



Though the two programs have only played twice this century, there’s a lot of history between South Carolina and North Carolina State. There have been late games decided by questionable calls and by two future pros locking horns. There have been program-impacting games, dominant defensive performances, a game in monsoon with mega storylines and even a little bad blood.



It’s been quite interesting over the years for sure.



The two teams will write the next chapter in the 2017 season opener, which is set for 3 p.m. Sept. 2 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. This will be the first meeting between the two programs on a neutral field. Every other game in the series has been in one of the two state capitols- Columbia, S.C., or Raleigh, N.C.



The Gamecocks lead the overall series, 27-26-4 with the Wolfpack and the two teams met annually (except for 1967) from 1965-91. The annual game got especially interesting in the 1980s, particularly the games involving USC alum and Wolfpack head coach Dick Sheridan. Sheridan coached in Raleigh from 1986-92 and led the Pack to six bowl games in seven seasons.



Here’s a look at 10 games to remember (five wins for South Carolina and five for N.C. State) in the last 40 years (1980s on)



Nov. 3, 1984- South Carolina 35, N.C. State 28 (Raleigh)



As was the case in so many games during the 1984 season, the Gamecocks rallied from a deficit to win. N.C. State built a 15-3 halftime lead and led 18-10 at the end of the third quarter. South Carolina hung 25 points on the Wolfpack in the fourth and after Thomas Dendy scored the go-ahead touchdown with 50 seconds left, Carolina fans threw oranges on the field as the fifth-ranked Gamecocks improved to 8-0 and believed they were heading for the Orange Bowl.



Nov. 1, 1986- N.C. State 23, South Carolina 22 (Raleigh)



A young South Carolina squad came into the game with the No. 16 Wolfpack (Sheridan’s first season) with an eye on an upset. The Gamecocks rallied from a 17-3 deficit to take a 22-17 lead late in the game. After a 16-yard punt, N.C. State took over at the 40. On what looked to be the game’s final play, South Carolina got a tackle for loss, but was flagged for offsides. The Wolfpack got another shot at the final play and Erik Kramer threw a 37-yard hail mary to Danny Peebles, who made a great catch in the end zone to give N.C. State the win. It was one of many excruciating losses (or ties) that the 1986 Gamecocks went through.



Oct. 31, 1987- South Carolina 48, N.C. State 0 (Columbia)



Feeling that they were robbed of the previous season’s game, the streaking Gamecocks came into the 1987 contest laser-focused and ripped the Wolfpack. It was the largest margin of victory in the series for South Carolina. The Gamecocks’ defense held N.C. State to 36 total yards, the second-lowest amount given up in program history and the lowest in the modern era (the lowest came in 1943 when the Gamecocks held Clemson to eight total yards).



Oct. 28, 1989- N.C. State 20, South Carolina 10



The first year of the Sparky Woods era at Carolina was off to a good start as the Gamecocks were 5-1-1 and had won four games in a row, including a 24-20 win against Georgia in Athens and a 21-10 home win against Georgia Tech in the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo. South Carolina was ranked No. 25 and State No. 20 coming into that game and Williams-Brice Stadium was packed on a sun-splashed day for a big game. Early on, however, the crowd grew silent as quarterback Todd Ellis took a hit on his leg and suffered a knee injury that ended his record-setting Carolina career. N.C. State’s defense bottled up the Carolina offense and won the game. USC finished 6-4-1.



Oct. 29. 1988- South Carolina 23, N.C. State 7 (Raleigh)



The Gamecocks started the 1988 season strong, winning their first six games and jumping into the top 10 before they ran into an unlikely buzzsaw at Georgia Tech the seventh game of the season and were thumped, 34-0. After an open date, South Carolina traveled to Raleigh for a primetime kickoff against the Wolfpack, who were looking for revenge after the beatdown they took in Columbia the season prior. Ellis threw a touchdown in that game and did a “six shooter” gesture to the partisan Pack crowd and the Gamecocks’ defense held the Wolfpack rushing attack to 24 yards. It was the last significant victory of the Joe Morrison era at USC.



Nov. 2, 1985- N.C. State 21, South Carolina 17 (Columbia)



Carolina’s 1985 team was showing signs of life and perhaps reaching a bowl. The Gamecocks were 4-3 and had beaten Duke and East Carolina when a struggling Wolfpack team came to town. N.C. State’s defense held the Gamecocks rushing attack (USC ran the veer back then) to only 91 yards and spring the upset. Carolina ended up finishing 5-6 that season, a disappointing encore to the 1984 team’s run to a 10-2 record- then the best in program history.



Oct. 4, 1980- South Carolina 30, N.C. State 10 (Columbia)



The Gamecocks were ranked No. 18 and coming off of a 17-14 upset of Michigan in Ann Arbor. George Rogers, who would go on to win the 1980 Heisman Trophy, rushed for 193 yards in the game, prompting then-USC head coach Jim Carlen to ask if there was a better player in the country. For some reason between 1979-81, the two teams met three straight times at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia and Carolina won all of them- this was the second.



Sept. 4, 1999- N.C. State 10, South Carolina 0 (Raleigh)



There were a lot of storylines here. First, the game was played in a monsoon as remnants of Hurricane Dennis dumped rain in the area. Second, it was the debut of Lou Holtz as the South Carolina head coach, ironically against a program he used to coach. Charlie Strong (now the head coach at USF, formerly of Texas and Louisville) made his debut as a defensive coordinator that night. The Gamecocks had a punt blocked and returned by State for a touchdown and had a touchdown called back. USC did not win a game that year, finishing 0-11 in Holtz debut in Columbia.



Sept. 3, 2009- South Carolina 7, N.C. State 3 (Raleigh)



The Gamecocks’ defense smothered the Russell Wilson-led Pack, holding them to 113 yards, but the Carolina offense managed only a first-quarter touchdown run by Brian Maddox, which was set up by then-redshirt freshman Devin Taylor forcing a fumble early on N.C. State’s first play from scrimmage. Stephon Gilmore was making his Gamecock debut and knocked down a pass in the end zone and South Carolina preserved a victory. This was the last meeting between the two teams.



Nov. 2, 1991- N.C. State 38, South Carolina 21 (Columbia)



This game marked the last of 24 straight meetings between the two teams as USC was off to the Southeastern Conference the following year. Carolina was struggling, but a 23-14 upset win against defending national champion Georgia Tech the previous week to move to 3-2-2. The Pack held Carolina to just 40 rushing yards while piling up 304 to win the farewell game. It was the first of four straight losses to end the season for the Gamecocks, who finished 3-6-2 in their final non-SEC season.