The team was led by head coach Steve Spurrier, in his ninth year, and played its home games at Williams–Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina.

Entering the season, the Gamecocks had lost a school-record thirteen players to the last two NFL drafts,[1] but returned several key players such as senior quarterback Connor Shaw,[2] defensive sensation Jadeveon Clowney,[3] wide receiver Bruce Ellington,[4] and running back Mike Davis.

[5] South Carolina started highly ranked, like the previous two seasons, but lost an early contest on the road at No.

[10] An injured Connor Shaw subsequently came in to replace Dylan Thompson, and engineered a 17-point comeback in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime.

[21][22] Connor Shaw was a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award,[23] while Mike Davis had the fourth highest single-season rushing total in school history.