The 2014 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

in the

2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 27, 2014, and ended on ...

. The Gamecocks competed as a member of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) as part of its East Division. The team was led by head coach

Steve Spurrier Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American former football player and coach. He played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often referred to by his nicknam ...

, in his tenth year, and played its home games at Williams–Brice Stadium in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

. They finished the season 7–6, 3–5 in SEC play to finish in fifth place in the East Division. They were invited to the

Independence Bowl The Independence Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually each December at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Independence Bow ...

where they defeated Miami (FL). After three eleven-win seasons, South Carolina began ranked No. 9 in the country, and tied for the eleventh-best odds to win the national championship. However, despite

Dylan Thompson Dylan Thompson (born October 24, 1991) is an American professional football former quarterback who is the senior director of team support and advancement for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college foot ...

breaking the school record and leading the SEC in passing yards, this season would mark the end of South Carolina's golden age. The opening upset blowout loss to No. 21

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

snapped the Gamecocks' eighteen-game home winning streak. The Gamecocks rebounded, winning the next three games, including an upset over No. 6

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. However, South Carolina lost five of their last eight games in the regular season, including a loss that sent them out of the top 25 for the first time since

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, and their first loss to

archrival A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

Clemson since

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. The fourth consecutive bowl victory was a school record, but the seven wins were the fewest since

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

. For the rest of the mid-to-late 2010s, South Carolina would struggle to return to national prominence.

Before the season

2014 recruiting class

National award watch lists

Camp Camp may refer to: Areas of confinement, imprisonment, or for execution * Concentration camp, an internment camp for political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or minority ethnic groups * Extermination ...

- Mike Davis * Groza - Elliot Fry *

Hornung Hornung is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Clarence P. Hornung (1899–1998), American graphic designer *Walker Hornung (born 1969) American Musician *Dirk Hornung, German curler *Erik Hornung (born 1933), German Egyptologist ...

Pharoh Cooper Pharoh Cooper (born March 7, 1995) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks, and was selected by the Los Angele ...

* Lombardi - A.J. Cann * Mackey -

Rory Anderson Rory C. "Busta" Anderson II (born October 2, 1992) is an American former professional football tight end. He was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round of the 2015 NFL draft. He played college football at South Carolina. He was ...

Maxwell Maxwell may refer to: People * Maxwell (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** James Clerk Maxwell, mathematician and physicist * Justice Maxwell (disambiguation) * Maxwell baronets, in the Baronetage of N ...

- Mike Davis * Outland - A.J. Cann * Outland - Corey Robinson * Outland - Brandon Shell *

Rimington Rimington is a rural village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish was 382 at the 2001 Census, however at the 2011 Census Middop was included with Rimington giving a total of 480. It is e ...

- Cody Waldrop *

Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People *Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) *Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California * ...

- Mike Davis

Preseason All-America

* OL A.J. Cann ** Phil Steele (''1st team'') * RB Mike Davis ** Phil Steele (''3rd team'')

Preseason All-SEC

* OL A.J. Cann ** SEC Media (''2nd team'') ** Phil Steele (''1st team'') ** Athlon Magazine (''1st team'') * RB Mike Davis ** SEC Media (''2nd team'') ** Phil Steele (''2nd team'') ** Athlon Magazine (''2nd team'') * K Elliot Fry ** Athlon Magazine (''3rd team'') * LB Skai Moore ** Athlon Magazine (''3rd team'') * OL Corey Robinson ** SEC Media (''2nd team'') ** Athlon Magazine (''3rd team'') * WR Shaq Roland ** Athlon Magazine (''3rd team'') * DB Brison Williams ** SEC Media (''2nd team'')

Schedule

:Source:

Roster

:Source:

Depth chart

For: 8/28/14 (Texas A&M)

Game summaries

Texas A&M

The Gamecocks open the 2014 season with a Thursday night matchup against conference foe Texas A&M. It will be the first meeting between the two schools. With kickoff set for 6:00 p.m. EDT, this game was scheduled to be the first live football game broadcast on the

SEC Network SEC Network (SECN) is an American multinational sports network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Communications (which hold ...

. As the first game of the Gamecocks-Aggies cross-division rivalry, the winner of this game will be awarded the new Bonham Trophy, named after Alamo war hero and South Carolina alumnus

James Butler Bonham James Butler Bonham (February 20, 1807 – March 6, 1836) was a 19th-century American soldier who died at the Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution. He was a second cousin of William B. Travis and was a messenger of the Battle of the Al ...

