The "In God We Trust" tag swept all the others for most popular in South Carolina, selling almost nine times as many as the second-best seller.

South Carolinians can choose from 71 specialty tags, and that's not counting the government-official plates.

And if the plates are any guide to the college wars, the University of South Carolina beats Clemson University 4-3 as of the end of June.

Motorists can show their pride in being a Medal of Honor winner, or their enthusiasm for Dale Earnhardt, or encourage fellow drivers to support education, endangered species and dozens of other causes.

One with local ties pays homage to the golf industry. The "First in Golf" tag, the 10th most popular in the state, was pushed by local legislators for years until it was approved in 1999.

The state offers 27 college tags, nine military-related plates, 34 specialties including a total of five car-racing tags, and a handicapped plate.

And more are approved each year. This past legislative session, lawmakers approved an Elks Association tag. It is not yet available. A 1999 state law requires that specialty tags pay for themselves.

The law says that, before a specialty plate can be made, the Division of Motor Vehicles must have 400 prepaid orders for it, or a sponsor must put up a $4,000 deposit.

Before that law was passed, the state had to subsidize plates that didn't pay for themselves, DMV spokeswoman Beth Parks said.

"The cost to produce the plates is not that much," about $1.24 each, Parks said.

A first printing is 999 tags, with the first 100 reserved for members of the association that wanted the plates, she said.

The tags are made by state prison inmates.

Specialty tags are popular nationwide as fund-raisers for the states and organizations. North Carolina has 135 specialty plates, but that includes state-official tags, and Georgia offers 87 tags.

License plate programs vary. The regular fee for a tag is $24. The new "No More Homeless Pets" plate adds $70 to that amount, with the proceeds going to a spay-neuter program. The endangered species tag costs $48, with the extra going to the state Heritage Trust land conservation program. College plates cost $70 extra, with $40 sent to the school for scholarships.

1. In God We Trust | 28,207; 2. University of South Carolina | 3,323; 3. Education (with apple) | 2,858; 4. Clemson | 2,542; 5. Endangered species | 2,496; 6. United We Stand | 1,376; 7. Disabled veterans | 1,078; 8. Hunley | 978; 9. Keep S.C. Beautiful | 919; 10. First in Golf | 540