# 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.
South Carolina started the season 6–0, capped off by a blowout win over No. 5 Georgia at home. By this point, the Gamecocks were on a school-record ten-game winning streak dating back to last season and were subsequently ranked No. 3 in the country. This was the program's highest ranking since 1984, and the 2012 Gamecocks began receiving comparisons to that 1984 team, which started 9–0 and came close to winning a national championship. This ten-game winning streak and No. 3 ranking in 2012 has not been matched or surpassed by the program since. Back-to-back losses on the road to top-10 opponents (No. 9 LSU and No. 3 Florida) sent South Carolina plummeting in the rankings and out of national championship contention. The Gamecocks rebounded, winning the rest of their games in the regular season, including against archrival No. 12 Clemson. They were invited to the Outback Bowl, where the Gamecocks defeated No. 19 Michigan 33–28 by a game-winning touchdown with eleven seconds remaining in the game. South Carolina finished the season with eleven wins and ranked in the top ten for only the second time in school history.
Sophomore defensive end Jadeveon Clowney emerged as the best defensive player in college football. Clowney had thirteen sacks and 23.5 tackles for loss, both school records. He won the Ted Hendricks Award and finished sixth in Heisman Trophy voting. Clowney was a unanimous All-American, only the second in program history. He won the ESPY Award for best play of the sporting year for his Outback Bowl tackle on Michigan running back Vincent Smith, since regarded as one of the greatest plays in college football history.
Due to their talent, win total, famous moments, only losses coming against top-10 teams, wins over three ranked teams, dominant win over a top-5 team, and thirteenth-ranked defense, the 2012 Gamecocks have often been considered the greatest team in program history.

## 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.

## Schedule

The October 6 game against Georgia played host to ESPN's College GameDay, the school's sixth time hosting the popular ESPN show.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 30 | 7:00 pm | at Vanderbilt | No. 9 | Vanderbilt StadiumNashville, TN | ESPN | W 17–13 | 38,393 |
| September 8 | 12:21 pm | East Carolina* | No. 9 | Williams-Brice StadiumColumbia, SC | SECN | W 48–10 | 77,006 |
| September 15 | 7:00 pm | UAB* | No. 8 | Williams-Brice StadiumColumbia, SC | SECRN | W 49–6 | 77,963 |
| September 22 | 3:30 pm | Missouri | No. 7 | Williams-Brice StadiumColumbia, SC | CBS | W 31–10 | 80,836 |
| September 29 | 7:00 pm | at Kentucky | No. 6 | Commonwealth StadiumLexington, KY | ESPN2 | W 38–17 | 49,810 |
| October 6 | 7:00 pm | No. 5 Georgia | No. 6 | Williams-Brice StadiumColumbia, SC (rivalry) (College GameDay) | ESPN | W 35–7 | 85,199‡ |
| October 13 | 8:00 pm | at No. 9 LSU | No. 3 | Tiger StadiumBaton Rouge, LA | ESPN | L 21–23 ‡ | 92,734 |
| October 20 | 3:30 pm | at No. 3 Florida | No. 9 | Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL (College GameDay) | CBS | L 11–44 | 90,833 |
| October 27 | 12:00 pm | Tennessee | No. 17 | Williams-Brice StadiumColumbia, SC (rivalry) | ESPN | W 38–35 | 80,250 |
| November 10 | 12:00 pm | Arkansas | No. 12 | Williams-Brice StadiumColumbia, SC | CBS | W 38–20 | 78,772 |
| November 17 | 1:00 pm | Wofford* | No. 12 | Williams-Brice StadiumColumbia, SC | PPV | W 24–7 | 79,982 |
| November 24 | 7:00 pm | at No. 12 Clemson* | No. 13 | Memorial StadiumClemson, SC (Palmetto Bowl) | ESPN | W 27–17 | 84,513 |
| January 1 | 1:00 pm | vs. No. 19 Michigan* | No. 11 | Raymond James StadiumTampa, FL (Outback Bowl) | ESPN | W 33–28 | 54,527 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP PollAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||
* ‡ New Williams–Brice Stadium Attendance Record
‡ As part of their penalty for NCAA violations, LSU has retroactively vacated its 2012 victory over South Carolina. However, the penalty to vacate victories does not result in a loss (or forfeiture) of the affected game or award a victory to the opponent, therefore South Carolina still considers the game a loss in their official records.

