2013 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

2013 South Carolina Gamecocks football
Capital One Bowl champion
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionEast Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 4
APNo. 4
Record11–2 (6–2 SEC)
Head coach
Co-offensive coordinatorSteve Spurrier, Jr. (2nd as Co OC, 9th overall season)
Co-offensive coordinatorShawn Elliot (2nd as OC, 4th overall season)
Offensive schemeMultiple
Defensive coordinatorLorenzo Ward (2nd as DC, 5th overall season)
Base defense4–2–5
Home stadiumWilliams-Brice Stadium
Seasons
← 2012
2014 →
2013 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Eastern Division
No. 5 Missouri x   7 – 1     12 – 2  
No. 4 South Carolina   6 – 2     11 – 2  
Georgia   5 – 3     8 – 5  
No. 24 Vanderbilt   4 – 4     9 – 4  
Florida   3 – 5     4 – 8  
Tennessee   2 – 6     5 – 7  
Kentucky   0 – 8     2 – 10  
Western Division
No. 2 Auburn xy$   7 – 1     12 – 2  
No. 7 Alabama x%   7 – 1     11 – 2  
No. 14 LSU *   5 – 3     10 – 3  
No. 18 Texas A&M   4 – 4     9 – 4  
Mississippi State   3 – 5     7 – 6  
Ole Miss *   3 – 5     8 – 5  
Arkansas   0 – 8     3 – 9  
Championship: Auburn 59, Missouri 42
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • * LSU and Ole Miss vacated all wins (except for Ole Miss' Music City Bowl win) due to NCAA violations.
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2013 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gamecocks competed as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) as part of its East Division. The team was led by head coach Steve Spurrier, in his ninth year, and played its home games at Williams–Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina.

Entering the season, the Gamecocks had lost a school-record thirteen players to the NFL draft over the past two years,[1] but returned several key players such as senior quarterback Connor Shaw,[2] defensive sensation Jadeveon Clowney,[3] wide receiver Bruce Ellington,[4] and running back Mike Davis.[5] South Carolina began the season highly ranked, like the previous two seasons, but lost an early contest on the road at No. 11 Georgia, the program's first loss to the Bulldogs since 2009.[6][7] The Gamecocks won their next four games but then stumbled again, losing on the road to unranked Tennessee, the program's first loss to an unranked team since 2011.[6] They subsequently fell to No. 20 in the country, their lowest ranking since 2010.[6][8]

However, South Carolina had its best finish to a season in program history.[9] On the road at No. 5 Missouri, the Gamecocks were down 0–17 by the third quarter. An injured Connor Shaw subsequently came in to replace Dylan Thompson at quarterback, and engineered a 17-point comeback in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime. South Carolina won in double overtime after Missouri's kicker missed a field goal, giving the Gamecocks a comeback upset over a top-5 team on the road,[6][10] known since as the "Miracle at Mizzou".[11][12] They won the next three games back at home against unranked teams, climbing back into the top ten in the rankings and setting the stage for the highest-ranked matchup in Palmetto Bowl history.[6] In the regular season finale, South Carolina upset No. 6 Clemson at home, a school-record fifth consecutive victory against the Tigers.[6][13] Connor Shaw won his final home game, finishing 17–0 at Williams–Brice Stadium.[2] South Carolina was invited to play No. 19 Wisconsin in the Capital One Bowl to end the season.[6] The Gamecocks defeated the Badgers 34–24, with Shaw scoring all five of his team's touchdowns in the final game of his college career.[6][14] South Carolina finished with eleven wins, becoming only the twelfth team in college football history to win eleven games in three straight seasons.[15][16] The Gamecocks finished the season ranked No. 4, which remains the highest final ranking in school history.[17][18]

The 2013 Gamecocks had statistically the best offense in school history, averaging 34.1 points and a school-record 452.3 yards per game.[19][20] Connor Shaw passed, rushed and received for a total of 3,014 yards, with 31 touchdowns, nearly 64% pass completion, and one interception.[21]

  1. ^ "DraftHistory.com". www.drafthistory.com. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Connor Shaw". University of South Carolina Athletics. June 22, 2018. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  3. ^ "Jadeveon Clowney". University of South Carolina Athletics. June 22, 2018. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  4. ^ Bennett, Charles. "South Carolina Football: Bruce Ellington's Head Finally Overrules His Heart". Bleacher Report. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  5. ^ "South Carolina Football: Looking back at the Gamecocks career of Mike Davis". South Bound & Down. July 27, 2022. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h "2013 South Carolina Gamecocks Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  7. ^ "Winsipedia - Georgia Bulldogs vs. South Carolina Gamecocks football series history". Winsipedia. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  8. ^ "South Carolina Gamecocks Poll History". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  9. ^ "5 best seasons in South Carolina history". Saturday Down South. May 11, 2016. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  10. ^ "South Carolina 27-24 Missouri (Oct 26, 2013) Game Recap". ESPN. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  11. ^ Kendall, Josh (September 23, 2014). "'Miracle at Mizzou': The night Connor Shaw rescued the Gamecocks". The State. Retrieved October 2, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ Cloninger, David (October 1, 2018). "'The Miracle at Mizzou:' Gamecocks recall one of greatest comebacks in SC football history". The Post and Courier. Retrieved October 2, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ "Winsipedia - Clemson Tigers vs. South Carolina Gamecocks football series history". Winsipedia. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  14. ^ "South Carolina 34-24 Wisconsin (Jan 1, 2014) Game Recap". ESPN. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  15. ^ "South Carolina Gamecocks College Football History, Stats, Records". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  16. ^ "Who's better: 1984 South Carolina or 2013 South Carolina?". Saturday Down South. July 16, 2016. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  17. ^ "5 best seasons in South Carolina history". Saturday Down South. May 11, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  18. ^ "South Carolina Gamecocks AP Poll History". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  19. ^ "Shawn Elliott". University of South Carolina Athletics. February 16, 2024. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  20. ^ "South Carolina Football's GOAT Series: Top-10 greatest offenses of all-time". Garnet and Cocky. May 19, 2023. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  21. ^ "Connor Shaw College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 3, 2024.