East Carolina

South Carolina hosts East Carolina for Week 2 of the college football season. The Gamecocks hold a 12-5 all-time series record against the Pirates. South Carolina won the most recent matchup in 2012 by a score of 48–10. It was the first career start for then-backup QB Dylan Thompson, who threw for 330 yards with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions in the victory.

Georgia

The SEC East rival Georgia Bulldogs visit South Carolina on September 13, 2014, to conclude the Gamecocks three-game homestand. Georgia leads the all-time series 48-17-2; however, the Gamecocks have won three of the last four matchups, including a dominating 35–7 victory in the last meeting at Williams-Brice Stadium. The Bulldogs won last year's matchup 41–30 in

Athens, Georgia Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...

behind a 4 touchdown performance by

Aaron Murray Aaron William Murray (born November 10, 1990) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a quarterback. He was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL) in the fifth round of the ...

Vanderbilt

South Carolina travels to Vanderbilt for the first road game of the 2014 season. South Carolina holds a 19-4 all-time series record against the Commodores, and has won the last five meetings.

Missouri

The Gamecocks host the defending SEC East division champion Missouri Tigers for the 2014 Battle of Columbia. The all-time series record is tied at two wins apiece. South Carolina, however, has won both meetings since Missouri joined the SEC in 2012. Last year's meeting saw Gamecocks QB

Connor Shaw Connor Shaw (born September 19, 1991) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks, starting at quarterback from 201 ...

lead a 17-point, fourth quarter comeback in

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...

to send the game into overtime. The Gamecocks would go on to win in double overtime, becoming the only team to defeat the Tigers in the regular season. The winner of this game receives the Mayors’ Cup Trophy.

Kentucky

South Carolina's second road test of the season takes place in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

against SEC East foe Kentucky. South Carolina leads the all-time series 17-7-1. The Gamecocks have won the last three meetings, including last year's 35–28 win at home.

Furman

In-state FCS team Furman comes to Columbia in Week 8 with the Gamecocks coming off of a bye week.

Auburn

South Carolina visits the defending SEC champion Auburn Tigers on October 25, 2014. Auburn leads the all-time series 9-1-1. Auburn has won all seven matchups since South Carolina joined the SEC in 1992, including the

2010 SEC Championship Game The 2010 SEC Championship Game was played on December 4, 2010, in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta to determine the 2010 football champion of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The game featured the Auburn Tigers, the champion of the West Division, a ...

Tennessee

The Gamecocks host SEC East rival Tennessee for the ninth game of the 2014 season. Tennessee leads the all-time series 23-7-2, but South Carolina has won three of the last four meetings. South Carolina will look to avenge last year's matchup in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

when the Volunteers handed the Gamecocks their second and final loss of the 2013 season, made possible by a one-handed catch by WR Marquez North to set up a game-winning field goal. The loss eventually cost South Carolina the SEC Eastern Division title and a trip to the SEC Championship game.

Florida

South Carolina comes off their second bye week with a trip to

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States, and the most populous city in North Central Florida, with a population of 145,212 in 2022. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gainesv ...

to take on the Florida Gators in the final SEC game of the season. The Gators lead the all-time series 24-7-3; however, the Gamecocks have won three of the last four meetings. Four of the Gamecocks’ seven wins against Florida have come since Gator legend Steve Spurrier took over as head coach in 2005. South Carolina's last win in Gainesville took place in 2010 in a game that clinched the Gamecocks’ first SEC East division title.

South Alabama

South Carolina hosts its final home game of the 2014 season against the South Alabama Jaguars. It will be the first meeting between the two schools.

Clemson

South Carolina travels to

Clemson, South Carolina Clemson () is a city in Pickens County, South Carolina, Pickens and Anderson County, South Carolina, Anderson counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Clemson is adjacent to Clemson University, - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university pr ...

for the 112th Battle of the Palmetto State. Clemson leads the all-time series 65-42-4; however, South Carolina has controlled the heated rivalry series as of late, winning the last five meetings by an average margin of 16.8 points. The Gamecocks’ five game winning streak is Carolina's longest winning streak in the series. Steve Spurrier is 6–3 against the Tigers since taking over as head coach in 2005. Gamecock QB

made his second career start in the last matchup at Memorial Stadium, replacing injured QB

. Thompson threw for 249 yards with 1 touchdown in the 35–17 loss to the Tigers.

Rankings

Notes and references

{{South Carolina Gamecocks football navbox

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

South Carolina Gamecocks football seasons Independence Bowl champion seasons

South Carolina Gamecocks football The South Carolina Gamecocks football program represents the University of South Carolina. The South Carolina Gamecocks, Gamecocks compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern ...