The 2012 Capital One Bowl, the 66th edition of the game, was a post-season American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

bowl game In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tourname ...

, held on January 2,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

at the

Florida Citrus Bowl Camping World Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Orlando, Florida, United States located in the West Lakes neighborhood of Downtown Orlando, west of new sports and entertainment facilities including the Kia Center, the Dr. Phillips Center for t ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

as part of the 2011–12 NCAA Bowl season. The game, which was telecast at 1:00 p.m. ET on

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

, featured the #9

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fight ...

from the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

versus the #20

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding t ...

from the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

. In the third quarter, South Carolina receiver

Alshon Jeffery Alshon Jeffery (born February 14, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks, earning first-team All-Americ ...

and Nebraska corner

Alfonzo Dennard Alfonzo Dennard (born September 9, 1989) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a cornerback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Nebraska ...

were involved in a fight, resulting in both players being ejected. Down 13–9 at the end of the first half, South Carolina quarterback

Connor Shaw Connor Shaw (born September 19, 1991) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks, starting at quarterback from 201 ...

took the snap from the Gamecocks' own 49-yard line with 0:06 seconds remaining. With 0:02 remaining, Shaw heaved a

Hail Mary pass A Hail Mary pass is a very long forward pass in American football, typically made in desperation, with a very small chance of achieving a completion (American football), completion. Due to the difficulty of a completion with this pass, it makes r ...

, which was caught at the 4-yard line by Jeffery, who dove into the endzone for a touchdown as time expired. South Carolina went on to win 30–13, and Jeffery was named MVP of the game. This game is notable Gamecocks football history for being the first 11 win season for the South Carolina football program. In turn, it ultimately led to their first top-10 final ranking in the major college football polls.

References

{{South Carolina Gamecocks bowl game navbox

Capital One Bowl The Citrus Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group that also organizes the Pop-Tarts Bowl and Florida Classic. The g ...

Citrus Bowl (game) Nebraska Cornhuskers football bowl games South Carolina Gamecocks football bowl games