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American college football season
The 2009 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The team's head coach was Steve Spurrier , who was in his fifth season at USC. The Gamecocks played their home games at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina . Carolina finished the season 7–6, winning the Palmetto Bowl over in-state rival Clemson 34–17 in their final regular season game,[1] before losing in the PapaJohns.com Bowl 20–7 against Connecticut .[2]
This season saw the introduction of "Sandstorm" . The 1999 Finnish trance song was played before two decisive plays during a home game against No. 4 Ole Miss . With these plays, South Carolina sealed a historic upset, their first win against a top 5 team since 1981 . After this, the song became a Gamecock anthem. By 2021, new head coach Shane Beamer had said that "you hear that song and immediately – I do, and I'm sure most people do – think of South Carolina football."[3]
The 2009 upset victory over Clemson has also been described by Spurrier and then-athletic director Eric Hyman as a “catalyst" to the program's most successful era: an SEC East Championship in 2010 and 11-win seasons in 2011 , 2012 and 2013 . Each of those years also saw victories over Clemson – South Carolina's longest win streak in the rivalry.[4] [5]
Preseason On April 11, 2009, the Garnet squad defeated the Black squad, 30–14, in the annual Garnet & Black Spring Game, in front of a crowd of 25,157. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Stephen Garcia finished the game 13–20 with 144 yards and two touchdowns, while true freshman Jarvis Giles led the ground game with 114 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries.
Schedule Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance September 3 7:30 pm at NC State * ESPN W 7–357,583[6] September 12 7:00 pm at No. 21 Georgia ESPN2 L 37–4192,746[7] September 19 7:00 pm Florida Atlantic * PPV W 38–1672,017[8] September 24 7:30 pm No. 4 Ole Miss Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, South Carolina ESPN W 16–1074,724[9] October 3 7:00 pm SC State * Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, South Carolina ESPNC W 38–1477,066[10] October 10 12:30 pm Kentucky No. 25 Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, South Carolina SECRN W 28–2668,278[11] October 17 7:45 pm at No. 2 Alabama No. 22 ESPN L 6–2092,012[12] October 24 7:00 pm Vanderbilt No. 23 Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, South Carolina ESPNU W 14–1075,624[13] October 31 7:45 pm at Tennessee No. 21 ESPN L 13–3196,263[14] November 7 12:21 pm at Arkansas SECN L 16–3368,865[15] November 14 3:30 pm No. 1 Florida Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, South Carolina CBS L 14–2479,297[16] November 28 12:00 pm No. 15 Clemson * ESPN W 34–1780,574[17] January 2 2:00 pm vs. Connecticut * ESPN L 7–2045,254[18]
[19]
Schedule notes Carolina's 2009 schedule was rated the toughest in the nation by college football guru Phil Steele .[20] Radio coverage for all games was on the Gamecock Sports Radio Network.[21] The week four game against Ole Miss was played on Thursday, September 24, as part of the ESPN College Football Thursday Primetime package.[22] The week eleven game against Florida on November 14, 2009 featured the Gamecocks wearing special black and desert camouflage uniforms designed by Under Armour in support of the Wounded Warrior Project .[23] Game summaries NC State 1 2 3 4 Total Gamecocks 7 0 0 0 7 Wolfpack 0 0 3 0 3
Georgia 1 2 3 4 Total Gamecocks 17 6 5 9 37 Bulldogs 14 17 7 3 41
Florida Atlantic 1 2 3 4 Total Owls 3 13 0 0 16 Gamecocks 10 7 21 0 38
Ole Miss 1 2 3 4 Total Rebels 3 0 0 7 10 Gamecocks 0 6 10 0 16
SC State 1 2 3 4 Total Bulldogs 0 7 0 7 14 Gamecocks 0 10 21 7 38
Kentucky 1 2 3 4 Total Wildcats 3 14 3 6 26 Gamecocks 7 7 7 7 28
Alabama 1 2 3 4 Total Gamecocks 0 6 0 0 6 Crimson Tide 10 3 0 7 20
Vanderbilt 1 2 3 4 Total Commodores 0 7 3 0 10 Gamecocks 0 7 0 7 14
Tennessee 1 2 3 4 Total Gamecocks 0 3 10 0 13 Volunteers 14 7 7 3 31
Arkansas 1 2 3 4 Total Gamecocks 3 7 6 0 16 Razorbacks 7 3 16 7 33
Florida 1 2 3 4 Total Gators 10 7 0 7 24 Gamecocks 7 7 0 0 14
Clemson 1 2 3 4 Total Tigers 7 0 0 10 17 Gamecocks 14 3 7 10 34
Connecticut 1 2 3 4 Total Huskies 10 3 0 7 20 Gamecocks 0 0 0 7 7
Players Depth chart Projected starters and primary backups versus Clemson on November 28, 2009.
