| 2012 Capital One Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 66th Citrus Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date | January 2, 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Florida Citrus Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Orlando, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Alshon Jeffery (South Carolina WR) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | South Carolina by 1[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Jerry McGinn (Big East) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 61,351 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Payout | US$4.55 million[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Joe Tessitore (play-by-play) Rod Gilmore (analyst) Quint Kessenich (sideline) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | 2.86 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2012 Citrus Bowl, known as the Capital One Bowl for sponsorship purposes, was the sixty-sixth edition of the college football bowl game, played on January 2, 2012 at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. Part of the 2011–12 bowl season, it featured No. 20 Nebraska of the Big Ten and No. 9 South Carolina of the SEC. The game began at 1:00 p.m. EST and was broadcast on ESPN.
Teams
Nebraska
South Carolina
Game
Nebraska jumped out to a quick lead on a deep Kenny Bell touchdown, but the score was just 6–2 after Stephon Gilmore returned a blocked extra point for a defensive two-point conversion.[3] On the ensuing drive, South Carolina ran eleven consecutive rushing plays, culminating in a one-yard Connor Shaw touchdown on fourth down.
Nebraska regained the lead and had several scoring opportunities throughout the rest of the half, reaching South Carolina territory on four consecutive drives, but was unable to extend its 13–9 advantage.[4] Instead, the Gamecocks converted a 51-yard Hail Mary on the final play of the half, when Alshon Jeffery outreached the NU secondary at the three-yard line before leaping into the end zone.[3]
Nebraska missed a field goal to open the second half and was unable to move the ball consistently for the remainder of the game. Two fourth-quarter Kenny Miles touchdowns pushed Carolina's lead to 30–13, more than enough for a stout Gamecocks defense that held NU to minus-eighteen yards across its final four drives.[5]
The victory capped South Carolina's first eleven-win season and its first top-ten ranking in a final AP or Coaches poll.[4] Jeffery was named most valuable player despite being ejected in the third quarter after a fight with NU cornerback Alfonzo Dennard.[6]
Scoring summary
| Qtr | Time | Drive | Team | Detail[5] | Score | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plays | Yards | TOP | NU | SCAR | ||||
| 1 | 11:58 | 3 | 46 | 0:56 | NU | Kenny Bell 30-yd pass from Taylor Martinez (defensive conversion) | 6 | 2 |
| 6:04 | 11 | 55 | 5:54 | SCAR | Connor Shaw 1-yd run (Jay Wooten kick) | 6 | 9 | |
| 3:33 | 8 | 60 | 2:31 | NU | Ameer Abdullah 1-yd run (Brett Maher kick) | 13 | 9 | |
| 2 | 0:00 | 3 | 71 | 0:38 | SCAR | Alshon Jeffery 51-yd pass from Shaw (Wooten kick) | 13 | 16 |
| 4 | 12:25 | 5 | 41 | 2:26 | SCAR | Kenny Miles 9-yd pass from Shaw (Wooten kick) | 13 | 23 |
| 3:05 | 13 | 71 | 6:20 | SCAR | Miles 3-yd run (Wooten kick) | 13 | 30 | |
Individual leaders
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics[5] |
|---|---|---|---|
| NU | Passing | Taylor Martinez | 10/16, 116 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Rushing | Rex Burkhead | 23 car, 89 yds | |
| Receiving | Kenny Bell | 3 rec, 53 yds, TD | |
| SCAR | Passing | Connor Shaw | 11/17, 230 yds, 2 TD |
| Rushing | Kenny Miles | 15 car, 67 yds, TD | |
| Receiving | Alshon Jeffery | 4 rec, 148 yds, TD |
Team statistics
| Statistic[5] | Nebraska | S. Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 17 | 16 |
| Rushes-yards | 46–137 | 40–121 |
| Comp.–att.–yards | 10–16–116 | 11–17–230 |
| Total offense | 253 | 351 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 0 |
| Punts–average | 5–39.4 | 5–39.4 |
| Penalties–yards | 10–58 | 6–66 |
| Time of possession | 30:49 | 29:11 |
References
- ^ "Capital One Bowl: South Carolina vs Nebraska Odds". OddsShark. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
- ^ "Bowl payouts projected around $281 million". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on November 11, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
- ^ a b Bob Hamar (January 2, 2012). "Hail Mary touchdown puts Huskers in a hole". The Grand Island Independent. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
- ^ a b Jon Nyatawa (January 2, 2012). "Big plays help lift South Carolina past Nebraska". Omaha World-Herald. Archived from the original on January 8, 2012. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Early lead doesn't hold up in bowl defeat". HuskerMax. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
- ^ "USC's Jeffery Ejected from Bowl Game". WYFF. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
