The 2008 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina

University of South Carolina

The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...

 in the college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 season of 2008-2009

2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season

The 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season, or the college football season, began on August 28, 2008, progressing through the regular season and bowl season, and concluded with the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game in Miami Gardens, Florida on January 8, 2009, where the #2...

. The team's head football coach was Steve Spurrier

Steve Spurrier

Stephen Orr Spurrier is an American college football coach and player. Spurrier is the current head coach of the University of South Carolina's Gamecocks football team. He is also a former professional player and coach...

, who served his fourth season at USC. The Gamecocks played their home games at Williams-Brice Stadium

Williams-Brice Stadium

Williams-Brice Stadium is the home football stadium for the South Carolina Gamecocks, the college football team representing the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina...

 in Columbia, South Carolina

Columbia, South Carolina

Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...

.

Preseason

Carolina had their first spring practice on March 21, 2008. It was the first of 15 spring practice sessions for the Gamecocks, who return 54 lettermen in Steve Spurrier's fourth season. The annual Garnet & Black Spring Game is scheduled for 1:00 p.m., Saturday, April 19.

Schedule

Radio coverage for all games was provided by the Gamecock Sports Radio Network.

North Carolina State

Vanderbilt

Georgia

Wofford

UAB

Mississippi

Kentucky

LSU

Tennessee

Arkansas

Florida

Clemson

Depth chart

These are the projected starters and primary backups for the Outback Bowl on January 1, 2009.
Key Committed Freshmen

Antonio Allen – DB
Akeem Auguste – DB
Eric Baker – RB
Reggie Bowens – LB
Jarrett Burns – ATH
Ronald Byrd – DL
Kenny Davis – DL
Aramis Hillary – QB
T.J. Johnson – OL
Jarriel King – DL
Reid McCollum – QB
Kenneth Miles – RB
D.L. Moore – WR
Darrell Simmons - DB
Jay Spearman – DB
Chaz Sutton – DL
Devin Taylor – DL
Mike Triglia – TE
Charles Whitlock – DB/WR
Elliot Williams - OL
Shaq Wilson – LB

Roster

Wide Receiver 4 Jason Barnes - Freshman 8 Larry Freeman - Sophomore 9 Moe Brown - Junior 11 Kenny McKinley - Senior 13 Mark Barnes - Freshman 15 Matt Clements - Freshman 17 Chris Culliver - Sophomore 18 Dion Lecorn - Sophomore 81 Paul Haile - Junior 82 Freddie Brown, III - Junior 83 Scott Spurrier - Junior 85 Joe Hills - Freshman 89 Leon Gamble - Senior Offensive Lineman 54 Hardee Sanders - Junior 57 Lemuel Jeanpierre - Junior 62 Pierre Andrews - Sophomore 63 Seaver Brown - Sophomore 64 Kevin Young - Sophomore 65 Ryan Broadhead - Freshman 66 Hutch Eckerson - Junior 68 Kyle Nunn - Freshmen 70 Garrett Anderson - Junior 72 Quintin Richardson - Freshman 74 Heath Batchelor - Sophomore 75 Gurminder Thind - Senior 76 Jeremy Burgess - Senior 77 Jamon Meredith Jamon Meredith James Jamon Meredith is an American football offensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft...  - Senior 78 Justin Sorensen - Senior Tight End 19 Nick Prochak - Sophomore 84 Jared Cook Jared Cook Jared Cook Jr. is an American football tight end for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Titans in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at South Carolina.-Early years:Cook attended North Gwinnett High School in Suwanee, Georgia...  - Junior 87 Alex McGrath - Senior 88 Weslye Saunders - Sophomore 90 Foxy Foxworth - Sophomore		Quarterback 5 Stephen Garcia - Freshman 6 Tommy Beecher - Junior 7 Chris Smelley - Sophomore 16 Michael McQueeney - Junior 17 Zac Brindise - Sophomore Running Back 10 Brian Maddox - Sophomore 22 Bobby Wallace - Junior 20 Taylor Rank - Junior 25 Mike Davis - Senior Fullback 35 Jim Hutton - Junior 44 Clark Gaston - Sophomore 46 Bryan Kingrey - Senior 47 Patrick DiMarco - Sophomore Defensive tackle 61 Donte'e Nicholls - Freshman 79 Marque Hall - Senior 81 Terrence Campbell - Sophomore 91 Ladi Ajiboye - Sophomore 95 Nathan Pepper - Junior 97 Kenrick Ellis Kenrick Ellis Kenrick Ellis is a Jamaican American football nose tackle for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Jets in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft...  - Sophomore Defensive End 40 Eric Norwood Eric Norwood Eric Norwood is an American football defensive end for the Carolina Panthers. He formerly played for the University of South Carolina. During his collegiate career, he set school career records in tackles for loss and quarterback sacks...  - Junior 42 Travian Robertson - Sophomore 83 Cliff Matthews - Sophomore 92 Byron McKnight - Freshman 96 Clifton Geathers - Sophomore 99 Jonathan Williams - Senior		Cornerback 1 Captain Munnerlyn Captain Munnerlyn Captain Munnerlyn is a professional American football cornerback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Panthers in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft...  - Junior 5 Carlos Thomas - Senior 7 Addison Williams - Sophomore 28 Chris Hail - Junior 36 Stoney Woodson - Senior 4 Cedric Snead - Freshman Defensive Back 23 Jamire Williams - Freshman Linebacker 4 Alonzo Winfield - Freshman 6 Melvin Ingram - Sophomore 30 Yvan Banag - Senior 31 Gerrod Sinclair - Junior 44 Dustin Lindsey - Senior 45 Rodney Paulk - Junior 48 Vandaral Shackleford - Junior 49 Damien Wright - Junior 53 Marvin Sapp - Senior 58 John Guerry - Junior 52 Jasper Brinkley - Senior Free Safety 32 Darian Stewart - Junior 42 Mike Newton - Senior Strong Safety 21 Emanuel Cook Emanuel Cook Emanuel Cook is an American football safety for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2009...  - Junior 34 Douglas Peterson - Senior Long Snapper 59 Charles Turner - Sophomore Punter / Place Kicker 14 Ryan Succop Ryan Succop Ryan Barrow Succop is an American football placekicker for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He is the 2009 Mr. Irrelevant after being selected by the Chiefs with the final pick of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at South Carolina.-Early years:Succop attended...  - Senior 87 Spencer Lanning - Sophomore 97 Nate Spurrier - Junior

