2012 Southeastern Conference football season explained

2012 Southeastern Conference football season
Color:	193980
Color Text:	white
League:	NCAA Division I FBS
Sport:	football
Pixels:	125px
Duration:	August 30, 2012 through January 7, 2013
No Of Teams:	14
Tv:	ESPN, ESPNU, ESPN2, CBS, and SEC Network
Draft:	2013 NFL Draft
Draft Link:	2013 NFL Draft
Top Pick:	Luke Joeckel (Texas A&M)
Picked By:	Jacksonville Jaguars, 2nd overall
Season:	Regular season
Conf1:	East
Conf1 Champ:	Georgia
Conf1 Runner-Up:	Florida
Conf2:	West
Conf2 Champ:	Alabama
Conf2 Runner-Up:	LSU, Texas A&M
Finals:	SEC Championship Game
Finals Link:	2012 SEC Championship Game
Finals Champ:	Alabama
Finals Runner-Up:	Georgia
Seasonslistnames:	Football
Prevseason Year:	2011
Nextseason Year:	2013

The 2012 Southeastern Conference football season began on August 30 with South Carolina visiting Vanderbilt, and concluded with the BCS National Championship Game on January 7, 2013. It was also the first season of play for former Big 12 Conference members Texas A&M and Missouri. Texas A&M plays in the West Division, while Missouri plays in the East Division, although, geographically, Missouri is one of the conference's westernmost teams.

Preseason

Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino was fired in early April for lying about his affair with an Arkansas employee after a motorcycle accident that he had on April that left him four broken ribs, a cracked vertebra in his neck and numerous abrasions on his face.^[1] In the press conference announcing the termination, Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long said, "(Petrino) made the decision to mislead the public, (and it) adversely affected the university and the football program." In Petrino's place, Assistant Coach Taver Johnson will serve as interim coach through the end of spring practice. After the firing of Bobby Petrino in April 2012, there was considerable media speculation that Smith would return to Arkansas. This was confirmed on April 23 when multiple media outlets reported that Smith had indeed agreed to succeed Petrino. He was introduced as Arkansas' 29th full-time head coach the next day. Smith signed a 10-month contract, leading to speculation that he was only taking the post on an interim basis for the 2012 season. The Razorbacks' formal announcement described him as "head coach", without any qualifiers; however, it also indicated that Smith's hiring would allow Arkansas to hire "a head coach for the future of the program" in a more appropriate timeframe following the 2012 season.^[2]

At the end of the 2011 season it was announced that Head Coach Houston Nutt resigned from the position of head coach at Ole Miss. His resignation became official once the season ended.^[3] In his place, Ole Miss hired Arkansas State Head Coach Hugh Freeze.^[4]

Preseason All-SEC

2012 Pre-season Coaches All-SEC^[5]

First team offense! Position! Player! Class! Team
QB	Sr.	Arkansas
RB	Jr.	South Carolina
RB	Jr.	Arkansas
WR	Jr.	Tennessee
WR	Sr.	Arkansas
WR	Sr.	Texas A&M
TE	Sr.	Auburn
OL	Sr.	LSU
OL	Sr.	Alabama
OL	Jr.	Texas A&M
OL	Sr.	Kentucky
C	Sr.	Alabama

First team defense! Position! Player! Class! Team
DL	So.	South Carolina
DL	Jr.	LSU
DL	Jr.	Auburn
DL	Jr.	LSU
LB	Sr.	Texas A&M
LB	So.	Alabama
LB	Sr.	Georgia
DB	Sr.	Mississippi State
DB	Sr.	Georgia
DB	Jr.	LSU
DB	Jr.	LSU

First Team Special Teams! Position! Player! Class! Team
K	Sr.	Florida
P	So.	LSU
RS	Jr.	LSU
All-purpose back	Jr.	Arkansas

Rankings

**Legend**
		Increase in ranking
		Decrease in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
align=center style="width:20px; border:1px solid #aaaaaa; background:white;"	RV		Received votes

See main article: 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings.

