Players of the South Carolina Gamecocks salute their fans after a 33 – 28 victory against the Michigan Wolverines in the Outback Bowl yesterday. (Getty Images)
TAMPA — Steve Spurrier’s plan to use two quarterbacks in the Outback Bowl worked so well that Dylan Thompson and Connor Shaw both earned game balls.
That’s a first for the Old Ball Coach, who has a well-known penchant for benching struggling QBs. Except in this case, the Gamecocks’ winningest coach used his talented pair of passers by design.
Shaw (227 yards, two touchdowns) began yesterday’s 33-28 victory over Michigan with a 56-yard TD pass to Damiere Byrd. Thompson (117 yards, two TDs) closed it out by throwing a 32-yard TD strike to Bruce Ellington in the final minute to help South Carolina (11-2) match the school record for victories in a season.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever given two quarterbacks a game ball, but today I said: ‘Hey, we’ve got to give them to both you guys,’ ’’ Spurrier said.
Thompson replaced Shaw during the winning drive, covering the final 43 yards after Shaw began the march from his own 30 and kept it alive with a 6-yard completion to Ace Sanders on a fourth-and-3 play. Devin Gardner’s third TD pass of the game had given Michigan a 28-27 lead.
Gardner threw for 214 yards in his fifth start for Michigan (8-5) since Denard Robinson injured his right elbow late in the season.
Robinson took some snaps at quarterback and even attempted his first passes in a game since Oct. 27, but lined up mostly at running back and rushed for 100 yards on 23 carries.