The 2016 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gamecocks played their home games at Williams–Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina and competed in the East Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Gamecocks' first-year head coach was Will Muschamp, with Kurt Roper as offensive coordinator and Travaris Robinson as defensive coordinator.[2] They finished the season 6–7, 3–5 in SEC play to finish in fifth place in the East Division.[3] They were invited to the Birmingham Bowl, where they lost to No. 25 South Florida in overtime.[4]
Following a 2–4 start,[3] freshman Jake Bentley became the starting quarterback and led the Gamecocks to a 4–3 finish,[5] including an upset over No. 18 Tennessee.[6] South Carolina had a three-win improvement over the previous season and returned to the postseason, but finished with a second consecutive losing season.[7]
Schedule
South Carolina announced its 2016 football schedule on October 29, 2015. The 2016 schedule consisted of seven home and five away games in the regular season. The Gamecocks hosted SEC foes Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas A&M, and traveled to Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi State, and Vanderbilt.[8]
For the tenth year, the Gamecocks opened their season on a Thursday. The team hosted three out of four of its non–conference games which were against Clemson (from the ACC), East Carolina (from the American), Massachusetts (from the MAC), and Western Carolina (from the Southern Conference).
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|
| September 1 | 8:00 p.m. | at Vanderbilt | | ESPN | W 13–10 | 30,304 |
| September 10 | 7:00 p.m. | at Mississippi State | | ESPN2 | L 14–27 | 57,763 |
| September 17 | 4:00 p.m. | East Carolina* | | SECN | W 20–15 | 80,384 |
| September 24 | 7:30 p.m. | at Kentucky | | SECN | L 10–17 | 51,702 |
| October 1 | 4:00 p.m. | No. 9 Texas A&M | - Williams-Brice Stadium
- Columbia, SC
| SECN | L 13–24 | 78,245 |
| [a] | 2:30 p.m. | Georgia | - Williams-Brice Stadium
- Columbia, SC (rivalry)
| SECN | L 14–28 | 77,221 |
| October 22 | 12:00 p.m. | Massachusetts* | - Williams-Brice Stadium
- Columbia, SC
| SECN | W 34–28 | 73,428 |
| October 29 | 7:15 p.m. | No. 18 Tennessee | - Williams-Brice Stadium
- Columbia, SC (rivalry)
| ESPN2 | W 24–21 | 78,696 |
| November 5 | 4:00 p.m. | Missouri | - Williams-Brice Stadium
- Columbia, SC (Mayor's Cup)
| SECN | W 31–21 | 73,817 |
| November 12 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 22 Florida | | CBS | L 7–20 | 89,614 |
| November 19 | 4:00 p.m. | Western Carolina* | - Williams-Brice Stadium
- Columbia, SC
| SECN | W 44–31 | 76,650 |
| November 26 | 7:30 p.m. | at No. 4 Clemson* | | ESPN | L 7–56 | 81,542 |
| December 29 | 2:00 p.m. | vs. No. 25 South Florida* | | ESPN | L 39–46 OT | 31,229 |
- *Non-conference game
- Homecoming
- Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game
- All times are in Eastern time
|
- ^[a] The game between South Carolina and Georgia on October 8, 2016, was postponed due to Hurricane Matthew, and was rescheduled the following day on October 9, 2016.
