College football’s current overtime format was implemented for the first time in the FBS during bowl games in 1995 and then used full-time starting in the 1996 season.

Looking back on the 1995 SEC standings, only two teams finished the season with a tie — LSU and South Carolina. But little did the Tigers or Gamecocks know at the time, their midseason meeting would become the last tie in SEC history.

It’s been a series dominated by the Tigers, who hold a 17-2-1 record against the Gamecocks. But the last time the Gamecocks didn’t lose to LSU came 20 years ago in Columbia by way of a 20-20 tie.

It was Sept. 30, 1995, when the No. 14 Tigers and their 3-1 record marched into Williams-Brice Stadium as heavy favorites over the 1-3 Gamecocks.

LSU wide receiver Sheddrick Wilson, who left the game in the first half with a sprained left knee and ankle, did his best Willis Reed impression and willed his way to catching a 19-yard touchdown from quarterback Jamie Howard with 1:06 left in the game. Although this was not a game-winning catch, it did allow the Tigers to salvage a tie in a hostile environment.

This is how the Associated Press described Wilson’s gutsy performance in its postgame story.

“Wilson limped most of the second half after getting helped off the field in the second quarter. But he sped past safety Chris Abrahams, slanting toward the middle of the field to make the catch that cut South Carolina’s lead to 20-19.”

Despite being hobbled, Wilson finished with 6 receptions for 93 yards and the late touchdown.

“I knew I was going to be limited as to what I could do,” Wilson said. “But I also know I have a high pain tolerance and it was going to take more than a sprained knee or ankle to keep me out of a game.”

So why wouldn’t LSU’s first-year coach Gerry DiNardo go for the 2-point conversion and the win? The Tigers had one of the best defenses in the country that season and DiNardo had faith that LSU could get one more stop in the final minute and have a chance to perhaps win the game.

“I didn’t hesitate at all,” DiNardo said. “I knew what I was going to do. I thought our defense was going to get the ball back.”

So rather than send the offense back out onto the field for the 2-point try, LSU kicker Andre Lafleur tied the game up at 20 with an extra point.

When looking at the box score, it’s easy to see how this game ended in a stalemate. Most of the teams’ stats were extremely close, including total yards (LSU 304, SC 377), yards per play (LSU 4.5, SC 5), fumbles lost (2 each), third down conversions (LSU 4 of 14, SC 5 of 14) and sacks (LSU 7, SC 6).

Although close games are always fun, ties are not, especially against conference foes. Unsatisfying is a better way to describe games that end virtually the same way they started.

That’s why after the 1995 regular season, the FBS did away with that nonsense and mandated that a winner be decided in each and every game that is played.