2012 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

2012 Southeastern Conference football standings
	Eastern Division
	Western Division
	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

2012 South Carolina Gamecocks football
2012 South Carolina Gamecocks football
Outback Bowl champion
Outback Bowl, W 33–28 vs. Michigan
Conference	Southeastern Conference
	East 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)
	Seasons ← 2011 2013 →

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 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.

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[]

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
Ahmad Christian

CB
Akeem Auguste
Jimmy Legree

Offense

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

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

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 - 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 coach^[14]
Grady Brown - Secondary coach, assistant special teams coordinator^[15]
Shawn Elliott – Co-offensive coordinator, offensive line coach^[16]
Brad Lawing – Defensive line coach^[17]
G.A. Mangus – Quarterbacks coach^[18]
Joe Robinson - Special teams coordinator, tight ends coach^[19]
Everette Sands - Running backs coach^[20]
Steve Spurrier Jr. – Recruiting coordinator, wide receivers coach^[21]

References[]

^ Black Defeats Garnet in Spring Game
^ ESPN's GameDay is Coming To Our City
^ SEC 2012 TV Schedule Archived July 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Matt Sarz Sports, retrieved April 12, 2012
^ Clowney Named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week
^ Clowney Honored by SEC
^ Clowney Honored by SEC
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Johnson and Sanders Honored by SEC
^ Lattimore Named SEC Offensive Player of the Week
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Shaw and Sanders Receive SEC Honors
^ Shaw Named SEC Offensive Player of the Week
^ Swearinger Named National Defensive Player of the Week
^ Bio: Steve Spurrier
^ Bio: Lorenzo Ward
^ Bio: Kirk Botkin
^ Bio: Grady Brown
^ Bio: Shawn Elliott
^ Bio: Brad Lawing
^ Bio: G.A. Mangus
^ Bio: Joe Robinson
^ Bio: Everette Sands
^ "Bio: Steve Spurrier, Jr". Archived from the original on October 1, 2011. Retrieved September 9, 2012.

[1] Black Defeats Garnet in Spring Game

[2] ESPN's GameDay is Coming To Our City

[SECTV-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

[Johnson_and_Sanders_Honored_by_SEC-7] Jump up to: ^a ^b Johnson and Sanders Honored by SEC

[8] Lattimore Named SEC Offensive Player of the Week

[Shaw_and_Sanders_Receive_SEC_Honors-9] Jump up to: ^a ^b 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". Archived from the original on October 1, 2011. Retrieved September 9, 2012.

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hide v t South Carolina Gamecocks football
Venues	Old State Fairgrounds (1894, 1896-1898) Shandon Park (1895) College Park/Davis Field (1899–1925) Melton Field (1926–1934) Williams–Brice Stadium (1934–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Clemson Georgia North Carolina
Culture & lore	Spurrier Cocky "The Fighting Gamecocks Lead the Way" Mighty Sound of the Southeast "Sandstorm" The Brawl
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees
Seasons	1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

2012 Southeastern Conference football standings
v t	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