2015 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

The 2015 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gamecocks competed as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) as part of its Eastern Division. The team was led by head coach Steve Spurrier, who was in his eleventh year before his resignation on October 12, 2015;[1] co-offensive coordinator Shawn Elliott took over as interim head coach. They played their home games at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. They finished the season 3–9, 1–7 in SEC play to finish in a tie for sixth place in the Eastern Division.

2015 South Carolina Gamecocks football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Eastern Division
2015 record	3–9 (1–7 SEC)
Head coach	Steve Spurrier (first 6 games, resigned) Shawn Elliott (interim)
Offensive coordinator	G.A Mangus
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Co-defensive coordinator	Lorenzo Ward (4th as DC, 7th overall season)
Co-defensive coordinator	Jon Hoke (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Williams-Brice Stadium (Capacity: 80,250) Tiger Stadium (1 game) (Capacity: 102,321)

2015 Southeastern Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 25 Florida x		7	–	1					10	–	4
No. 22 Tennessee		5	–	3					9	–	4
Georgia		5	–	3					10	–	3
Vanderbilt		2	–	6					4	–	8
Kentucky		2	–	6					5	–	7
Missouri		1	–	7					5	–	7
South Carolina		1	–	7					3	–	9
West Division
No. 1 Alabama x$#^		7	–	1					14	–	1
No. 10 Ole Miss		6	–	2					10	–	3
Arkansas		5	–	3					8	–	5
No. 16 LSU		5	–	3					9	–	3
Texas A&M		4	–	4					8	–	5
Mississippi State		4	–	4					9	–	4
Auburn		2	–	6					7	–	6
Championship: Alabama 29, Florida 15
– College Football Playoff champion ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

Projected to win the East Division by many entering the season, the 2014 South Carolina Gamecocks football team endured a disappointing 2014 regular season, going 6-6 overall and 3-5 against SEC opponents, and finishing in fifth place finish in their division. The Gamecocks opened the 2014 season against their new inter-division rival, Texas A&M who replaced Arkansas in the SEC's new scheduling formula. South Carolina ranked #9 in the nation entering the game but lost to the #21 Aggies in an upset that ended their NCAA leading 18-game home winning streak. The team won their next two SEC contests over Vanderbilt 48-34 and #6 Georgia 38-35. South Carolina then suffered close losses in their next four games against SEC foes Missouri, Kentucky, Auburn, and Tennessee. The Gamecocks did win their final SEC game in come-from-behind fashion over Florida, but lost to their in-state rival Clemson for the first time since 2008 to close out the season. South Carolina was invited to play in the 2014 Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana against Miami of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Gamecocks ended the season with a 24-21 win over the Hurricanes to finish the 2014 season 7-6.

Schedule

South Carolina announced their 2015 football schedule on October 14, 2014. The 2015 schedule consists of 7 home games, 4 away games and 1 neutral game in the regular season. The Gamecocks will host SEC foes Florida, Kentucky, LSU, and Vanderbilt, and traveled to Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas A&M.[2]

