USC’s 1969 ACC title was ‘huge’

For all the excitement the football seasons of 2010-13 generated in Columbia, they did not produce a conference championship.

There still is only one team in the 122 years of South Carolina football that has done that.

That distinction belongs to the 1969 Gamecocks, who won the ACC title.

“It was as big then as it probably would be winning an ACC title now,” Tommy Suggs said. “It was huge.”

Suggs should know. Today, he is the color analyst for South Carolina’s radio broadcasts. Then, he was the Gamecocks quarterbacks.

Suggs, who threw for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns, and fullback Warren Muir, who led the team in rushing with 969 yards, carried the team offensively, and Paul Dietzel was ACC Coach of the Year after the team finished 6-0 in the conference and 7-4 overall.

This story was originally published December 30, 2015 at 10:59 AM with the headline "USC’s 1969 ACC title was ‘huge’."