“Because he’s stronger than you think,

A heart of steel begins to grow.”

————— THE SCRIPT

CLEMSON – How often? How many times had South Carolina been here, had a chance for greatness in its hands and failed to do it?

Dozens? Hundreds? That certainly seems to be the case when you look at the minefield of Gamecocks football throughout its 131-year history. Shit, USC has done it twice this year, missing out on wins over LSU and Alabama (granted, an incumbent team that looked so lopsided it had to wear its socks off had a lot to do with that first win) .

When the Gamecocks got the ball back after a three-pointer on a strange onside kick, I thought they would find a way not to win. A turnover (they’ve already had three), a penalty (Torricelli Simpkins might be the luckiest man in South Carolina right now), just no execution (really hard to be successful on offense when you can’t block)…

Put it this way. This article you are reading was almost finished when LaNorris Sellers stood under center with 5:09 to play and rushed for 75 yards. It contained more poison than the Well of Souls.

Not the first time I had to press Ctrl-Alt-Delete.

But one of the most entertaining.

Takeaways from a rock-rubbin, tiger-holdin, pride-takin’, star-making rivalry win:

The drive

You just have to trust me. I was in Fort Myers finishing up a week of basketball and watching the second half on the hotel room TV when Sellers was in line.

I mentioned it when I captured the win over Wofford. No, even after today, Sellers isn’t the greatest of all time (at least not for me).

But it’s on its way, and as I sat in that hotel chair ready to post a story about how USC will never get to the next level because of crappy games like Saturday, I swear to my son, I said: “Do you know? “I’ve seen a No. 16 lead a game-winning drive once or twice…”