South Carolina seniors go out as winners.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

TAMPA, Fla. _ What a way to say goodbye. Phil Petty ended his senior season at South Carolina clutching the MVP trophy from the Outback Bowl. Brian Scott played his last game as a Gamecock as the team's most valuable player.

Those two, and all the other USC seniors, left the field at Raymond James Stadium on Tuesday afternoon by the best possible mode: On the shoulders of their teammates.

"I think our seniors set a record for the most wins in two years," said USC coach Lou Holtz after a last-second 31-28 win over Ohio State.

Holtz paused for just the right effect: "They also had the record for the most losses in a two-year period," he said. "But they did it in the proper order."

Could it have been more dramatic? The Gamecocks ran up a 28-0 lead in three quarters only to see it vanish in the fourth.

Then, when Ohio State quarterback Steve Bellisari dipped into the well one too many times and was intercepted USC senior cornerback by Sheldon Brown, it took a 37-yard return by Brown and a 4-yard gain by Derek Watson to set up the game-winning 42-yard field goal by Daniel Weaver at the final gun.

If Brown had gained only 36 yards or Watson managed to scrap for only 3, it would have meant overtime. Weaver's kick barely cleared the bar.