The 2009 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head coach was Steve Spurrier, who was in his fifth season at USC. The Gamecocks played their home games at Williams–Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. Carolina finished the season 7–6, winning the Palmetto Bowl over in-state rival Clemson 34–17 in their final regular season game, before losing in the PapaJohns.com Bowl 20–7 against Connecticut. South Carolina avoided a repeat of the quarterback controversy from last season, as Stephen Garcia earned a start in every game with one of the best quarterback seasons the school had ever seen. However, the Gamecocks returned very few proven skill players and faced what was called the most difficult schedule in the country. The Gamecocks still won most of the games on that schedule, including two against top-15 teams, though postseason struggles under Spurrier continued. "Sandstorm" became a phenomenon. The 1999 Finnish trance song was played before two decisive plays during a home game against No. 4 Ole Miss. With these plays, South Carolina sealed a historic upset, their first win against a top-5 team since 1981. After this, "Sandstorm" became cemented with the program and its fans. By 2010, it would be described as South Carolina's "unofficial anthem" and "second fight song". Despite the 7–6 record and "embarrassing" bowl loss, the upsets over Ole Miss and Clemson has been described as catalysts to the most successful era in program history: an SEC East Championship in 2010 and 11-win seasons in 2011, 2012 and 2013. Each of those years also saw victories over Clemson – South Carolina's longest winning streak in the rivalry.

Preseason

On April 11, 2009, the Garnet squad defeated the Black squad, 30–14, in the annual Garnet & Black Spring Game, in front of a crowd of 25,157. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Stephen Garcia finished the game 13–20 with 144 yards and two touchdowns, while true freshman Jarvis Giles led the ground game with 114 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries.

Schedule

Schedule notes

Game summaries

NC State

Georgia

Florida Atlantic

Ole Miss

SC State

Kentucky

Alabama

Vanderbilt

Tennessee

Arkansas

Florida

vs Clemson (rivalry)

Connecticut

Players

Depth chart

Projected starters and primary backups versus Clemson on November 28, 2009.

Awards

2009 recruiting class

Rankings

Statistics

Scores by quarter

Team

Offense

Rushing

Passing

Receiving

Defense

Special teams

Coaching staff

Notes and references