2012 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

The 2012 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gamecocks were led by eighth-year head coach Steve Spurrier and played their home games at Williams-Brice Stadium. They were a member of the East Division of the Southeastern Conference. The season finished with 11–2, 6–2 in SEC to finish in third place in the East Division. They climbed as high as No. 3 in the AP Poll – this was their highest ranking since 1984, and it has not been matched since then.[1] They were invited to the Outback Bowl, where the Gamecocks defeated Michigan 33–28 by a game-winning TD with 11 seconds remaining in the game.

2012 South Carolina Gamecocks football
Outback Bowl champion
Outback Bowl, W 33–28 vs. Michigan
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionEast Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 7
APNo. 8
Record11–2 (6–2 SEC)
Head coach
Co-offensive coordinatorSteve Spurrier Jr. (1st as Co OC, 8th overall season)
Co-offensive coordinatorShawn Elliott (1st as OC, 3rd overall season)
Offensive schemeMultiple
Defensive coordinatorLorenzo Ward (1st as DC, 4th overall season)
Base defense4–2–5
Home stadiumWilliams-Brice Stadium
(Capacity: 80,250)
2012 Southeastern Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
Eastern Division
No. T–5 Georgia xy  7 –1   12 –2  
No. 9 Florida x%  7 –1   11 –2  
No. 8 South Carolina  6 –2   11 –2  
No. 23 Vanderbilt  5 –3   9 –4  
Missouri  2 –6   5 –7  
Tennessee  1 –7   5 –7  
Kentucky  0 –8   2 –10  
Western Division
No. 1 Alabama x$#  7 –1   13 –1  
No. 14 LSU *  6 –2   10 –3  
No. T–5 Texas A&M  6 –2   11 –2  
Mississippi State  4 –4   8 –5  
Ole Miss *  3 –5   7 –6  
Arkansas  2 –6   4 –8  
Auburn  0 –8   3 –9  
Championship: Alabama 32, Georgia 28
  • # – BCS National Champion
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • * Ole Miss and LSU vacated all wins due to NCAA violations.
Rankings from AP Poll

Preseason

On April 14, 2012, the Black squad defeated the Garnet squad, 38–24, in the annual Garnet & Black Spring Game, in front of a crowd of 34,513. Quarterback Connor Shaw finished the day 6–7 for 128 yards and two touchdowns for the Black team, while Garnet QB Dylan Thompson was 15–20 for 168 yards and a rushing touchdown.[2]

Schedule

The October 6 game against Georgia played host to ESPN's College GameDay, the school's sixth time hosting the popular ESPN show.[3]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 307:00 pmat VanderbiltNo. 9
ESPNW 17–1338,393
September 812:21 pmEast Carolina*No. 9
SECNW 48–1077,006
September 157:00 pmUAB*No. 8
  • Williams-Brice Stadium
  • Columbia, SC
SECRNW 49–677,963
September 223:30 pmMissouriNo. 7
  • Williams-Brice Stadium
  • Columbia, SC
CBSW 31–1080,836
September 297:00 pmat KentuckyNo. 6
ESPN2W 38–1749,810
October 67:00 pmNo. 5 GeorgiaNo. 6
ESPNW 35–785,199‡
October 138:00 pmat No. 9 LSUNo. 3
ESPNL 21–2392,734
October 203:30 pmat No. 3 FloridaNo. 9
CBSL 11–4490,833
October 2712:00 pmTennesseeNo. 17
  • Williams-Brice Stadium
  • Columbia, SC (rivalry)
ESPNW 38–3580,250
November 1012:00 pmArkansasNo. 12
  • Williams-Brice Stadium
  • Columbia, SC
CBSW 38–2078,772
November 171:00 pmWofford*No. 12
  • Williams-Brice Stadium
  • Columbia, SC
PPVW 24–779,982
November 247:00 pmat No. 12 Clemson*No. 13
ESPNW 27–1784,513
January 11:00 pmvs. No. 19 Michigan*No. 11
ESPNW 33–2854,527

[4]

