2013 Outback Bowl final score: South Carolina uses late-game heroics to beat Michigan

It appeared the Michigan Wolverines had overcome an 11-point deficit and big plays from South Carolina end Jadeveon Clowney to win the 2013 Outback Bowl on Tuesday, but a touchdown from SC's Dylan Thompson to Bruce Ellington with 11 seconds left gave the Gamecocks a 33-28 win in Tampa, Fla.:

SC struck less than two minutes into the game as quarterback Connor Shaw connected with Damiere Byrd for a 56-yard touchdown pass, and after a Michigan field goal, Ace Sanders returned a punt 63 yards to give the Gamecocks a 14-3 lead with 3:29 to play in the first quarter.

Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner capped an 11-play, 76-yard drive with a five-yard pass to Drew Dileo to cut the South Carolina lead to four early in the second quarter. The Gamecocks responded, this time behind the arm of Thompson, who on a 3rd-and-nine completed a 70-yard pass to Nick Jones to set up a touchdown pass to Sanders from four yards out.

Trailing 21-10 in the second quarter, the Wolverines rallied. After two long field goal makes, Michigan went on a 65-yard drive late in the third quarter that ended with a Gardner touchdown pass to Jeremy Gallon, giving the Wolverines their first lead of the game, 22-21.

In a big-play type of game, it was Jadeveon Clowney's hit on Michigan back Vincent Smith and fumble recovery that swung the game back in South Carolina's favor early in the fourth quarter.

The Gamecocks capitalized upon the turnover with a 31-yard touchdown toss from Connor Shaw to Ace Sanders to take a 27-22 lead. The play reclaimed the SC lead only briefly, as Gardner again found Gallon for his second touchdown of the game to give the Wolverines a 28-27 edge after a missed two-point conversion.

That appeared to be the final score before Thompson found Ellington for the game-winning touchdown pass.

Box Score Hero: Though Ace Sanders scored three touchdowns on the day and had 92 receiving yards, quarterback Connor Shaw threw two touchdowns and 227 yards while rushing for 96 yards on 11 carries as the Gamecocks' only source of a ground attack.

Rankings Ramifications: Michigan's No. 18 ranking will likely dip the last BCS standings are released, while No. 10 South Carolina did itself little harm.

But Did They Cover? South Carolina opened as four-point favorites and the spreads increased from 4.5 to 5.5 across the board. Depending on the betting service, the Gamecocks disappointed and pleased.

For More On This Game: Head over to Maize n Brew for more coverage of the Michigan Wolverines, or check out Garnet and Black Attack for all your South Carolina needs.

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