1987 Gator Bowl

The 1987 Gator Bowl was a college football bowl game between the LSU Tigers and the South Carolina Gamecocks.[1] LSU defeated South Carolina, 30–13.[2]

1987 Mazda Gator Bowl
South Carolina Gamecocks LSU Tigers
(8–3) (9–1–1)
Independent SEC
13 30
Head coach: 
Joe Morrison		 Head coach: 
Mike Archer
APCoaches
99
APCoaches
77
1234 Total
South Carolina 3307 13
LSU 14673 30
DateDecember 31, 1987
Season1987
StadiumGator Bowl Stadium
LocationJacksonville, Florida
MVPWR Wendell Davis, LSU
RB Harold Green, South Carolina
RefereeRobert C. Wood III (ACC)
Attendance82,119
United States TV coverage
NetworkCBS
AnnouncersVerne Lundquist, Dick Vermeil

Background

LSU finished second in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). South Carolina competed as an independent and was tied for fourth-best record among independent schools. [3] 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

[4]

Statistics
StatisticsLSUSouth Carolina
First Downs1721
Rushing Yards12225
Passing Yards224304
Total Yards346329
Passes (Att-Comp-Int)32-20-047-28-4
Punts-Average3-37.62-40.5
Fumbles-Lost5-32-1
Penalties-Yards10-1076-49

[4]

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
  1. "1987 Bowl Games". sports-reference.com. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  2. "Tommy Hodson leads LSU to rout of South Carolina in 1987 Gator Bowl top-10 matchup". nola.com. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  3. "Gamecocks, Tigers met in 1987 Gator Bowl". gridironnow.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  4. "43rd Gator Bowl" (PDF). taxslayerbowl.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
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