Clemson–South Carolina football brawl

South Carolina Gamecocks	Clemson Tigers
(6–4)	(5–5)
7	29
Head coach: Lou Holtz	Head coach: Tommy Bowden

	1	2	3	4	Total
South Carolina	0	7	0	0	7
Clemson	14	0	12	3	29

Date

November 20, 2004

Stadium

Location

Doyle Jackson

Attendance

82,500^[1]

United States TV coverage

Network

Jefferson Pilot Sports

The Clemson–South Carolina football brawl was an on-field altercation during an NCAA game between football players from the University of South Carolina and Clemson University. The incident took place on November 20, 2004 at the Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina. This disturbance led to serious repercussions handed down for those involved from the SEC (South Carolina's conference) and the ACC (Clemson's conference).

The fight

Prior to the contest, some South Carolina players congregated at the corner of the endzone near the bottom of "the Hill" at Memorial Stadium as Clemson made their traditional entrance to the field. Brief shoving ensued between Gamecock and Tiger players, but was broken up quickly.

The brawl resulted late in the game after USC quarterback Syvelle Newton was knocked to the ground after a shot to the helmet following an incomplete pass on 4th and 11 with 5:48 left to go in the fourth quarter, and Clemson players lay on top of him preventing him from getting up.^[2]^[3]^[4] Players on the field from both teams engaged in shoving and punching and both benches practically cleared as chaos erupted. The iconic image of the brawl was of Clemson's Yusef Kelly kicking a helmetless South Carolina player in the head as he lay face down, attempting to protect his head with his hands.^[5]^[6]^[7] State Troopers, as well as other local law enforcement officers, entered the field to restore order. No fans ever entered the field. Play was suspended for six minutes.

The fight overshadowed the last game Lou Holtz participated in as South Carolina's head coach, as he retired at the end of the season. Holtz quoted that he "is going to be remembered along with former Ohio State coach Woody Hayes for having a fight at the Clemson game," alluding to the 1978 Gator Bowl. Holtz then handed the coaching reins to Steve Spurrier. Clemson won the game 29–7.

The following year (2005), in a showing of sportsmanship which was coordinated by both schools' athletic departments and administrations, both teams met at midfield at Williams-Brice Stadium at the University of South Carolina and shook hands.

The consequences

The ACC and SEC reviewed the tapes of both incidents before handing out proper punishments to players. However, both schools imposed a punishment of their own on November 22, by saying that neither team would be permitted to play in a bowl game because of the brawl.

Both the SEC and ACC suspended players from each school, with the SEC's penalties effective for South Carolina's first game of the 2005-06 season, against Central Florida, while the ACC allowed Clemson to stagger the suspensions for their offending players at various games during the 2005-06 season.

The ACC's policy on players serving suspensions permitted Clemson to punish the players during the season, and not an immediate penalty during the Tigers' first game of 2005, against Texas A&M. Some of the offending players were involved in the crucial game, which resulted in a Tigers win in the final seconds. The penalties were served, based on a case-by-case basis, in midseason games against the winless Temple and one game winner Duke.

References

Clemson Tigers football

Venues	Bowman Field (1900–1914) Riggs Field (1915–1941) Memorial Stadium (1942–present)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Auburn Boston College (O'Rourke–McFadden Trophy) Florida State Georgia Georgia Tech NC State (Textile Bowl) South Carolina

Culture & lore	The Tiger "Tiger Rag" Marching band Clemson–South Carolina football brawl

People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders

Seasons	1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

National championship seasons in bold

South Carolina Gamecocks football

Venues	Williams-Brice Stadium (1934–present)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Clemson Georgia North Carolina

Culture & lore	Cocky "The Fighting Gamecocks Lead the Way" Mighty Sound of the Southeast Sandstorm Clemson–South Carolina football brawl

People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees

Seasons	1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

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Clemson–South Carolina football brawl

The fight

The consequences

See also

References