The 2011 college football season for the South Carolina football program has been one to remember for numerous reasons from losing Marcus Lattimore and Stephen Garcia to obtaining 10 wins and winning a record six games in the SEC.The challenges that USC has overcame and to be sitting at 10-2 deserves a hat-tip to coach Steve Spurrier.  This past season will be remembered as one of his best coaching jobs and one of the best for the program. The Gamecocks now await a bowl bid to cap off a very successful year.  Here is a look at the top 12 moments of 2011, in no particular order:Begin Slideshow

The 2011 college football season for the South Carolina football program has been one to remember for numerous reasons from losing Marcus Lattimore and Stephen Garcia to obtaining 10 wins and winning a record six games in the SEC.The challenges that USC has overcame and to be sitting at 10-2 deserves a hat-tip to coach Steve Spurrier.  This past season will be remembered as one of his best coaching jobs and one of the best for the program. The Gamecocks now await a bowl bid to cap off a very successful year.  Here is a look at the top 12 moments of 2011, in no particular order:Begin Slideshow

The good news is that South Carolina beat Georgia 14-12 and improved to 6-1 (4-1) on the season, but that's about where the good news ends for Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks.The bad news?Stud running back Marcus Lattimore left the game in the fourth quarter with a knee injury. Remember, the Gamecocks dismissed Stephen Garcia earlier in the week.It doesn't help that the USC offense wasn't any better this week. Connor Shaw looked a lot like the departed Garcia. He had just 155 yards, a touchdown and two picks. No bueno.Lattimore entered the game as the Gamecocks' best offensive weapon and the SEC's top rusher with 779 yards. He had nine touchdowns on 146 carries. However, he was stuffed for most of the day, as Mississippi State's defense held him to 39 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.He took a hit to the knee and had to be helped over to the sideline, where he was tended to by the training staff. Lattimore had his left knee wrapped in a brace and had to use crutches to get to the locker room. There have been no reports as to the seriousness of the injury, but a serious injury to Lattimore would be a major blow to South Carolina's season.If Lattimore is forced to miss more than a week or two, South Carolina's dreams of an SEC East title are all but dead.I wouldn't be surprised if the Gamecocks lose four of their five remaining games. That's how much Marcus Lattimore means to this team.Read more South Carolina Football news on BleacherReport.com

South Carolina fans are holding their breath, as their phenom running back and the most important player on their team walked off the field on crutches today vs. Mississippi State. South Carolina pulled off a 14-12 victory, but in no way can Gamecocks fans feel good about the win.South Carolina fans' greatest fears have been realized. It's too early to kiss their season goodbye, but to say this injury is a huge blow is the understatement of the century. Let's take a look at how Lattimore's injury affects the Gamecocks' season. Devastation Scale: 8This jumps immediately to 10 if Lattimore ends up missing any significant amount of time. Right now his injury is being called an "apparent knee injury" by Sporting News, so it's impossible to say this is a season-ending injury.Even so, the crutches and temporary brace he left the field in certainly justify an eight on the devastation scale. Lattimore is one of the best backs in the entire nation and South Carolina is significantly less dangerous without him. Heisman ImpactThere is officially one less player in the Heisman race. Lattimore was a Heisman long shot, after slipping out of voters' graces with two so-so outings. Even so, he bounced back last week and was a dark horse in the race. Such is not the case anymore, as even one game out will ruin his already slim chances of bringing home the trophy. BCS Championship ImpactThis may yank away any hope South Carolina had of running the table the rest of the way and potentially sneaking into the BCS Championship, but if Lattimore is in fact out for the season, it could mean great things for Clemson.Clemson has a solid chance at running the table. They're slowly but surely climbing the rankings every week, and if Lattimore doesn't play in the final game of the season, it could be the difference between Clemson playing in a BCS game and the BCS game. Who's the Backup?Lattimore was everything to South Carolina's run game. Their second-leading rusher was recently-dismissed quarterback Stephen Garcia. It looks like freshman running back Brandon Wilds, who has 11 carries, is going to have to take on a much more major role.It's hard to imagine the team will make him carry the entire load, but regardless of who they elect to give carries to, there's certainly going to be a major dropoff in production. Losing Garcia and potentially Lattimore is a huge blow that could ultimately cost South Carolina their season.Read more South Carolina Football news on BleacherReport.com

