2011South Carolina Gamecocks football
Palmetto Bowl champion
Capital One Bowl,W 30–13 vs.Nebraska
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	East Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 8
AP	No. 9
Record	11–2 (6–2 SEC)
Head coach	Steve Spurrier (7th season)
Offensive scheme	Fun and gun
Defensive coordinator	Ellis Johnson (4th season)
Base defense	4–2–5
Home stadium	Williams-Brice Stadium
Seasons ← 2010 2012 →

The2011 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented theUniversity of South Carolina in the2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gamecocks were led byseventh-year head coachSteve Spurrier and played their home games atWilliams–Brice Stadium. They were a member of the East Division of theSoutheastern Conference and finished 11–2 for the season and 6–2 in SEC play.^[1]

Thedefending SEC East champions, South Carolina started the season 4–0 and ranked No. 10 in the country.^[1] However, in the fifth game of the season, they lost at home to unranked defending national championAuburn,^[1] resulting in long-time starting quarterbackStephen Garcia being replaced byConnor Shaw.^[2][3][4] Shaw would subsequently start almost every game until the end of the2013 season, becoming the winningest quarterback in school history along the way, and never losing at home.^[5] South Carolina would only lose one more game the rest of the season, a blowout on the road at No. 8Arkansas.^[1] While the Gamecocks finished undefeated against the East Division,^[1] the losses to Auburn and Arkansas left them second in the division standings behindGeorgia.^[6] In theCapital One Bowl, they defeated No. 21Nebraska 30–13, the program's first bowl victory since2006.^[7] The eleven wins were a school record; it was only the second time in the school's 119-year football history that it won as many as ten games.^[8] They also finished eighth in the finalCoaches' Poll and ninth in the finalAP Poll—their first-ever top-10 finishes in any major poll.^[8]

The 2011 Gamecocks were arguably the most talented team in school history.^[9][10] They are the only team in South Carolina's history with two future retired jerseys (Alshon Jeffery andJadeveon Clowney).^[11]Melvin Ingram was aconsensus All-American, only the third in program history.^[12]Marcus Lattimore was a frontrunner for theHeisman Trophy until a season-ending injury.^[13] Clowney, the highest-rated high school football recruit of all time,^[14] was named the SEC Freshman of the Year.^[15] The team had three future first-roundNFL draft picks and sixteen total future NFL draft picks, the most in program history.^[9]

On April 10, 2011, the Garnet squad defeated the Black squad, 21–17, in the annual Garnet & Black Spring Game, in front of a crowd of 30,100.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	7:00 pm	vs.East Carolina*	No. 12	Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, NC	FSN	W 56–37	58,272
September 10	4:30 pm	atGeorgia	No. 12	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA (rivalry)	ESPN	W 45–42	92,746
September 17	6:00 pm	Navy*	No. 10	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	ESPN2	W 24–21	78,807
September 24	7:00 pm	Vanderbilt	No. 12	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	ESPN2	W 21–3	77,015
October 1	3:30 pm	Auburn	No. 10	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	CBS	L 13–16	81,767
October 8	12:21 pm	Kentucky	No. 18	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	SECN	W 54–3	75,838
October 15	12:21 pm	atMississippi State	No. 15	Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	SECN	W 14–12	55,418
October 29	7:15 pm	atTennessee	No. 14	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	ESPN2	W 14–3	96,655
November 5	7:15 pm	at No. 8Arkansas	No. 10	Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR	ESPN	L 28–44	73,804
November 12	12:00 pm	Florida	No. 15	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	CBS	W 17–12	80,250
November 19	12:00 pm	The Citadel*	No. 14	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	FSS	W 41–20	76,816
November 26	7:45 pm	No. 18Clemson*	No. 14	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC (Palmetto Bowl)	ESPN	W 34–13	83,442
January 2	1:00 pm	vs. No. 21Nebraska*	No. 10	Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL (Capital One Bowl)	ESPN	W 30–13	61,351
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings fromAP Poll released prior to the game All times are inEastern time

Marcus Lattimore was injured during this game and he remained out for the remainder of the season.

