South Carolina Football: Five Worst Losses of the Decade
By Jacob Elsey
AUBURN 2011
The next two miscues represent missed opportunities as opposed to embarrassing losses. First, flashback to early in the 2011 season.
South Carolina was hosting Auburn in week five on the regular season, with both teams entering the matchup at 4-0. The Gamecock offense, which had just put up 45 points on the Georgia Bulldogs, only managed 289 total yards and turned the ball over four times in a sloppy showing.
Still, the Gamecocks held a 13-9 advantage late in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, the Tigers would score with less than two minutes remaining in the game, and walk out of Williams-Brice Stadium with a 16-13 victory. It would be the only home loss for the Gamecocks over the next three seasons, up until the previously mentioned debacle against Texas A&M.
The loss kept the Gamecocks out of the SEC title game despite the fact that they beat every team in their division. The trip to Atlanta would’ve been the Gamecocks’ second straight SEC championship appearance, but instead, Georgia would represent the East and face off against LSU.