The campaign in 1985 was unsuccesful. The Gamecocks lost by double digits to Michigan, Georgia, Pitt, and Florida State en route to a disappointing 5-6 finish. Ironically, South Carolina did get their revenge on the Naval Academy with a 34-31 win in Columbia. With this turn of events, no one knew what to expect from the upcoming season.  The Gamecocks were loaded at wide receiver with future Green Bay Packer Sterling Sharpe and speedster Ryan Bethea.  There were rumors that Morrison was going to a wide open aerial offensive style. The high of 84 and the low of 85 had Carolina fans befuddled and wondering what would happen next.

    Was Morrison a one trick pony? Could Mike Hold be replaced? Would the defense (nicknamed the fire ants in 1984 due to their aggressiveness) return to form? Who was this Todd Ellis kid recruited out of North Carolina? All of these questions and more were waiting to be answered in the fall of 1986.

         The first challenge for the Cocks was Miami, 3 years removed from a national title and destined to play for the 86 crown. The Cocks played well, but not nearly well enough to win. Quarterback Vinny Testaverde led the Hurricanes to a 34-13 victory. Next up was a solid Virginia team. Carolina played well again, but dropped to 0-2 with a 30-20 loss. The "run and shoot" offense unveiled was piling up yardage, but small errors in execution were preventing victories. Quarterback Pat Turner would give way to true freshman Todd Ellis, who proved to be adept at commanding the offense. The young Ellis had a tendency to be a gunslinger, a situation which caused him to force passes and throw interceptions at times.

        Carolina picked up its first win with a 45-24 victory over Western Carolina. At 1-2, the Cocks went into an open date with a chance to fine tune things before playing Georgia at home in a game televised nationally on ESPN. Once again the Cocks turned in a whale of a performance only to come up short, 31-26. Things didn't get any easier as future Hall of Famer Tom Osbourne brought the Nebraska Cornhuskers to Columbia the following week. Unbelievably, the Gamecocks led 24-20 late in the game and had the ball.  Gamecock fans, nationally known for their vocal devotion despite a mediocre program, had Williams Brice Stadium so loud that many in attendance claimed to have seen or felt the stadium sway. Ultimately, though, Nebraska would capitalize on a Harold Green fumble and score a late touchdown for a 27-24 win.  Once again, a moral victory but still a mark in the loss column.

      Next up for the Cocks was a trip to Blacksburg, Virginia to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies, who had gotten things together after an opening week loss to Cincinatti. Ellis was on fire as the Gamecocks put the only other blemish on the Hokies record that year, a 27-27 tie. Amazingly, the Gamecocks had not won since week 3, yet were arguably outplaying everyone they faced. The Cocks finally got another win by torching East Carolina 38-3 the following week. Now at 2-4-1, the Cocks were going to travel to Raleigh to face the NC State Wolfpack. What would occur in Carter-Finley Stadium that day was so controversial that many Gamecock fans are still angry, hurt, or confused.

      It was a hard fought game, and South Carolina was clinging to a 5 point lead in the waning seconds of the game. As time expired, NC State quarterback Erik Kramer threw an incomplete pass and the Gamecocks began to celebrate their 3rd win of the season, but apparently someone had other plans. Somehow, an official had ruled Gamecock Nose Guard Roy Hart offsides prior to the last play and no one noticed the flag. The Wolfpack were awarded an untimed play, and Kramer threw a game winning touchdown pass to Danny Peebles as two Gamecock defenders collided with one another. Many fans cite this game as evidence of a "chicken curse", which supposedly causes the University of South Carolina's athletic teams to lose games they should win. So, suffering a 23-22 loss, South Carolina had now been defeated 5 times and had played well enough to win all but the opener against Miami.

      Still hung over from the debacle in Raleigh, one of Bobby Bowden's least successful teams hung 45 points on the Gamecocks, as Carolina lost by 17. The next week, the Cocks would defeat Wake Forest 48-21 for its 3rd and final victory of the season. Heading into the traditional rival game against Clemson, the Gamecocks were 3-6-1. The Tigers had already won the Atlantic Coast Conference title, and would defeat Stanford in the Gator Bowl following the season. Clemson, though, had feared the turtle and been tied by Maryland the week before. The stage was set for one of those games where the record books can be tossed out, for this game was truly a backyard brawl for bragging rights.Carolina's defense did well against the Clemson triple option threat, and Ellis played well enough to get the Gamecocks into postion to win. Of course, they didn't, and the game ended up in a 21-21 tie after a 62 yard field goal attempt fell short for the Tigers as time expired. For at least the 5th time that year, the Carolina Gamecocks had played well enough to win but just couldn't get the job done. Joe Morrison and his boys had a lot to be proud of, but not a lot of tangible things to celebrate. However, there was some good news. 

     The foundation had been built for the run and shoot to be successful, but at this point it was literally hit or miss. The Ellis to Sharpe connection, complemented by the slashing running style of Harold Green had given the fans hope that once again, next year would be the year. Ironically, the next two years would be the most successful in the programs history until the legendary Lou Holtz came to Columbia.

      In retrospect, though, the 1986 campaign can be well remembered for many different things. It was the year for transition between the Allen Mitchell option offense and the Todd Ellis spread it around offense. By playing everyone so tough, no one could be convinced that the Gamecocks didn't have enough heart. So people shouldn't be surprised if in a Columbia bar or resteraunt to overhear something like" Yeah, they had to be the best 3-6-2 ever". And its a statement that 's hard to argue with.

 
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Justin Cannon
Jcannon66@gmail.com