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2012 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

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
Seasons
← 2011
2013 →
2012 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
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

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.[1] 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.[1][2] This was the program's highest ranking since 1984,[3] and the 2012 Gamecocks began receiving comparisons to that 1984 team, which started 9–0 and came close to winning a national championship.[2] This ten-game winning streak and No. 3 ranking in 2012 has not been matched or surpassed by the program since.[3] 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.[1] The Gamecocks rebounded, winning the rest of their games in the regular season, including against archrival No. 12 Clemson.[1] 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.[4] South Carolina finished the season with eleven wins and ranked in the top ten for only the second time in school history.[5]

Sophomore defensive end Jadeveon Clowney emerged as the best defensive player in college football.[6] Clowney had thirteen sacks and 23.5 tackles for loss, both school records.[7] He won the Ted Hendricks Award and finished sixth in Heisman Trophy voting.[8][9] Clowney was a unanimous All-American, only the second in program history.[7] He won the ESPY Award for best play of the sporting year for his Outback Bowl tackle on Michigan running back Vincent Smith,[10] since regarded as one of the greatest plays in college football history.[11][12][13]

Due to their talent, win total, iconic 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.[14][15][16]

  1. ^ a b c d "2012 South Carolina Gamecocks Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Gillespie, Bob (October 9, 2012). "1984 team, 2012 Gamecocks have a lot in common". The State. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "South Carolina Gamecocks Poll History". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  4. ^ "South Carolina 33-28 Michigan (Jan 1, 2013) Game Recap". ESPN. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  5. ^ "South Carolina Gamecocks College Football History, Stats, Records". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  6. ^ "Ask 5: Is Clowney top defensive prospect in last decade?". NFL.com. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Jadeveon Clowney". University of South Carolina Athletics. June 22, 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  8. ^ "South Carolina's Clowney wins Hendricks Award". wltx.com. December 5, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  9. ^ "Low: Clowney has lived up to the hype". ESPN.com. December 31, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  10. ^ "The Hit lives on: Clowney wins ESPY for play of the year". The State. July 17, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  11. ^ "Jadeveon Clowney wins ESPY for 'Best Play'". wistv.com. July 18, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  12. ^ Kirshner, Alex (January 8, 2020). "84 plays that defined 2010s college football". Banner Society. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  13. ^ "The top 10 defensive college football plays of all time - ESPN Video". ESPN.com. October 10, 2019. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  14. ^ "Ranking the top 10 Gamecock teams of all time". The State. January 9, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  15. ^ "South Carolina Football's GOAT Series: Top-10 greatest Gamecock football seasons of all-time". Garnet and Cocky. May 12, 2023. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  16. ^ "5 best seasons in South Carolina history". Saturday Down South. May 11, 2016. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
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