Things looked pretty good for South Carolina winning the 2012 SEC East championship after the first week in October. The Gamecocks were 6-0 and had just dominated the Georgia Bulldogs 35-7.
Then came the second week and South Carolina had to take its 4-0 SEC record on the road to Baton Rouge and Gainesville.
LSU edged the Gamecocks 23-21, but Florida blasted South Carolina 44-11 the following week, which ultimately ended the championship dreams of Steve Spurrier’s team. So, South Carolina had to put its SEC title hopes on hold for another season.
But after the loss to the Gators, the Gamecocks finished the year with five consecutive wins, including a thrilling 33-28 win over Michigan in the Outback Bowl. That winning streak did two things. It gave USC an 11-2 record and it whetted the appetite for 2013.
And with that comes this question: Could this be the year that Steve Spurrier finally brings an SEC title to Columbia?
“We know we’re not favored to win it, but we think we’re going to have a team capable, capable if everything works out, some guys really come around, get a break or two,” Spurrier said. “We’re going to try our best to see if we can make it happen this year. “
The pieces are in place for the Gamecocks — an experienced quarterback, a strong group of receivers and the nation’s best defensive end in Jadeveon Clowney.
“Obviously, Jadeveon Clowney is a disruptive player that every offense has to sort of change their blocking assignments to account for Jadeveon,” Spurrier said. “He’s a very good player. I think he told me he ran a 4.4 40 the other day at the end of the summer workouts. He’s ready to go. If we’re going to have a good year, Jadeveon has to make a lot of those big plays. He’s made a lot of big ones the first two years at South Carolina.”
Clowney recently won an ESPY Award (Best Play of the Year) for his bone-rattling tackle, forced fumble and recovery against Michigan tailback Vincent Smith in the Outback Bowl victory.
“Actually, the Michigan game, they were trying the power-play,” Spurrier said of the ESPY-winning play. “Their tight end I think was supposed to block down. He didn’t do it. So he just split those guys. That’s how the hit occurred. They messed up a blocking assignment.
“A lot of people try to run straight at a player that is tremendous in pursuit, like Jadeveon is. But his pursuit is the biggest thing. Chasing ball carriers, quarterbacks, so forth.”
Clowney would have easily been a high first-round pick if he had chosen to jump to the NFL this past season. But he never waivered from his plan.
“When I came here as a freshman, I told myself I wanted to do three years. That was always my goal, to play three years before looking into the NFL Draft,” he said. “The big deal for me is trying to win an SEC Championship and get selected high in the NFL Draft.”
“Jadeveon has done an excellent job staying out of the limelight all summer,” Spurrier said. “He’s been a good teammate. He’s been there for the workouts. He’s been there doing what he’s supposed to do. He’s actually a little lighter than he was at the end of last year, I think he told me. He’s going to be ready to go. Hopefully the most important thing for him is helping us win an SEC championship.”
“That would be the highlight for all of us if that were to happen,” said the Gamecocks’ coach.