South Carolina Football’s GOAT Series: Top-10 greatest defenses of all-time
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina Football’s No. 4 Greatest Defense of All-Time:
2012
The 2012 Gamecocks were elite. The offense was a very good unit, but the defense was among the country’s best. The 2012 group allowed fewer points than their 2011 counterparts but gave up more yards. Despite losing three All-Americans from 2011 (Stephon Gilmore, Melvin Ingram, and Antonio Allen), Carolina barely missed a beat as DJ Swearinger became one of the best defensive leaders in school history, and Jadeveon Clowney put together the best single-season defensive lineman stat line ever seen with 23.5 tackles for loss and 13 sacks in 12 games.
It wasn’t just about Swearinger and Clowney in 2012, though. Eight different Gamecocks logged 5 or more tackles for loss on the season as Carolina was near the national lead in both tackles for loss and sacks. Because of stats like that, the Gamecocks held 8 of their 13 opponents to 17 points or less, including five to 10 points or fewer. As an added bonus, four South Carolina natives were drafted from the 2012 defense.