- Schedule Source:[9]
Roster
| 2016 South Carolina Gamecocks football team roster
|
| Players
|
Coaches
|
| Offense
|
Defense
| Pos. |
# |
Name |
Class
|
| DB
|
3
|
Chris Lammons
|
Jr
|
| LB
|
4
|
Bryson Allen-Williams
|
Jr
|
| DL
|
5
|
Darius English
|
Sr
|
| LB
|
6
|
Chris Moody
|
Sr
|
| DB
|
7
|
Jamarcus King
|
Jr
|
| DL
|
8
|
Marquavius Lewis
|
Sr
|
| LB
|
9
|
Sherrod Pittman
|
Fr
|
| LB
|
10
|
Skai Moore
|
Sr
|
| LB
|
11
|
T. J. Holloman
|
Sr
|
| DB
|
12
|
Kaleb Chalmers
|
So
|
| LB
|
13
|
Jalen Dread
|
So
|
| DB
|
16
|
Rashad Fenton
|
So
|
| DB
|
17
|
Chaz Elder
|
Sr
|
| DL
|
18
|
Keir Thomas
|
Fr
|
| DB
|
21
|
Antoine Wilder
|
Fr
|
| DB
|
22
|
Steven Montac
|
So
|
| LB
|
23
|
Larenz Bryant
|
Sr
|
| DB
|
24
|
D. J. Smith
|
Jr
|
| DB
|
26
|
Jasper Sasser
|
Jr
|
| LB
|
28
|
Jonathan Walton
|
Sr
|
| DB
|
30
|
Shannon James
|
Sr
|
| DB
|
31
|
Chris Smith
|
Fr
|
| LB
|
32
|
Brett Shore
|
Jr
|
| DB
|
34
|
Scott Grant
|
So
|
| DL
|
35
|
Daniel Fennell
|
Fr
|
| DB
|
36
|
Morgan Vest
|
Fr
|
| DB
|
39
|
Demetrius Smalls
|
Jr
|
| DB
|
40
|
Jason Senn
|
Fr
|
| LB
|
41
|
Tyler Ragsdale
|
Fr
|
| DB
|
42
|
Jordan Diggs
|
Sr
|
| DB
|
43
|
Benji Russell
|
Jr
|
| LB
|
44
|
T. J. Brunson
|
Fr
|
| LB
|
45
|
Spencer Eason-Riddle
|
Fr
|
| LB
|
46
|
Trey Mitchell
|
Fr
|
| DL
|
48
|
Dexter Wideman
|
Fr
|
| DL
|
49
|
Boosie Whitlow
|
So
|
| DL
|
50
|
Griffin Gentry
|
Fr
|
| DL
|
52
|
Jajuan Blankenship
|
Fr
|
| LB
|
57
|
Hassan Belton
|
So
|
| DL
|
61
|
Javion Duncan
|
So
|
| DL
|
90
|
Taylor Stallworth
|
Jr
|
| DL
|
91
|
Shameik Blackshear
|
Fr
|
| DL
|
92
|
D. J. Wonnum
|
Fr
|
| DL
|
93
|
Ulric Jones
|
Jr
|
| DL
|
94
|
Kelsey Griffin
|
Sr
|
| DL
|
95
|
Dante Sawyer
|
Jr
|
| DL
|
96
|
Aaron Thompson
|
Fr
|
| DL
|
97
|
Kobe Smith
|
Fr
|
| DL
|
98
|
Stephon Taylor
|
Fr
|
| DL
|
99
|
Abu Lamin
|
Sr
|
|
Special teams
| Pos. |
# |
Name |
Class
|
| P
|
13
|
Sean Kelly
|
Sr
|
| K/P
|
20
|
Joseph Charlton
|
Fr
|
| K
|
29
|
Elliott Fry
|
Sr
|
| K
|
42
|
Alexander Woznick
|
Fr
|
| LS
|
45
|
Ben Asbury
|
So
|
| LS
|
46
|
Harrison Freeman
|
Fr
|
| LS
|
47
|
Drew Williams
|
Sr
|
| LS
|
48
|
Nick McGriff
|
So
|
| LS
|
59
|
Logan Crane
|
Fr
|
| K/P
|
85
|
Michael Almond
|
Fr
|
| LS
|
90
|
Wyman Baxley
|
Fr
|
|
- Head coach
- Coordinators/assistant coaches
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (S) Suspended
- (I) Ineligible
Roster
|
References
- ^ "2016 Southeastern Conference Year Summary". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
- ^ Gentry, Marvin (December 6, 2015). "Will Muschamp has both coordinators locked in". The State. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
- ^ a b "2016 South Carolina Gamecocks Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
- ^ "South Florida 46-39 South Carolina (Dec 29, 2016) Game Recap". ESPN. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
- ^ Hadley, Greg (November 15, 2020). "From 2016 to now, the highs and lows of the Will Muschamp era at South Carolina". The State. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
- ^ "South Carolina 24-21 Tennessee (Oct 29, 2016) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
- ^ "South Carolina Gamecocks College Football History, Stats, Records". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
- ^ "2016 Football Schedule Announced" (Press release). University of South Carolina Department of Athletics. October 29, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
- ^ "2016 South Carolina Gamecocks Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
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