COLUMBIA, S.C. - South Carolina quarterback Phil Petty couldn't think of a better way to leave the field after his final college game. <br>
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``No, I don't know if there is,'' said Petty, holding his Outback Bowl MVP trophy after the 14th-ranked Gamecocks held on to defeat No. 22 Ohio State, 31-28, on New Year's Day. <br>
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Petty and other Gamecock seniors were carried off the field following the team's second-straight bowl victory. Coach Lou Holtz said the team planned that the night before, designating which underclassmen would lift which seniors. <br>
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After all, this senior class had been lifting South Carolina the past two years. <br>
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``Our seniors have set a record for wins in a two-year period and also have the record for most losses in a two-year period,'' an excited Holtz said. ``That wasn't their fault, but they did them in the proper order.'' <br>
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When Petty was a redshirt freshman in 1997, he couldn't imagine what was ahead. The team went 1-21 in 1998 and 1999, and fans blamed Petty, saying he was too slow with too little arm strength. Others wanted for a more dynamic leader. <br>
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Petty's mother, Loretta Sweeney, said she and her son had seen the depths of college football. ``Now we're close to the mountaintop,'' she said. <br>
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She had almost spoken too soon. <br>
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After her son had thrown two touchdown passes and Andrew Pinnock ran for two scores to put the Gamecocks up 28-0, Ohio State quarterback Steve Bellisari had run for one fourth-quarter score and threw for three others to tie the game with less than two minutes remaining. <br>
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But another South Carolina senior, cornerback Sheldon Brown, made a saving interception on Bellisari's final chance. Four plays after Brown's 37-yard return, sophomore Daniel Weaver hit a fluttering end-over-end kick that almost ran out of gas before crossing the goal post for South Carolina's victory. <br>
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Petty joined the mob scene of Gamecocks celebrating at Raymond James Stadium. They had won two straight bowl games for the first time in 108 seasons of football. Their 17-7 mark an amazing turnaround was the best two-year stretch in South Carolina history. <br>
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``Two years ago, my sophomore year, I heard talk that I might not be good enough to play in this league, and that our team might not be good enough,'' Petty said. ``But I think we redeemed ourselves. We bounced back and had two great years.'' <br>
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South Carolina tailback-receiver Ryan Brewer, the MVP of the Gamecocks 24-7 Outback victory over Ohio State in 2001, was grateful for the leadership and trail set by Petty and the seniors. <br>
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``That's special. Those guys needed to leave with a win, something special, and it's something to remember,'' Brewer said. <br>
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Leadership was everywhere this season. Brian Scott, a senior receiver, had left the field on crutches earlier in bowl week, but caught seven passes for 83 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown. <br>
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Scott, whose 16-yard touchdown reception from Petty with 1:22 remaining gave the Gamecocks a 14-9 victory at Georgia on Sept. 8, said Petty asked him each day how he felt. <br>
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``I told him, 'I'm fine, I'm playing,' '' Scott said. ``This was our last game.'' <br>
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Holtz doesn't expect the success to end here. He has said that despite all the key departures, he expects the Gamecocks to be better in 2002. <br>
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They'll have to go a long way to find clutch players like Brown, the cornerback who didn't think he'd get the chance to make a game-saving play. <br>
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On the sidelines, he found roommate and fellow senior cornerback Andre Goodman to wait out Weaver's kick. <br>
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When the ball tumbled through ``I couldn't do anything but hug my roommate,'' Brown says, ``because we've been through so much here.''
