For the first time since the Steve Spurrier years, there is a bit of hope in Columbia as brash, third-year head coach Shane Beamer has had the Gamecocks punching above their weight and into bowl games. The fan base got genuinely excited for the first time since the Spurrier years when the team closed last season by taking No. 5-ranked, 22-point favorite Tennessee to the woodshed in a 63-38 bombardment to end the Volunteers' hopes of sneaking into the playoffs. The cherry on top would come the next week when the Gam ecocks ended a seven-year losing streak to much disliked cross-state rival Clemson in a 31-30 thriller… at Death Valley, no less. Blowing a lead in the subsequent Gator Bowl vs. Notre Dame hardly stung too much in the afterglow…
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