The 2011 Southeastern Conference football season began on Thursday, September 1, 2011 with
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
taking on
Western Kentucky
Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state.
;Always included
* The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...
on
ESPNU
ESPNU is an American multinational digital cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and the Hears ...
. The season concluded on January 9, 2012 as the
Alabama Crimson Tide
The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a mem ...
shut out
LSU Tigers
The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a ...
, 21–0 in the
Allstate BCS National Championship Game at the
Mercedes-Benz Superdome
The Caesars Superdome, commonly known as the Superdome (formerly known as Mercedes-Benz Superdome), is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the home stadium of the New Orleans Saints ...
in New Orleans to claim their 14th national championship in school history. It was also the final season for the SEC before
Texas A&M
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
and
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
joined the conference from the
Big 12
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its fo ...
the following season.
Preseason
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
head coach
Urban Meyer
Urban Frank Meyer III (born July 10, 1964) is a college football TV commentator and former American football coach. He spent most of his coaching career at the collegiate level, having served as the head coach of the Bowling Green Falcons fro ...
retired in early December citing his health concerns and wanting to be around his family more.
Meyer then joined
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
as an analyst for its college football coverage during the 2011 season.
In his place Florida hired
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
defensive coordinator
Will Muschamp
William Lawrence Muschamp (born August 3, 1971) is an American football coach and former player. He is the co- defensive coordinator and safeties coach at the University of Georgia. He served as head football coach at the University of Florida fr ...
as the new head coach.
Muschamp elected to bring in former
Notre Dame head coach
Charlie Weis
Charles Joseph Weis Sr. (born March 30, 1956) is a former American football coach. He was the head coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 2005 to 2009 and the Kansas Jayhawks from 2012 to 2014. He also served as an offensive coordinator in ...
as his offensive coordinator.
Vanderbilt interim head coach
Robbie Caldwell
Robbie Caldwell (born January 26, 1954) is a retired American football coach, and previously served as the offensive line coach for Clemson University. Caldwell was formerly the head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores football team. He has also ...
had a tough year in 2010 with injuries and tough schedule, going 2–10.
The school decided to search for a new coach to replace former head coach
Bobby Johnson
Robert Alan Johnson (born February 8, 1951) is a retired American football coach and former player. He was most recently the head football coach at Vanderbilt University, a position he held from the 2002 season until his retirement in 2010.
In ...
, who retired unexpectedly in July 2010.
Vanderbilt hired
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
offensive coordinator
James Franklin, and this is Franklin's first head coaching job.
LSU
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
decided to part ways with offensive coordinator
Gary Crowton
David Gary Crowton (born June 14, 1957) is an American football coach. He is the offensive coordinator at Pine View High School in St. George, Utah, a position he has held since 2018. Crowton served as the head football coach at Louisiana Tech ...
because of a lack of offensive production the previous seasons.
In his place LSU hired former
Louisville
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border.
...
head coach
Steve Kragthorpe
Steven Jon Kragthorpe (born April 28, 1965) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently an administrative assistant for the Louisiana State University football program after previously serving as quarterbacks coach for the T ...
.
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
added new schemes to its defense by adding former
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
head coach
Rick Minter
Rick Minter (born October 4, 1954) is an American football coach, most recently the defensive coordinator for the Birmingham Iron. He was the linebackers coach for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL) from February 2013 to ...
as its co-defensive coordinator alongside
Steve Brown.
2011 Pre-season Coaches All-SEC
Rankings
Regular season
All times Eastern time.
Rankings reflect that of the AP poll for that week until week eight when the BCS rankings will be used.
Week One
Players of the week:
Week Two
Players of the week:
Week Three
Players of the week:
Week Four
Players of the week:
Week Five
Players of the week:
Week Six
Players of the week:
Week Seven
Players of the week:
Week Eight
Players of the week:
Week Nine
Players of the week:
Week Ten
Players of the week:
Week Eleven
Players of the week:
Week Twelve
Players of the week:
Week Thirteen
Players of the week:
Week Fourteen/SEC Championship
SEC vs. AQ conference and BCS-buster opponents
''NOTE:. Games with a * next to the home team represent a neutral site game''
Home attendance
Games played at Arkansas' secondary home stadium
War Memorial Stadium War Memorial Stadium may refer to:
* Ada War Memorial Stadium, in Ada, Ohio, also known as ''War Memorial Stadium''
* War Memorial Stadium (Arkansas), Little Rock, Arkansas
* War Memorial Stadium (Austin, Texas) (former official name 1924–1947), ...
, capacity: 54,120.
Attendance was 84,524 for the Georgia vs. Florida game in Jacksonville
Bowl games
Per BCS selection rules, no more than two teams from a conference may be selected, regardless of whether they are automatic qualifiers or at-large selections, unless two non-champions from the same conference are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the final BCS Standings. As the SEC champion Louisiana State was the top-ranked team in the BCS poll, the Sugar Bowl was prohibited from selecting an SEC representative for the 2011–12 season.
Post-season awards and honors
All-SEC
The following players were named by the AP All-SEC team:
All-Americans
Running back
*
Trent Richardson
Trenton Jamond Richardson (born July 10, 1990) is an American football running back for the Caudillos de Chihuahua of Fútbol Americano de México. He played college football for the University of Alabama, was recognized as an All-American, and ...
,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
(AFCA-Coaches)
Defensive end
*
Melvin Ingram
Melvin Ingram III (born April 26, 1989) is an American football outside linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at South Carolina, and earned All-American honors. He was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the first round ...
,
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
(AFCA-Coaches)
Tight end
*
Orson Charles
Orson Charles (born January 27, 1991) is a former American football tight end and fullback. He played college football at Georgia.
High school career
Charles attended Riverview High School before transferring to Henry B. Plant High School in T ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
(AFCA-Coaches)
Linebacker
*
Dont'a Hightower
Qualin Dont'a Hightower (born March 12, 1990) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Alabama, receiving consensus All-American honors and winning two BCS National Championships. Hightower was selec ...
,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
(AFCA-Coaches)
*
Jarvis Jones
Jarvis Jerrell Jones (born October 13, 1989) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football for the University of Georgia, and was recognized as a consensus All-American twice. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
(AFCA-Coaches)
Offensive guard
*
Barrett Jones
Barrett A. Jones (born May 25, 1990) is a former American football guard. He played college football at Alabama, and was drafted by the Rams in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft.
Early years
Jones was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He atten ...
,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
(AFCA-Coaches)
Secondary
*
Mark Barron
Mark Barron (born October 27, 1989) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Alabama, where he was twice recognized as an All-American, and was a member of two BCS National Championship teams. He wa ...
,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
(AFCA-Coaches)
*
Morris Claiborne
Morris Lee Claiborne (born February 7, 1990) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at Louisiana State University (LSU), where he won the Jim Thorpe Award as the best defensive back in the country and was unanimous ...
,
LSU
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
(AFCA-Coaches)
*
DeQuan Menzie
DeQuan Menzie (born January 11, 1990) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at Alabama.
Early life
Menzie played high school football at Carver High School in Columbus, Georgia, where he played under coach Dell M ...
,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
(AFCA-Coaches)
National award winners
The following SEC players listed below have been named to the national award semifinalist and finalist lists.
References
{{2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season navbox