Rankings

Ranking Movement

Poll	Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Final
AP	NR	24	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	24	NR	NR	NR
Coaches	NR	24	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	23	NR	NR	NR
Harris	Not released				NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	24	NR	NR	NR
BCS	Not released								NR	NR	NR	25	NR	NR	NR	NR

Team

class="wikitable" style="white-space:nowrap;">		USC	Opp
Scoring	270	274
Points per Game	20.8	21.1
First Downs	241	214
Rushing	91	98
Passing	129	95
Penalty	21	21
Total Offense	4115	3795
Avg per Play	4.7	4.7
Avg per Game	316.5	291.5
Fumbles-Lost	23-11	21-13
Penalties-Yards	75-640	69-586
Avg per Game	49.2	45.1

class="wikitable" style="white-space:nowrap;"> USC Opp Punts-Yards 49-2019 70-2986   Avg per Punt 41.2 42.4 Time of Possession/Game 29:42 30:18 3rd Down Conversions 70/180 66/177 4th Down Conversions 12/18 5/11 Touchdowns Scored 30 34 Field Goals-Attempts 20-30 12-19 PAT-Attempts 30-30 32-32 Attendance 563,703 334,446   Games/Avg per Game 7/80,529 5/66,889

Scores by quarter

Rushing

Name	GP-GS	Att	Gain	Loss	Net	Avg	TD	Long	Avg/G
Mike Davis	12-11	163	615	42	573	3.5	3	50	47.8
Brian Maddox	7-0	32	128	7	121	3.8	1	13	17.3
Eric Baker	9-0	46	191	9	182	4.0	0	20	20.2
Bobby Wallace	8-0	25	110	11	99	4.0	0	21	14.1
Stephen Garcia	8-3	70	289	91	198	2.8	2	25	24.8
Total		403	1489	309	1180	2.9	7	50	98.3
Opponents		429	1872	328	1544	3.6	20	80	128.7

Passing

Name	GP-GS	Effic	Cmp-Att-Int	Pct	Yds	TD	Lng	Avg/G
Chris Smelley	12-9	114.78	169-302-15	56.0	1922	14	66	160.2
Stephen Garcia	8-3	113.60	65-122-8	53.3	832	6	41	107.6
Tommy Beecher	2-1	63.8	26-14-4	53.8	126	0	18	63.0
Total		113.9	249-452-27	55.1	2892	20	66	222.5
Opponents		110.0	189-328-14	57.0	1923	9	70	159.2

Receiving

Name	GP-GS	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long	Avg/G
Kenny McKinley		54	642	11.9	4	41	64.2
Jared Cook		37	573	15.5	3	66	44.1
Moe Brown		30	391	13.0	1	34	30.1
Jason Barnes		27	346	12.8	2	38	28.8
Mike Davis		24	213	8.9	1	18	17.8
Weslye Saunders		16	214	13.4	3	27	16.5
Dion LeCorn		14	106	7.6	2	20	17.7
Joe Hills		11	87	7.9	1	24	7.9
Freddie Brown		7	66	9.4	1	16	9.4
Total		249	2842	11.6	20	66	222.5
Opponents		189	2070	11.0	9	70	159.2

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		332	156	488	36-140	12-81	19	24	8-126	15.8		46	6-81	7	1

Special teams

Name	Punting								Kickoffs
	No.	Yds	Avg	Long	TB	FC	I20	Blkd	No.	Yds	Avg	TB	OB
Spencer Lanning	22	932	42.4	52	5	2	5	0
Ryan Succop									40	2743	68.6	15	0
Total	22	932	42.4	52	5	2	5	0	40	2743	68.6	15	0

Name	Punt Returns					Kick Returns
	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long
Captain Munnerlyn	15	105	7.0	0	35	3	106	35.3	0	84
Chris Culliver						19	438	23.1	0	50
Larry Freeman						1	24	24.0	0	24
Total

Coaching staff

• Steve Spurrier
  Steve Spurrier
  Stephen Orr Spurrier is an American college football coach and player. Spurrier is the current head coach of the University of South Carolina's Gamecocks football team. He is also a former professional player and coach...
  
   - Head Coach
• Ellis Johnson
  Ellis Johnson (football coach)
  Ellis Johnson is an American college football coach. Johnson is currently the Defensive Coordinator and Assistant Head Coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks. Johnson's 27 years as a collegiate coach include four as a head coach and 13 as a defensive coordinator. Johnson was formerly the Defensive...
  
  - Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers & Assistant Head Coach
• Shane Beamer - Cornerbacks
• Ron Cooper - Safeties
• Robert Gillespie - Running Backs
• John Hunt - Offensive Line
• Brad Lawing - Defensive Line
• David Reaves - Quarterbacks & Recruiting Coordinator
• Ray Rychleski - Special Teams
• Steve Spurrier, Jr. - Wide Receivers