Stephen Garcia is the epitome of a student-athlete that forgot he was a student.Garcia had every opportunity to succeed at the University of South Carolina, and with every chance he was given, he chose to throw it away.The Gamecocks quarterback flashed greatness and had spurts of impressive production.Now those moments will quickly be erased from fan's memories as they are forced to look back in disdain at the troubled path Garcia went down.Begin Slideshow

The South Carolina Gamecocks will battle the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Davis Wade Stadium for SEC glory; kickoff is set for 12:21 p.m. and the game will be televised on the SEC Network.USC enters the contest with a record that stands at 5-1, 3-1 in the SEC; Mississippi State is 3-3, 0-3 in the SEC. USC leads the series 7-6 against MSU with three wins in Starkville. The two teams last met in 2007 with USC winning 38-21, and Coach Steve Spurrier has an all-time record of 6-2 against Mississippi State.USC needs this win as it will keep them in the driver’s seat for the SEC East, and it will make the Gamecocks bowl-eligible for the eighth straight year, including every year under Spurrier.The Bulldogs are on the opposite end of the spectrum and are looking to right the ship after a lackluster start. They are in search of their first SEC win of 2011 and want to prove to college football fans the last few weeks is not who they are as a team.At the sound of the final whistle, USC will have won this game thanks to the following five reasons:Begin Slideshow

The thing with the BCS rankings in college football is that they seem to leave out deserving teams year after year.It's understandable, because there's not enough spots for all the good teams in the nation. That being said, I personally start caring once we start discussing the Top 10.These are the very best of the best, so there is not much room for error in my eyes.As the season progresses, teams start to distinguish themselves as legitimate programs, and others distinguish themselves as pretenders.With the BCS rankings coming out soon, here are a few teams that I believe will get screwed out of Top 10 slots, but certainly deserve them:South Carolina:The Gamecocks took a horrible loss at home to Auburn, but other than that, they have looked really good this season. Marcus Lattimore is arguably one of the best running backs in the nation, and now that they've made the move away from quarterback Stephen Garcia, I think the offense will be pretty stable. Defensively, they have one of the most explosive and opportunistic sides in the nation and could shut down any team when on.West Virginia:WVU's only loss came at the hands of the current No. 1-ranked team in the nation: LSU. It would have been a huge upset had they beat them, but they lost, and I can't say it was unexpected. The thing is, it's hard for me to hold that lost against them, especially because they've cruised through the rest of their schedule other than that game.Illinois:The Michigan Wolverines are an undefeated Big Ten program that is sniffing the Top 10 with a weak schedule, so why shouldn't the Illini be right there with them. Michigan's biggest win came against Notre Dame, which is hard to be impressed with given their season, but other than that, they've beaten whole bunch of cupcakes. Illinois has at least beaten ASU, who has been pretty good this season.Read more South Carolina Football news on BleacherReport.com