Projected starters and primary backups versus Clemson on November 26, 2011.

• Antonio Allen – AP Second-Team All-SEC;^[16] AP Second-Team All-American^[17]
• A.J. Cann – Coaches SEC All-Freshman Team^[18]
• Jadeveon Clowney – Coaches Second-Team All-SEC;^[19] Coaches SEC All-Freshman Team;^[20] SEC Freshman of the Year;^[21] Sporting News All-Freshman Team^[22]
• Bruce Ellington – SEC Co-Freshman of the Week, 10/17/11;^[23] Coaches SEC All-Freshman Team^[24]
• Melvin Ingram – Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week, 9/11/11;^[25] SEC Special Teams Player of the Week, 9/12/11;^[26] SEC Defensive Player of the Week, 9/26/11;^[27] SEC Defensive Player of the Week, 10/3/11;^[28] AP & Coaches First-Team All-SEC;^[29][30] AFCA All-American Team;^[31] Walter Camp First-Team All-American;^[32] AP First-Team All-American;^[33] Sporting News All-American Team^[34]
• Alshon Jeffery – AP Second-Team All-SEC;^[35] Capital One Bowl MVP
• Marcus Lattimore – SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week, 9/19/11;^[36] AP & Coaches Second-Team All-SEC^[37][38]
• Mike Matulis – Sporting News All-Freshman Team^[39]
• Travian Robertson – SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week, 10/14/11^[40]
• Connor Shaw – SEC Offensive Player of the Week, 10/10/11;^[41] SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week, 11/28/11^[42]
• D.J. Swearinger – SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week, 10/17/11^[43]
• Rokevious Watkins – SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week, 9/5/11;^[44] AP First-Team All-SEC;^[45] Coaches Second-Team All-SEC^[46]
• Brandon Wilds – SEC Freshman of the Week, 10/31/11^[47]
• Dalton Wilson – Capital One Academic All-America Second Team^[48]

