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. 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.

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


 * ‡ 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.

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; 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

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