won that game 18-17, but is 0-7-1 vs. LSU since.
References