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 East 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 seventh place in the East division.
| 2015 South Carolina Gamecocks football | |
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| Conference | Southeastern Conference |
| East Division | |
| Record | 3–9 (1–7 SEC) |
| Head coach |
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| 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 Tiger Stadium (1 game) |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule
South Carolina announced their 2015 football schedule on October 14, 2014. The 2015 schedule consisted of 7 home games, 4 away games and 1 neutral game in the regular season. The Gamecocks hosted 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 traveled to College Station, Texas, for the first time ever on Halloween. They were set to host LSU at home but the contest was relocated to Baton Rouge as a consequence of severe flooding in Columbia, South Carolina.[3] 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.[4]
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 3 | 6:00 p.m. | vs. North Carolina* | ESPN | W 17–13 | 51,664 | |
| September 12 | 7:30 p.m. | Kentucky | SECN | L 22–26 | 82,178 | |
| September 19 | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 7 Georgia | ESPN | L 20–52 | 92,746 | |
| September 26 | Noon | UCF* |
| ESPNU | W 31–14 | 78,411 |
| October 3 | Noon | at Missouri | SECN | L 10–24 ‡ | 66,751 | |
| October 10 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 7 LSU | ESPN | L 24–45 | 42,058 | |
| October 17 | 4:00 p.m. | Vanderbilt |
| SECN | W 19–10 | 75,159 |
| October 31 | Noon | at Texas A&M | SECN | L 28–35 | 102,154 | |
| November 7 | 4:00 p.m. | at Tennessee | SECN | L 24–27 | 101,253 | |
| November 14 | Noon | No. 11 Florida |
| ESPN | L 14–24 | 78,536 |
| November 21 | Noon | No. 25 (FCS) The Citadel* |
| SECN | L 22–23 | 77,241 |
| November 28 | Noon | No. 1 Clemson* |
| ESPN | L 32–37 | 81,409 |
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- ^[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[5]
- Schedule Source:[6]
‡ As part of their penalty for NCAA violations, Missouri has retroactively vacated its 2015 victory over South Carolina. However, the penalty to vacate victories does not result in a loss (or forfeiture) of the affected game or award a victory to the opponent, therefore South Carolina still considers the game a loss in their official records.[7]
Season summary
at LSU
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamecocks | 3 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 24 |
| No. 7 Tigers | 7 | 10 | 21 | 7 | 45 |
at Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Date: October 10, 2015
- Game time: 3:30 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 43,101
| Game information |
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Florida
| Period | 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[8]
- Boxscore
| Game information |
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