“This is for all fans of South Carolina—always,” coach Steve Spurrier belted out during the postgame celebration.
Alshon Jeffery caught four passes for 148 yards and a touchdown before getting ejected for fighting, and the Gamecocks set a school-record for victories in a 30-13 victory against Nebraska at the Capital One Bowl on Monday.
The Gamecocks (11-2) also snapped a string of three straight bowl losses. Spurrier said they will have rings “with a big `ole 11 on them” made for the team to commemorate the milestone.
Connor Shaw, who took over at quarterback when senior Stephen Garcia was kicked off the team, came up big, passing for two scores and rushing for another in one of his best games. He finished 11 for 17 for 230 yards and ran for 42 yards.
“We didn’t play all that great at times, and Nebraska didn’t play all that great either,” Spurrier said. “But we made some good stops here and there… We won the fourth quarter today against them and our defense was sensational.
“The record speaks for itself as the best team ever.”
Jeffery was having a surprisingly productive day playing just weeks after surgery on his hand for an injury he sustained in the regular-season finale. He was called for a personal foul penalty and ejected with just over two minutes left in the third quarter along with Cornhuskers cornerback Alfonso Dennard when both were caught throwing punches at each other after a play.
“Getting ejected, that is something that happened in the moment,” Jeffery said.
He said winning 11 games became the mission for the Gamecocks all season.
“Coach Spurrier, in the beginning of season six and in camp he wrote the goal’s try to win 11 games and try do things we did the first time. So that’s what we tried to do.”
The Gamecocks kept the pressure on even without Jeffery and went up 23-13 with 12:25 to play on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Shaw to Kenny Miles. Miles then added a 3-yard touchdown run with just over three minutes left—his first of the season—to put the game out of reach.
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