The dismissal of Stephen Garcia from the University of South Carolina football team will send shock waves through the Gamecock nation. Those same expectations that Garcia had resting squarely on his shoulders now have a new home. Connor Shaw, a second year quarterback from Flowery Branch, GA, will take control of a South Carolina team with enough talent to win the SEC Championship. If the Gamecock faithful want to be even more optimistic, South Carolina has an outside chance of playing in New Orleans for the crystal ball. Besides controlling the fate of South Carolina, the sophomore quarterback will also be the deciding factor in the Heisman race. Marcus Lattimore began the season on everyone’s Heisman watch list and through the first three weeks, he stayed there. However, as Garcia started to struggle and Lattimore failed to torch a Vanderbilt Commodore defense that has trouble with the run, confidence in the running back started to wane. When he did not bounce back next week against Auburn, people started to jump off the bandwagon. But like Connor Shaw, the second year running back from Duncan, SC bounced back against Kentucky. Shaw redeemed himself from an atrocious performance in Week 1 against the East Carolina Pirates, and Lattimore gained over 100 yards on the ground for the eighth-time in his career.Not to be left out, Alshon Jeffries had six catches for 95 yards, two of which were touchdowns. While Shaw was busy saving the Gamecocks' season last Saturday, he managed to breathe new life into Lattimore’s Heisman candidacy.If Connor Shaw plays as well as he did against Kentucky, the reigning NCAA Freshman of the Year will put up some monster numbers. Shaw’s improved play at the QB position should open up the whole field.Instead of seeing eight man boxes every down, defenses will have to respect the pass. Therefore, Lattimore should have more running lanes and will be able to break through the line without much trouble. The Gamecocks will go as far as 6’1” Lattimore can take them. Improved play at the QB position not only allows Lattimore to have more reserves for the final push this season, but it makes Alshon Jeffries relevant again. Poor play by Garcia early in the season, rendered the stud WR useless. Jeffries and company came alive last Saturday and showed how dangerous the Gamecock offense could be with a consistent QB. Granted, it came against a weak Kentucky team, but that type of game might have been just what the Ol’ Ball coach ordered. One good performance does not guarantee Marcus Lattimore is going to win the Heisman or that South Carolina will be a one loss team playing for the National Championship. However, the future looks much brighter for the garnet and black with Connor Shaw at the helm.     Read more South Carolina Football news on BleacherReport.com

The dismissal of Stephen Garcia from the University of South Carolina football team will send shock waves through the Gamecock nation. Those same expectations that Garcia had resting squarely on his shoulders now have a new home. Connor Shaw, a second year quarterback from Flowery Branch, GA, will take control of a South Carolina team with enough talent to win the SEC Championship. If the Gamecock faithful want to be even more optimistic, South Carolina has an outside chance of playing in New Orleans for the crystal ball. Besides controlling the fate of South Carolina, the sophomore quarterback will also be the deciding factor in the Heisman race. Marcus Lattimore began the season on everyone’s Heisman watch list and through the first three weeks, he stayed there. However, as Garcia started to struggle and Lattimore failed to torch a Vanderbilt Commodore defense that has trouble with the run, confidence in the running back started to wane. When he did not bounce back next week against Auburn, people started to jump off the bandwagon. But like Connor Shaw, the second year running back from Duncan, SC bounced back against Kentucky. Shaw redeemed himself from an atrocious performance in Week 1 against the East Carolina Pirates, and Lattimore gained over 100 yards on the ground for the eighth-time in his career.Not to be left out, Alshon Jeffery had six catches for 95 yards, two of which were touchdowns. While Shaw was busy saving the Gamecocks' season last Saturday, he managed to breathe new life into Lattimore’s Heisman candidacy.If Connor Shaw plays as well as he did against Kentucky, the reigning NCAA Freshman of the Year will put up some monster numbers. Shaw’s improved play at the QB position should open up the whole field.Instead of seeing eight man boxes every down, defenses will have to respect the pass. Therefore, Lattimore should have more running lanes and will be able to break through the line without much trouble. The Gamecocks will go as far as 6’1” Lattimore can take them. Improved play at the QB position not only allows Lattimore to have more reserves for the final push this season, but it makes Alshon Jeffery relevant again. Poor play by Garcia early in the season, rendered the stud WR useless.Jeffery and company came alive last Saturday and showed how dangerous the Gamecock offense could be with a consistent QB. Granted, it came against a weak Kentucky team, but that type of game might have been just what the Ol’ Ball coach ordered. One good performance does not guarantee Marcus Lattimore is going to win the Heisman or that South Carolina will be a one loss team playing for the National Championship. However, the future looks much brighter for the garnet and black with Connor Shaw at the helm.     Read more South Carolina Football news on BleacherReport.com

Stephen Garcia is now legendary at South Carolina. For a whole lot of things. Most of them...bad. However, one can't help but take a look back at the sightings of brilliance and the heart of a warrior that Garcia showed throughout his five years with the program, despite his horrendous off-field behavior. As a fan, I am deeply saddened by how his career with South Carolina ended.Begin Slideshow