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2011 South Carolina

11–⁠2 (6–⁠2 Southeastern Conference), coached by Steve Spurrier, finished No. 9 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

South Carolina in 2011, game by game: won vs. East Carolina 56–37; won at Georgia 45–42; won vs. Navy 24–21; won vs. Vanderbilt 21–3; lost vs. Auburn 13–16; won vs. Kentucky 54–3; won at Mississippi State 14–12; won at Tennessee 14–3; lost at No. 8 Arkansas 28–44; won vs. Florida 17–12; won vs. The Citadel 41–20; won vs. No. 18 Clemson 34–13; won vs. No. 21 Nebraska 30–13+51−16Won 56–37 vs. East Carolina+19East CarolinaWon 45–42 at Georgia+3GeorgiaWon 24–21 vs. Navy+3NavyWon 21–3 vs. Vanderbilt+18VanderbiltLost 13–16 vs. Auburn-3AuburnWon 54–3 vs. Kentucky+51KentuckyWon 14–12 at Mississippi State+2Mississippi Sta…Won 14–3 at Tennessee+11TennesseeLost 28–44 at No. 8 Arkansas-16No. 8 ArkansasWon 17–12 vs. Florida+5FloridaWon 41–20 vs. The Citadel+21The CitadelWon 34–13 vs. No. 18 Clemson+21No. 18 ClemsonWon 30–13 vs. No. 21 Nebraska+17No. 21 Nebraska
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsEast CarolinaW 56–⁠3769%
Sep 10atGeorgiaW 45–⁠4252%
Sep 17vsNavyW 24–⁠2161%
Sep 24vsVanderbiltW 21–⁠379%
Oct 1vsAuburnL 13–⁠1654%
Oct 8vsKentuckyW 54–⁠378%
Oct 15atMississippi StateW 14–⁠1253%
Oct 29atTennesseeW 14–⁠362%
Nov 5at8ArkansasL 28–⁠4438%
Nov 12vsFloridaW 17–⁠1264%
Nov 19vsThe CitadelW 41–⁠2094%
Nov 26vs18ClemsonW 34–⁠1362%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs21NebraskaCapital One BowlW 30–⁠1353%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Nebraska 30–⁠13 in the Capital One Bowl; No. 9 in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 3rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 12
  2. Wk 2: 12
  3. Wk 3: 10
  4. Wk 4: 12
  5. Wk 5: 10
  6. Wk 6: 18
  7. Wk 7: 15
  8. Wk 8: 14
  9. Wk 9: 14
  10. Wk 10: 10
  11. Wk 11: 15
  12. Wk 12: 14
  13. Wk 13: 14
  14. Wk 14: 14
  15. Wk 15: 10
  16. Final: 9

Consensus All-AmericanMelvin Ingram, DE

Record
11–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 4th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 9 peak No. 9
Points
391–⁠239
Coach
Steve Spurrier
Elo
1719 +125 this season
SP+ rating
18.6 No. 16 of 120; offense No. 28, defense No. 7, special teams No. 63
SRS
11.6 No. 19 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 17
Defensive coordinator
Ellis Johnson
Offense
Fun and gun
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense43rd of 120
  • Defense2nd of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted45th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted2nd of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0643%0.9143rd of 120
Defense-0.0835%0.902nd of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.07 off
-0.04 def		43% off
36% def		—45th off
2nd def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 303% allowed
Defense-0.6own 343% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsConnor Shaw QB1,448 yds
Passing touchdownsConnor Shaw QB14 TD
Rushing yardsMarcus Lattimore 818 yds
Rushing touchdownsMarcus Lattimore 10 TD
Receiving yardsAlshon Jeffery WR762 yds
Receiving touchdownsAlshon Jeffery WR8 TD
InterceptionsStephon Gilmore CB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2011 class

Jadeveon Clowney WDE★★★★★No. 1
Brandon Shell OT★★★★No. 94
Kelcy Quarles DT★★★★No. 123
Phillip Dukes DT★★★★No. 152
Sheldon Royster S★★★★No. 168
Damiere Byrd WR★★★★No. 183
Shon Carson APB★★★★No. 303

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2011 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.830
Running backs23.50.858
Receivers23.50.890
Offensive line33.30.878
Defensive line73.40.883
Linebackers22.50.800
Defensive backs23.50.883
Athletes and specialists23.00.874
Whole class213.30.869

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2012

The 2012 draft
Rd 1Stephon Gilmore CBBuffalo Bills
Rd 1Melvin Ingram DESan Diego Chargers
Rd 2Alshon Jeffery WRChicago Bears
Rd 5Rokevious Watkins OGSt. Louis Rams
Rd 7Antonio Allen SNew York Jets
Rd 7Travian Robertson DTAtlanta Falcons

Roster 113

The 2011 roster

113 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2011 line; 30 have a stat line. See the roster

All-SEC

2 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2011 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2011 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
LSU8–⁠013–⁠12
Alabama7–⁠112–⁠11
Georgia7–⁠110–⁠419
Arkansas6–⁠211–⁠25
South Carolina6–⁠211–⁠29
Auburn4–⁠48–⁠5
Florida3–⁠57–⁠6
Mississippi State2–⁠67–⁠6
Vanderbilt2–⁠66–⁠7
Kentucky2–⁠65–⁠7
Tennessee1–⁠75–⁠7
Ole Miss0–⁠82–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.