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	40‡	Commit date
Jerell Adams TE	Summerton, SC	Scotts Branch HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	4.53	Jan 31, 2011
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (76)
Rory Anderson TE	Powder Springs, GA	McEachern HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	4.65	Jan 19, 2011
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (79)
K.J. Brent WR	Waxhaw, NC	Marvin Ridge HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	4.5	Apr 14, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (75)
Kaleb Broome OL	Milledgeville, GA	Georgia Military College	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	315 lb (143 kg)	4.97	Jul 23, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (-)
Damiere Byrd WR	Sicklerville, NJ	Timber Creek HS	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	4.27	Feb 4, 2011
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (78)
Shon Carson RB	Scranton, SC	Lake City HS	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	4.4	Oct 10, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (77)
Ahmad Christian DB	Jacksonville, FL	Trinity Christian HS	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	4.5	Jan 23, 2011
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (77)
Jadeveon Clowney DE	Rock Hill, SC	South Pointe HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	4.6	Feb 14, 2011
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (95)
Cedrick Cooper LB	Lithonia, GA	Lithonia HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	4.5	Feb 2, 2011
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (78)
Gerald Dixon DE	Rock Hill, SC	South Pointe HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	240 lb (110 kg)	-	Jan 4, 2011
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (77)
Gerald Dixon, Jr. DT	Rock Hill, SC	Northwestern HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	270 lb (120 kg)	5.0	Jan 4, 2011
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (71)
Phillip Dukes DT	Manning, SC	Manning HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	290 lb (130 kg)	5.0	Feb 1, 2011
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (79)
Deon Green DT	Orlando, FL	Olympia HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	270 lb (120 kg)	-	Jun 29, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (78)
Kyle Harris OT	Lindale, GA	Pepperell HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	280 lb (130 kg)	4.97	Nov 7, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (79)
Mason Harris LB	Rossville, GA	Ridgeland HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	4.5	Jun 7, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (76)
Shamier Jeffery WR	St. Matthews, SC	Calhoun County HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	4.6	Nov 29, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (79)
Kadetrix Marcus DB	Stone Mountain, GA	Stephenson HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	4.6	Nov 7, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (80)
Ronnie Martin DB	Spartanburg, SC	Spartanburg HS	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	4.4	Aug 4, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (77)
Martay Mattox ATH	Athens, GA	Clarke Central HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	4.5	May 17, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (74)
Mike Matulis OT	Lake Worth, FL	Park Vista HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	275 lb (125 kg)	5.1	Jul 24, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (76)
Tanner McEvoy QB	Oradell, NJ	Bergen Catholic HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	4.6	Jan 20, 2011
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (78)
Quincy McKinney OL	Columbus, GA	Carver HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	295 lb (134 kg)	-	Aug 25, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (78)
Edward Muldrow LB	Snellville, GA	South Gwinnett HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	4.7	Jun 19, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (79)
Drew Owens TE	Charlotte, NC	Ardrey Kell HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	4.8	Dec 20, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (79)
Kelcy Quarles DT	Fork Union, VA	Fork Union Military Academy	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	265 lb (120 kg)	-	Nov 24, 2008
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (-)
Marcquis Roberts LB	Powder Springs, GA	McEachern HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	4.7	Jan 19, 2011
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (78)
Sheldon Royster DB	Jersey City, NJ	St. Peter's Prep	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	-	Jan 20, 2011
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (77)
Brandon Shell OL	Charleston, SC	Goose Creek HS	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	310 lb (140 kg)	5.35	Nov 1, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (79)
Will Sport OL	Pace, FL	Pace HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	275 lb (125 kg)	-	Oct 4, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (76)
Angelo Watley LB	Suwanee, GA	Peachtree Ridge HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	-	Jun 25, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (76)
Brandon Wilds RB	Blythewood, SC	Blythewood HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	4.5	Aug 19, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (76)
Brison Williams DB	Fork Union, VA	Fork Union Military Academy	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	-	Aug 25, 2010
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:    (-)
Overall recruit ranking:   Scout: 12   Rivals: 18   ESPN: 15
‡ Refers to40-yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "South Carolina Signee List 2011". Rivals. "Scout.com Football Recruiting: South Carolina". Scout. "2011 Player Signees- South Carolina". ESPN. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout. "2011 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

TheUniversity of South Carolina was investigated in 2011 by theNCAA after it came to light that student-athletes (including some football players) had received an estimated $59,000 in impermissible benefits, mainly the result of discounted living expenses at a local hotel.^[49] The school imposed its own punishment, paying $18,500 in fines and cutting three football scholarships in each of the 2013 and 2014 seasons.^[50] The school also reduced its official visits for the 2012–13 year, from 56 to 30. The NCAA ruled this self-imposed punishment as adequate, stating that "the violations were limited in scope" and "there was no unethical conduct in this case", and went on to praise the school's handling of the affair, with the chairman of the NCAA infractions committee stating, "This has been one of the best cases I have seen from a process standpoint. . . . In this case, it was obvious to the committee that the university wanted to get to the truth." The commissioner went on to state that USC "wanted to ask all the hard questions of all the right people and, in some cases, they even went beyond what the NCAA staff was doing."^[51]

• Steve Spurrier – Head coach^[52]
• Ellis Johnson – Assistant head coach, defensive coordinator^[53]
• Lorenzo Ward – Defensive coordinator, cornerbacks coach^[54]
• John Butler – Special teams coordinator^[55]
• Shawn Elliott – Offensive line coach, running game coordinator^[56]
• Craig Fitzgerald – Strength & conditioning coach^[57]
• Jay Graham – Running backs and tight ends coach^[58]
• Jeep Hunter – Safeties coach^[59]
• Brad Lawing – Defensive line coach^[60]
• G. A. Mangus – Quarterbacks coach^[61]
• Steve Spurrier, Jr. – Wide receivers coach^[62]

• 2011 Southeastern Conference football season
• South Carolina Gamecocks football seasons
• Citrus Bowl champion seasons
• 2011 in sports in South Carolina

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