WLB MLB SLB ⋅ Shaq Wilson ⋅ Nathan Turner Josh Dickerson ⋅
CB Akeem Auguste C.C. Whitlock
Offense
LT LG C RG RT Kyle Nunn Garrett Chisolm Lemuel Jeanpierre T. J. Johnson Hutch Eckerson Jarriel King Garrett Anderson Garrett Anderson Lemuel Jeanpierre Quintin Richardson
Key reserves RB Jarvis Giles RB Eric Baker WR D.L. Moore WR Stephen Flint WR Matt Clement DE Aldrick Fordham DE Chaz Sutton SPUR Alonzo Winfield
RB Brian Maddox Kenny Miles
Awards Devin Taylor - SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week, 9/7/09;[24] College Football News Third-Team Freshman All-American;[25] SEC Coaches All-Freshmen Team;[26] Rivals.com SEC All-Freshman Team[27] Jarvis Giles – SEC Freshman of the Week, 9/21/09[28] Eric Norwood – SEC Defensive Player of the Week, 9/28/09;[29] Butkus Award Finalist;[30] First-Team Coaches All-SEC;[31] First-Team AP All-SEC;[32] First-Team ESPN All-SEC;[33] Walter Camp First-Team All-American;[34] First-Team AP All-American[35] Alshon Jeffery – SEC Freshman of the Week, 10/12/09;[36] College Football News First-Team Freshman All-American;[37] SEC Coaches All-Freshmen Team;[38] Rivals.com SEC All-Freshman Team;[39] Scout.com Freshman All-American Team;[40] FWAA Freshman All-American Team[41] Ladi Ajiboye - SEC Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week, 11/30/09[42] Cliff Matthews – Second-Team Coaches All-SEC;[43] Honorable Mention AP All-SEC[44] Chris Culliver – Second-Team AP All-SEC[45] Stephon Gilmore – College Football News First-Team Freshman All-American;[46] SEC Coaches All-Freshmen Team;[47] Rivals.com SEC Defensive Freshman of the Year;[48] Scout.com Freshman All-American Team[49] T.J. Johnson – SEC Coaches All-Freshmen Team;[50] Rivals.com SEC All-Freshman Team[51] 2009 recruiting class US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight 40‡ Commit date Corey Addison DB Jacksonville, Florida Andrew Jackson HS 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) - Aug 2, 2008 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 75Nick Allison OL Asheville, North Carolina T.C. Roberson HS 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 285 lb (129 kg) 5.0 Jun 7, 2008 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 76DeMario Bennett WR Douglas, Georgia Coffee County HS 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 4.49 Jul 18, 2008 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 76Ronald Byrd DE Fork Union, Virginia Fork Union Military Academy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 270 lb (120 kg) 4.8 Sep 25, 2008 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 70Duane Chisolm DE Beaufort, South Carolina Beaufort HS 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 250 lb (110 kg) 4.75 Dec 7, 2008 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 79Andrew Clifford QB Tampa, Florida Wharton HS 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 4.8 Feb 1, 2009 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 75Matt Coffee ATH Ft. Walton Beach, Florida Ft. Walton Beach HS 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 214 lb (97 kg) 4.53 Jul 1, 2008 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 78Justice Cunningham TE Pageland, South Carolina Central HS 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 242 lb (110 kg) 4.78 Apr 19, 2008 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 78Josh Dickerson LB Milledgeville, Georgia Georgia Military College 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 