## Game summaries
### Vanderbilt

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #9 South Carolina | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Vanderbilt | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 13 |

### East Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| East Carolina | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| • #9 South Carolina | 14 | 7 | 14 | 13 | 48 |

### UAB

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| UAB | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| • #8 South Carolina | 7 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 49 |

### Missouri

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Missouri | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| • #7 South Carolina | 0 | 21 | 7 | 3 | 31 |

### Kentucky

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

### Georgia

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #5 Georgia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| • #6 South Carolina | 21 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 35 |

### LSU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #3 South Carolina | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| • #9 LSU | 3 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 23 |

### Florida

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #9 South Carolina | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 11 |
| • #3 Florida | 7 | 14 | 16 | 7 | 44 |

### Tennessee

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tennessee | 7 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 35 |
| • #17 South Carolina | 7 | 21 | 7 | 3 | 38 |

### Arkansas

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Arkansas | 0 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 20 |
| • #12 South Carolina | 7 | 14 | 17 | 0 | 38 |

### Wofford

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wofford | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • #12 South Carolina | 0 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 24 |

### at No. 11 Clemson (rivalry)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 12 South Carolina | 7 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 27 |
| No. 11 Clemson | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
at Memorial Stadium • Clemson, South Carolina
* Date: Saturday, November 24, 2012
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Temperature: • Wind: • Weather: Clear
* Game attendance: 82,000
* TV: ESPN
| Statistics | SC | CLEM |
| First downs | 26 | 18 |
| Total yards | 86–444 | 59–328 |
| Rushing yards | 45–134 | 35–145 |
| Passing yards | 310 | 183 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 23–41–1 | 11–24–2 |
| Time of possession | 39:34 | 20:02 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| South Carolina | Passing | Dylan Thompson | 23/41, 310 yards, 3 TD, INT |
| South Carolina | Rushing | Kenny Miles | 16 carries, 45 yards |
| South Carolina | Receiving | Ace Sanders | 6 receptions, 119 yards, TD |
| Clemson | Passing | Tajh Boyd | 11/24, 183 yards, TD, 2 INT |
| Clemson | Rushing | Andre Ellington | 15 carries, 72 yards |
| Clemson | Receiving | Jaron Brown | 3 receptions, 68 yards |

### Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #11 South Carolina | 14 | 7 | 0 | 12 | 33 |
| #19 Michigan | 3 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 28 |

## Players
### Depth chart

Projected starters and primary backups versus Clemson on November 24, 2012.
Defense :
* FS
* D. J. Swearinger
* Kadetrix Marcus
| WLB | MLB | SLB |
| ⋅ | Reginald Bowens | ⋅ |
| Quin Smith | Damario Jeffery | ⋅ |
* SS
* Brison Williams
* Jared Shaw
* CB
* Victor Hampton
* Ahmad Christian
| DE | DT | DT | DE |
| Devin Taylor | Kelcy Quarles | Byron Jerideau | Jadeveon Clowney |
| Aldrick Fordham | J.T. Surratt | Gerald Dixon, Jr. | Chaz Sutton |
* CB
* Akeem Auguste
* Jimmy Legree
Offense :
* WR
* Ace Sanders
* Nick Jones
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| Corey Robinson | A. J. Cann | T.J. Johnson | Ronald Patrick | Brandon Shell |
| Brandon Shell | Will Sport | Kyle Harris | Kaleb Broome | Cody Gibson |
* TE
* Justice Cunningham
* Rory Anderson
* WR
* Bruce Ellington
* Damiere Byrd
* QB
* Connor Shaw
* Dylan Thompson
* Key reserves
* RB Mike Davis
* WR D.L. Moore
* WR DeAngelo Smith
* WR Shaq Roland
* WR K.J. Brent
* TE Jerell Adams
* DE Gerald Dixon
* LB Cedrick Cooper
* RB
* Kenny Miles
* Mike Davis
* FB
* Qua Gilchrist
* Connor McLaurin
* 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; SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week, 10/1/12; SEC Defensive Lineman and Co-Defensive Player of the Week, 11/26/12
* T.J. Johnson - SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week, 10/8/12
* Marcus Lattimore – SEC Offensive Player of the Week, 9/3/12
* Ace Sanders - SEC Co-Special Teams Player of the Week, 9/24/12, SEC Co-Special Teams Player of the Week, 10/8/12
* Connor Shaw - SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week, 9/24/12, SEC Offensive Player of the Week, 10/29/12
* D. J. Swearinger - Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week, 11/11/12

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | 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 | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 3 | 7 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 10 | Not released |
| BCS | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 7 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 10 | Not released |

## Coaching staff

* Steve Spurrier – Head coach
* Lorenzo Ward – Defensive coordinator
* Kirk Botkin - Linebackers, spurs coach
* Grady Brown - Secondary coach, assistant special teams coordinator
* Shawn Elliott – Co-offensive coordinator, offensive line coach
* Brad Lawing – Defensive line coach
* G. A. Mangus – Quarterbacks coach
* Joe Robinson - Special teams coordinator, tight ends coach
* Everette Sands - Running backs coach
* Steve Spurrier Jr. – Recruiting coordinator, wide receivers coach