Four Downs: Gamecocks hold off Hurricanes for Independence Bowl win

The Hurricanes scored the first six points of the 2014 Duck Commander Independence Bowl and the final seven, but South Carolina outscored Miami 24-7 in between to take the game.

Here are four observations from the Gamecocks' 24-21 win:

If you didn't have Duke Johnson on the brain prior to the Independence Bowl, you were probably doing something wrong. How was South Carolina going to stop Miami's top running back? Was Saturday's game going to be Johnson's last in a Miami uniform?

The storylines were plentiful.

Pharoh Cooper quietly waited in the background until it was time to emerge. And when Cooper announced his presence with his play on the field, he did so with authority.

Cooper's first catch was a 22-yard chain mover in the first quarter. It was his second catch, however, that pushed him to the forefront of everyone's mind.

As South Carolina quarterback Dylan Thompson looked the defense to the left side of the field, Cooper slipped behind his coverage down the right seem and caught Thompson's pass in stride. A cutback and a great block later, Cooper crossed into the end zone for a 78-yard score.

Two catches for Cooper resulted in 100 yards receiving.

Cooper finished with nine catches for 170 yards and a score. It was his second highest yardage output of the season (he caught 11 passes for 233 yards against Tennessee) and third best game in terms of receptions. But the acrobatic catch he made in the fourth quarter might have been the most impressive feat of athleticism and receiving skill he's shown all year.

With 132 yards rushing and 51 receiving, Johnson had a great game. But Cooper was the best offensive player on the field Saturday.

The Hurricanes made it through their first four games an even 2-2. Then Miami won four of its next five games to look good at 6-3.

Finishing the 2014 football season 6-7 will be a black eye on the football program. Miami head coach Al Golden tried to put some of the disappointment into words after the game.

"We are what our record says we are," said Golden. "But we're better (this year) in so many ways."

That has seemed to be Golden's mantra for the last few seasons. Miami seems to be stalled in a perpetual loop of looking better on paper than it does on the field. And what the Hurricanes showed the country, especially in their last four games, was not good.

Miami lost its last four games to teams with big names, but not great records. Florida State is a playoff team at 13-0. But Virginia (5-7), Pittsburgh (6-6) and South Carolina (6-6, prior to the Independence Bowl) are a combined 17-19.

The Hurricanes lost by four points to the Seminoles and three points to the Gamecocks, but Virginia and Pitt beat Miami by double digits.

Miami doesn't look like a team that was better than its record. And with the potential loss of 11 players to the NFL, there isn't a whole lot of promise as this school head into 2015.

South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier is one of the best postgame wordsmiths of all time.

Trying to explain that the Gamecocks running game just wasn't working like it was supposed to, Spurrier used sound effects to make his point.

"I tell you every now and then we think we can run the ball and we (audibly makes a deflating sound)," said Spurrier after the game.

The Gamecocks finished the game with 60 yards on the ground. When the game was in its infancy, South Carolina was running its offense with an almost 50-50 run-pass split. In the first quarter, South Carolina called six passing plays and five running plays.

Miami was up 3-0 after that quarter, and South Carolina was quite fortunate to have only allowed three points.

At halftime, however, South Carolina led 17-6 because the play calling changed to feature an aerial assault.

South Carolina called 16 pass plays and seven run plays in the second quarter as Thompson began working on the middle of Miami's defense and over the top, as was the case with Cooper's touchdown.

Mike Davis was supposed to be a key factor in South Carolina's ability to move the football. In a roundabout way he was. He gained 55 yards on 13 carries and helped bring the Miami defense down into the box so Thompson could pick the Hurricanes apart through the air.

Johnson averaged 5.5 yards per carry on Saturday en route to his seventh 100-yard rushing performance of the season. His 132 ground yards put him at 1,652 for the season and 3,519 in his three years at Miami.

Add Johnson's seven trips into the century club this year to the seven combined from 2012 and 2013, and he now stands at 14 career games with 100 yards rushing or more.

Johnson and Clinton Portis (1999-2001) now stand atop the all-time Miami rushing list with 14 100-yard games.

Imagine if Johnson hadn't missed the final five games of the 2013 season.

With another year of eligibility left, Johnson could come back to grab the record for himself. But while he hasn't officially announced anything, most believe he'll forego his senior season to enter the NFL draft.

The logjam atop the record books in Miami may have to remain.