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 Eastern 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 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
Conference	Southeastern Conference
	Eastern Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 7
AP	No. 8
2012 record	11–2 (6–2 SEC)
Head coach	Steve Spurrier (8th season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Steve Spurrier Jr. (1st as Co OC, 8th overall season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Shawn Elliott (American football) (1st as OC, 3rd overall season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Lorenzo Ward (1st as DC, 4th overall season)
Base defense	4–2–5
Home stadium	Williams-Brice Stadium (Capacity: 80,250)

2012 Southeastern Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Eastern Division
No. 5т 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. 5т Texas A&M		6	–	2					11	–	2
Mississippi State		4	–	4					8	–	5
Arkansas		2	–	6					4	–	8
Auburn		0	–	8					3	–	9
Ole Miss*		0	–	5					0	–	6
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 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.[1]

Schedule

The October 6 game against Georgia played host to ESPN's College GameDay, the school's sixth time hosting the popular ESPN show.[2]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	7:00 pm	at Vanderbilt	No. 9	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	ESPN	W 17–13	38,393
September 8	12:21 pm	East Carolina*	No. 9	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	SECN	W 48–10	77,006
September 15	7:00 pm	UAB*	No. 8	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	SECRN	W 49–6	77,963
September 22	3:30 pm	Missouri	No. 7	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	CBS	W 31–10	80,836
September 29	7:00 pm	at Kentucky	No. 6	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	ESPN2	W 38–17	49,810
October 6	7:00 pm	No. 5 Georgia	No. 6	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC (rivalry) (College GameDay)	ESPN	W 35–7	85,199‡
October 13	8:00 pm	at No. 9 LSU	No. 3	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	ESPN	L 21–23	92,734
October 20	3:30 pm	at No. 3 Florida	No. 9	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (College GameDay)	CBS	L 11–44	90,833
October 27	12:00 pm	Tennessee	No. 17	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	ESPN	W 38–35	80,250
November 10	12:00 pm	Arkansas	No. 12	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	CBS	W 38–20	78,772
November 17	1:00 pm	Wofford*	No. 12	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	PPV	W 24–7	79,982
November 24	7:00 pm	at No. 12 Clemson*	No. 13	Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC (Palmetto Bowl)	ESPN	W 27–17	84,513
January 1	1:00 pm	vs. No. 19 Michigan*	No. 11	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL (Outback Bowl)	ESPN	W 33–28	54,527
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll All times are in Eastern time

[3]

• ‡ New Williams–Brice Stadium Attendance Record

Game summaries

Vanderbilt

1 2 3 4 Total • #9 South Carolina 7 3 0 7 17 Vanderbilt 0 10 3 0 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

1 2 3 4 Total East Carolina 0 0 3 7 10 • #9 South Carolina 14 7 14 13 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

1 2 3 4 Total UAB 3 3 0 0 6 • #8 South Carolina 7 14 14 14 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

1 2 3 4 Total Missouri 0 3 0 7 10 • #7 South Carolina 0 21 7 3 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

1 2 3 4 Total • #6 South Carolina 0 7 14 17 38 Kentucky 3 14 0 0 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

1 2 3 4 Total #5 Georgia 0 0 0 7 7 • #6 South Carolina 21 0 7 7 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

1 2 3 4 Total #3 South Carolina 0 7 7 7 21 • #9 LSU 3 0 7 13 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

1 2 3 4 Total #9 South Carolina 3 3 2 3 11 • #3 Florida 7 14 16 7 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

1 2 3 4 Total Tennessee 7 7 7 14 35 • #17 South Carolina 7 21 7 3 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

1 2 3 4 Total Arkansas 0 10 3 7 20 • #12 South Carolina 7 14 17 0 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

1 2 3 4 Total Wofford 0 7 0 0 7 • #12 South Carolina 0 7 0 17 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

1 2 3 4 Total • #13 South Carolina 7 3 10 7 27 #12 Clemson 14 0 3 0 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

1 2 3 4 Total • #11 South Carolina 14 7 0 12 33 #19 Michigan 3 10 9 6 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.

Defense CB Victor Hampton (American football) Ahmad Christian CB Akeem Auguste Jimmy Legree Offense LT LG C RG RT Corey Robinson (offensive tackle) A. J. Cann T.J. Johnson (American football) Ronald Patrick Brandon Shell Brandon Shell Will Sport Kyle Harris Kaleb Broome Cody Gibson QB Connor Shaw Dylan Thompson Key Reserves RB Mike Davis (running back) WR D.L. Moore WR DeAngelo Smith WR Shaq Roland WR K.J. Brent TE Jerell Adams DE Gerald Dixon LB Cedrick Cooper Special Teams PK Adam Yates P Tyler Hull KR Bruce Ellington PR Ace Sanders LS Walker Inabinet H Seth Strickland

Awards

• Jadeveon Clowney – SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week, 9/17/12;[4] SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week, 10/1/12;[5] SEC Defensive Lineman and Co-Defensive Player of the Week, 11/26/12[6]
• T.J. Johnson (American football) - SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week, 10/8/12[7]
• Marcus Lattimore – SEC Offensive Player of the Week, 9/3/12[8]
• Ace Sanders - SEC Co-Special Teams Player of the Week, 9/24/12,[9] SEC Co-Special Teams Player of the Week, 10/8/12[7]
• Connor Shaw - SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week, 9/24/12,[9] SEC Offensive Player of the Week, 10/29/12[10]
• D.J. Swearinger - Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week, 11/11/12[11]

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	9	9	8	7	6	6	3	9	17	11	12	12	13	11	11	8
Coaches	9	9	9	8	6	6	3	8	16	11	11	11	12	10	10	7
Harris	Not released						3	7	16	11	11	11	12	10	10	Not released
BCS	Not released							7	13	8	8	9	12	10	10	Not released

Coaching staff

• Steve Spurrier – Head Coach[12]
• Lorenzo Ward – Defensive Coordinator[13]
• Kirk Botkin - Linebackers/Spurs[14]
• Grady Brown - Secondary/Assistant Special Teams Coordinator[15]
• Shawn Elliott (American football) – Co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive LIne[16]
• Brad Lawing – Defensive Line[17]
• G.A. Mangus – Quarterbacks[18]
• Joe Robinson - Special Teams Coordinator/Tight Ends[19]
• Everette Sands - Running Backs[20]
• Steve Spurrier, Jr. – Recruiting Coordinator/Wide Receivers[21]

References

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