4.6 Sep 28, 2008 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: -Aldrick Fordham DE St. Stephen, South Carolina Timberland HS 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 234 lb (106 kg) 4.75 Jul 1, 2008 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 79Jarvis Giles RB Tampa, Florida Gaither HS 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 4.5 Dec 9, 2008 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 83Stephon Gilmore DB Rock Hill, South Carolina South Pointe HS 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 4.5 Oct 14, 2008 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 85Chaun Gresham LB Winder, Georgia Apalachee HS 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) - Aug 8, 2008 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 79DeVonte Holloman DB Rock Hill, South Carolina South Pointe HS 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 214 lb (97 kg) 4.5 Nov 14, 2008 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 84Charles Holmes WR Rock Hill, South Carolina South Pointe HS 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 197 lb (89 kg) 4.55 Jul 19, 2008 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 74Alshon Jeffery WR St. Matthews, South Carolina Calhoun County HS 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 214 lb (97 kg) 4.5 Feb 4, 2009 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 81Damario Jeffery DB Columbia, South Carolina Columbia HS 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 4.5 Aug 1, 2008 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 81Jimmy Legree ATH Beaufort, South Carolina Beaufort HS 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 172 lb (78 kg) 4.5 Aug 7, 2008 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 77Leon Mackey DE Chatham, Virginia Hargrave Military Academy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 260 lb (120 kg) 5.0 Feb 1, 2009 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 77Chris Payne DB Columbia, South Carolina Columbia HS 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 4.49 Mar 6, 2008 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 82Lamar Scruggs WR Jacksonville, Florida Duncan U. Fletcher HS 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 212 lb (96 kg) - Jan 27, 2009 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 80Steven Singleton OL Milledgeville, Georgia Georgia Military College 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 310 lb (140 kg) 5.2 Dec 13, 2008 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: -DeAngelo Smith WR Kingsland, Georgia Camden County HS 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 174 lb (79 kg) - Jul 18, 2008 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 77Quin Smith LB Lenoir, North Carolina Hibriten HS 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 4.63 Jun 10, 2008 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 77Tony Straughter LB Milledgeville, Georgia Georgia Military College 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 4.55 Sep 21, 2008 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: -Chaz Sutton DE Fork Union, Virginia Fork Union Military Academy 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 240 lb (110 kg) 4.8 Sep 25, 2008 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 78D.J. Swearinger DB Greenwood, South Carolina Greenwood HS 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 196 lb (89 kg) 4.44 Nov 23, 2008 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 80Rokevious Watkins OL Milledgeville, Georgia Georgia Military College 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 340 lb (150 kg) 5.3 Dec 13, 2008 Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: -Overall recruiting rankings: Scout : 13 Rivals : 12 ESPN : 12 ‡ Refers to 40 yard dash Note : In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time.In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:
Rankings Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final AP — — — — — 25 22 23 21 — — — — — — — Coaches — — — — — — 22 23 21 — — — — — — — Harris Not released — — 22 — 21 — — — — — — Not released BCS Not released 24 22 — — — — — — Not released
Statistics Scores by quarter 1 2 3 4 Total South Carolina 65 69 87 40 261 Opponents 71 78 39 57 245
Team USC Opp Scoring 261 245 Points per Game 21.8 20.4 First Downs 227 188 Rushing 86 97 Passing 125 79 Penalty 16 12 Total Offense 4311 3656 Avg per Play 5.3 4.8 Avg per Game 359.2 304.7 Fumbles-Lost 23-10 16-10 Penalties-Yards 76-654 71-586 Avg per Game 54.5 48.8
USC Opp Punts-Yards 62-2594 63-2460 Avg per Punt 41.8 39.0 Time of Possession/Game 30:54 29:06 3rd Down Conversions 67/173 63/172 4th Down Conversions 10/19 6/19 Touchdowns Scored 30 29 Field Goals-Attempts 17-20 14-21 PAT-Attempts 28-30 27-28 Attendance 527,580 407,469 Games/Avg per Game 7/75,369 5/81,494
Offense Rushing Name GP-GS Att Gain Loss Net Avg TD Long Avg/G Kenny Miles 12-6 111 616 14 602 5.4 1 26 50.2 Brian Maddox 12-5 100 324 19 305 3.0 5 14 25.4 Jarvis Giles 9-0 52 298 21 277 5.3 1 38 30.8 Stephen Garcia 12-12 105 372 242 130 1.2 4 21 10.8 Moe Brown 11-11 5 105 0 105 21.0 0 50 9.5 Bryce Sherman 11-1 7 58 4 54 7.7 0 23 4.9 Patrick DiMarco 12-8 10 31 0 31 3.1 0 7 2.6 Stephon Gilmore 12-12 5 20 0 20 4.0 0 8 1.7 Total 409 1860 360 1500 3.7 11 50 125.0 Opponents 431 1956 312 1644 3.8 15 61 137.0
Passing Name GP-GS Effic Cmp-Att-Int Pct Yds TD Lng Avg/G Stephen Garcia 12-12 124.5 223-394-9 56.6 2733 17 80 227.8 Reid McCollum 2-0 176.3 4-6-0 66.7 39 1 20 19.5 Total 125.8 228-402-9 56.7 2811 18 80 234.2 Opponents 114.1 183-327-6 56.0 2012 10 69 167.7
Receiving Name GP-GS No. Yds Avg TD Long Avg/G Alshon Jeffery 12-6 43 735 17.1 6 80 61.2 Moe Brown 11-11 32 479 15.0 3 69 43.5 Weslye Saunders 11-9 30 360 12.0 3 30 32.7 Tori Gurley 12-5 28 426 15.2 2 44 35.5 Jason Barnes 12-6 24 266 11.1 0 22 22.2 Brian Maddox 12-5 17 135 7.9 2 24 11.2 Kenny Miles 12-6 17 114 6.7 0 20 9.5 Patrick DiMarco 12-8 14 78 5.6 1 15 6.5 D.L. Moore 12-0 6 61 10.2 1 35 5.1 Jarvis Giles 9-0 5 26 5.2 0 12 2.9 Dion Lecorn 6-0 4 27 6.8 0 13 4.5 Total 228 2811 12.3 18 80 234.2 Opponents 183 2012 11.0 10 69 167.7
Defense Name GP Tackles Sacks Pass Defense Interceptions Fumbles Blkd Kick Solo Ast Total TFL-Yds No-Yds BrUp QBH No.-Yds Avg TD Long Rcv-Yds FF Total 505 264 769 77-269 27-172 44 29 6-113 18.8 1 54 10-23 13 4
Special teams Name Punting Kickoffs No. Yds Avg Long TB FC I20 Blkd No. Yds Avg TB OB Spencer Lanning 62 2594 41.8 56 8 18 15 0 9 437 48.6 0 1 Adam Yates 48 2963 61.7 1 2 Total 62 2594 41.8 56 8 18 15 0 57 3400 59.6 1 3
Name Punt Returns Kick Returns No. Yds Avg TD Long No. Yds Avg TD Long Chris Culliver 26 585 22.5 0 61 Bryce Sherman 19 409 21.5 0 35 Stephon Gilmore 13 148 11.4 0 35 Akeem Auguste 6 17 2.8 0 13 1 15 15.0 0 15 Total 21 177 8.4 0 35 49 1056 21.6 0 61
Coaching staff References
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