  • ‡ New Williams–Brice Stadium Attendance Record

Game summaries

Vanderbilt
See also: 2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team
1 234Total
• #9 South Carolina 7 307 17
Vanderbilt 0 1030 13
  • Date: August 30
  • Location: Nashville, Tennessee
  • Game start: 6:01 pm
  • Elapsed time: 3:15
  • Game attendance: 38,393
  • Game weather: 86, Partly Cloudy
  • Referee: Matt Austin
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Rece Davis (play-by-play), David Pollack and Jesse Palmer (color), Samantha Steele (sideline)

East Carolina
See also: 2012 East Carolina Pirates football team
1 234Total
East Carolina 0 037 10
• #9 South Carolina 14 71413 48
  • Date: September 8
  • Location: Columbia, South Carolina
  • Game start: 12:21 pm
  • Elapsed time: 3:19
  • Game attendance: 77,006
  • Game weather: 88, Sunny
  • Referee: Wayne Winkler
  • TV announcers (SEC Network): Dave Neal (play-by-play), Andre Ware (color), Cara Capuano (sideline)

UAB
See also: 2012 UAB Blazers football team
1 234Total
UAB 3 300 6
• #8 South Carolina 7 141414 49
  • Date: September 15
  • Location: Columbia, South Carolina
  • Game start: 7:08 pm
  • Elapsed time: 3:22
  • Game attendance: 77,963
  • Game weather: 84, Fair
  • Referee: Ken Williamson
  • Television network: FSN

Missouri
See also: 2012 Missouri Tigers football team
1 234Total
Missouri 0 307 10
• #7 South Carolina 0 2173 31
  • Date: September 22
  • Location: Columbia, South Carolina
  • Game start: 3:39 pm
  • Elapsed time: 3:02
  • Game attendance: 80,836
  • Game weather: 88, Fair
  • Referee: Matt Loeffler
  • TV announcers (CBS): Verne Lundquist (play-by-play), Gary Danielson (color), Tracy Wolfson (sideline)

Kentucky
See also: 2012 Kentucky Wildcats football team
1 234Total
• #6 South Carolina 0 71417 38
Kentucky 3 1400 17
  • Date: September 29
  • Location: Lexington, Kentucky
  • Game start: 7:10 pm
  • Elapsed time: 3:08
  • Game attendance: 49,810
  • Game weather: 70, Fair
  • Referee: Tom Ritter
  • TV announcers (ESPN2): Mike Patrick (play-by-play), Ed Cunningham (color), Jeannine Edwards (sideline)

Georgia
See also: 2012 Georgia Bulldogs football team
1 234Total
#5 Georgia 0 007 7
• #6 South Carolina 21 077 35
  • Date: October 6
  • Location: Columbia, South Carolina
  • Game start: 7:10 pm
  • Elapsed time: 3:13
  • Game attendance: 85,199
  • Game weather: 78, Clear
  • Referee: Matt Austin
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Brent Musburger (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (color), Heather Cox (sideline)

LSU
See also: 2012 LSU Tigers football team
1 234Total
#3 South Carolina 0 777 21
• #9 LSU 3 0713 23
  • Date: October 13
  • Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
  • Game start: 7:06 pm
  • Elapsed time: 3:27
  • Game attendance: 92,734
  • Game weather: 79 Degrees
  • Referee: Hubert Owens
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Brent Musburger (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (color), Heather Cox (sideline)

Florida
See also: 2012 Florida Gators football team
1 234Total
#9 South Carolina 3 323 11
• #3 Florida 7 14167 44
  • Date: October 20
  • Location: Gainesville, Florida
  • Game start: 3:39 pm
  • Elapsed time: 3:22
  • Game attendance: 90,833
  • Game weather: 79, Sunny
  • Referee: Matt Loeffler
  • TV announcers (CBS): Verne Lundquist (play-by-play), Gary Danielson (color), Tracy Wolfson (sideline)

Tennessee
See also: 2012 Tennessee Volunteers football team
1 234Total
Tennessee 7 7714 35
• #17 South Carolina 7 2173 38
  • Date: October 27
  • Location: Columbia, South Carolina
  • Game start: 12:01 pm
  • Elapsed time: 3:34
  • Game attendance: 80,250
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Brian Griese (color), Jenn Brown (sideline)

Arkansas
See also: 2012 Arkansas Razorbacks football team
1 234Total
Arkansas 0 1037 20
• #12 South Carolina 7 14170 38
  • Date: November 10
  • Location: Columbia, South Carolina
  • Game start: 12:10 pm
  • Elapsed time: 3:26
  • Game attendance: 78,772
  • TV announcers (CBS): Tim Brando (play-by-play), Steve Beuerlein (color), Marty Snider (sideline)

Wofford
See also: 2012 Wofford Terriers football team
1 234Total
Wofford 0 700 7
• #12 South Carolina 0 7017 24
  • Date: November 17
  • Location: Columbia, South Carolina
  • Game start: 1:05 pm
  • Elapsed time: 2:44
  • Game attendance: 79,982
  • Television network: PPV

Clemson
See also: 2012 Clemson Tigers football team
1 234Total
• #13 South Carolina 7 3107 27
#12 Clemson 14 030 17
  • Date: November 24
  • Location: Clemson, South Carolina
  • Game start: 7:15 pm
  • Elapsed time: 3:32
  • Game attendance: 82,000
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), Matt Millen (color), Shannon Spake (sideline)

Michigan
See also: 2012 Michigan Wolverines football team
1 234Total
• #11 South Carolina 14 7012 33
#19 Michigan 3 1096 28
  • Date: January 1, 2013
  • Location: Tampa, Florida
  • Game start: 1:00 pm
  • Elapsed time: 3:45
  • Game attendance: 54,527
  • Referee: Jeff Maconaghy (Big East)
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Jon Gruden (color), Shannon Spake (sideline)

Players

Depth chart

Projected starters and primary backups versus Clemson on November 24, 2012.

Awards
  • Jadeveon Clowney – SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week, 9/17/12;[5] SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week, 10/1/12;[6] SEC Defensive Lineman and Co-Defensive Player of the Week, 11/26/12[7]
  • T.J. Johnson - SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week, 10/8/12[8]
  • Marcus Lattimore – SEC Offensive Player of the Week, 9/3/12[9]
  • Ace Sanders - SEC Co-Special Teams Player of the Week, 9/24/12,[10] SEC Co-Special Teams Player of the Week, 10/8/12[8]
  • Connor Shaw - SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week, 9/24/12,[10] SEC Offensive Player of the Week, 10/29/12[11]
  • D. J. Swearinger - Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week, 11/11/12[12]

Rankings
See also: 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
AP99876639171112121311118
Coaches99986638161111111210107
HarrisNot released3716111111121010Not released
BCSNot released713889121010Not released

Coaching staff
  • Steve Spurrier – Head coach[13]
  • Lorenzo Ward – Defensive coordinator[14]
  • Kirk Botkin - Linebackers, spurs coach[15]
  • Grady Brown - Secondary coach, assistant special teams coordinator[16]
  • Shawn Elliott – Co-offensive coordinator, offensive line coach[17]
  • Brad Lawing – Defensive line coach[18]
  • G.A. Mangus – Quarterbacks coach[19]
  • Joe Robinson - Special teams coordinator, tight ends coach[20]
  • Everette Sands - Running backs coach[21]
  • Steve Spurrier Jr. – Recruiting coordinator, wide receivers coach[22]

References
  1. "South Carolina Gamecocks School History".
  2. Black Defeats Garnet in Spring Game
  3. ESPN's GameDay is Coming To Our City
  4. SEC 2012 TV Schedule Archived July 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Matt Sarz Sports, retrieved April 12, 2012
  5. Clowney Named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week
  6. Clowney Honored by SEC
  7. Clowney Honored by SEC
  8. Johnson and Sanders Honored by SEC
  9. "Lattimore Named SEC Offensive Player of the Week". Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  10. Shaw and Sanders Receive SEC Honors
  11. Shaw Named SEC Offensive Player of the Week
  12. Swearinger Named National Defensive Player of the Week
  13. "Bio: Steve Spurrier". Archived from the original on December 23, 2008. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  14. "Bio: Lorenzo Ward". Archived from the original on October 8, 2009. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  15. Bio: Kirk Botkin
  16. Bio: Grady Brown
  17. Bio: Shawn Elliott
  18. "Bio: Brad Lawing". Archived from the original on December 25, 2008. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  19. "Bio: G.A. Mangus". Archived from the original on October 8, 2009. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  20. Bio: Joe Robinson
  21. Bio: Everette Sands
  22. "Bio: Steve Spurrier, Jr". Archived from the original on October 1, 2011. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
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