The Gamecocks hosted three of the four non–conference play against UCF, The Citadel and in-state rival Clemson. South Carolina traveled to play North Carolina at a neutral site in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Gamecocks were supposed to host the LSU Tigers for the first time since 2008 and travel to College Station, Texas for the first time on Halloween. On October 13, 2015, Steve Spurrier officially announced his resignation as head football coach, and co-offensive coordinator Shawn Elliott was named interim head coach for the remaining games of the season.[3]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	6:00 p.m.	vs. North Carolina*	Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, NC (Belk Kickoff Game/Battle of the Carolinas)	ESPN	W 17–13	51,664
September 12	7:30 p.m.	Kentucky	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	SECN	L 22–26	82,178
September 19	6:00 p.m.	at No. 7 Georgia	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA (rivalry)	ESPN	L 20–52	92,746
September 26	Noon	UCF*	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	ESPNU	W 31–14	78,411
October 3	Noon	at Missouri	Faurot Field Columbia, MO	SECN	L 10–24	66,751
October 10	3:30 p.m.	at No. 7 LSU	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA^[a]	ESPN	L 24–45	42,058
October 17	4:00 p.m.	Vanderbilt	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	SECN	W 19–10	75,159
October 31	Noon	at Texas A&M	Kyle Field College Station, TX	SECN	L 28–35	102,154
November 7	4:00 p.m.	at Tennessee	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	SECN	L 24–27	101,253
November 14	Noon	No. 11 Florida	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	ESPN	L 14–24	78,536
November 21	Noon	No. 25 (FCS) The Citadel*	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	SECN	L 22–23	77,241
November 28	Noon	No. 1 Clemson*	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC (Palmetto Bowl)	ESPN	L 32–37	81,409
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

^{^[a]} The game between South Carolina and LSU was originally scheduled to take place in Columbia. However, in light of massive flooding in Columbia earlier in the week, the game was moved to Baton Rouge. The game was still considered a home game for South Carolina[4]

Schedule Source:[5]

Season summary

Florida

See also: 2015 Florida Gators football team

#11 Florida Gators (8–1) at South Carolina Gamecocks (3–6)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida	7	7	3	7	24
South Carolina	0	0	0	14	14

at Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, South Carolina

• Date: November 14, 2015
• Game time: 12:01 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Sunny • 53 °F (12 °C) • Wind Variable
• Game attendance: 78,536
• Referee: David Smith
• TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Patrick and Ed Cunningham[6]
• Boxscore

Game information

First quarter FLA – Jordan Cronkrite 3-yard run (Austin Hardin kick), 1:50. Florida 7–0. Drive: 15 plays, 87 yards, 6:38. Second quarter FLA – Jordan Cronkrite 41-yard pass from Treon Harris (Austin Hardin kick), 8:17. Florida 14–0. Drive: 12 plays, 76 yards, 7:11. Third quarter FLA – Austin Hardin 39-yard field goal, 4:50. Florida 17–0. Drive: 12 plays, 70 yards, 6:20. Fourth quarter SCAR – Perry Orth 17-yard pass from Pharoh Cooper (Elliott Fry kick), 8:59. Florida 17–7. Drive: 8 plays, 64 yards, 3:17. SCAR – Pharoh Cooper 38-yard pass from Perry Orth (Elliott Fry kick), 4:49. Florida 17–14. Drive: 5 plays, 79 yards, 1:58. FLA – Kelvin Taylor 1-yard run (Austin Hardin kick), 2:01. Florida 24–14. Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:48. Top passers FLA – Treon Harris – 19/33, 256 yards, TD, 2 INT SCAR – Perry Orth – 13/24, 163 yards, TD, 2 INT Top rushers FLA – Kelvin Taylor – 20 rushes, 105 yards, TD SCAR – Pharoh Cooper – 3 rushes, 16 yards Top receivers FLA – Antonio Callaway – 5 receptions, 60 yards SCAR – Jerell Adams – 4 receptions, 46 yards

References

1. Hunte, Sydney (October 12, 2015). "South Carolina Head Coach Steve Spurrier Resigns, Effective Immediately". SB Nation. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
2. "2015 Football Schedule Announced" (Press release). University of South Carolina Department of Athletics. October 14, 2014. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
3. Kendall, Josh (October 12, 2015). "Steve Spurrier Is Retiring Immediately as South Carolina's Football Coach". The State. Columbia, SC. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
4. "Football Game Moved to Baton Rouge" (Press release). University of South Carolina Department of Athletics. October 7, 2015. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
5. "2015 South Carolina Gamecocks Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
6. Chrapowicki, Stan (November 10, 2015). "List of TV commentators for every SEC game in Week 11". saturdaydownsouth.com. Retrieved November 14, 2015.