	(Pre)	Sept. 3	Sept. 10	Sept. 17	Sept. 24	Oct. 1	Oct. 8	Oct. 15	Oct. 22	Oct. 29	Nov. 5	Nov. 12	Nov. 19	Nov. 26	Dec. 3	Final
Alabama	AP	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	4	2	2	2	1
C	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	5	2	2	2	1
BCS	Not released							1	1	1	1	4	2	2	2
Arkansas	AP	10	8	RV	NR
C	10	9	21	NR
BCS	Not released
Auburn	AP	RV	RV	NR
C	25	RV	NR
BCS	Not released
Florida	AP	23	24	18	14	11	10	4	3	3	8	7	7	6	5	4	9
C	23	23	17	14	12	11	6	4	3	8	7	7	6	5	4	10
BCS	Not released							2	2	7	6	6	4	4	3
Georgia	AP	6	7	7	5	5	5	14	13	12	7	5	5	3	3	6	5
C	6	7	7	6	5	5	12	12	11	6	5	4	3	3	5	4
BCS	Not released							11	10	6	5	5	3	3	7
Kentucky	AP
C
BCS	Not released
LSU	AP	3	3	3	2	3	4	9	6	6	5	9	8	8	9	9	14
C	1	3	2	2	3	3	8	6	6	5	9	8	7	6	7	12
BCS	Not released							6	6	5	7	7	7	7	8
Mississippi State	AP	RV	RV	RV	23	21	20	19	15	13	17	22	RV	25	RV	NR
C	RV	RV	RV	23	19	19	18	16	12	15	23	RV	24	RV	RV	NR
BCS	Not released							12	11	18	21	NR
Missouri	AP	RV	RV	NR	RV	NR
C	RV	RV	NR
BCS	Not released
Ole Miss	AP
C			RV	NR						RV	NR
BCS	Not released
South Carolina	AP	9	9	8	7	6	6	3	9	17	11	12	12	13	11	11	8
C	9	9	9	8	6	6	3	8	16	8	11	11	12	10	10	7
BCS	Not released							7	13	11	8	9	12	10	10
Tennessee	AP	RV	RV	23	RV	RV	RV	RV	NR
C	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	NR
BCS	Not released
Texas A&M	AP	RV	RV	NR	RV	RV	RV	22	20	22	16	15	9	9	10	10	5
C	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	21	19	21	16	14	10	10	8	9	5
BCS	Not released							18	20	16	15	8	9	9	9
Vanderbilt	AP													RV	RV	RV	23
C		RV	NR										RV	RV	RV	20
BCS	Not released

Regular season

Index to colors and formatting
Non-conference matchup; SEC member won
Non-conference matchup; SEC member lost
Conference matchup

All times Eastern time. SEC teams in bold.

Rankings reflect that of the AP poll for that week until week eight when the BCS rankings will be used.

Week One

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance
August 30	4:00 p.m.	9 South Carolina	Vanderbilt			SCAR 17–13	38,393
August 31	4:30 p.m.		Tennessee	Georgia Dome • Atlanta (Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game)	ESPNU	W 21–35	55,529
September 1	9:00 a.m.		6 Georgia			W 23–45	92,446
September 1	12:30 p.m.		23 Florida		ESPN	W 14–27	84,704
September 1	4:00 p.m.		10 Arkansas		PPV	W 24-49	71,062
September 1	4:00 p.m.		Auburn	Georgia Dome • Atlanta (Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game)	ESPN	L 26–19	75,211
September 1	4:00 p.m.		3 LSU		ESPNU	W 14-41	92,059
September 1	4:00 p.m.		Mississippi State			W 9–56	55,082
September 1	4:00 p.m.		Missouri		PPV	W 10–62	62,173
September 1	4:00 p.m.		Ole Miss		CSS	W 27–49	50,544
September 1	5:00 p.m.		2 Alabama			W 14–41	90,413
September 2	12:30 p.m.	Kentucky			ESPN	L 14–32	55,386

Texas A&M's matchup with Louisiana Tech University was rescheduled to October 13 by agreement of the schools due to the potential impact of Hurricane Isaac on Shreveport, Louisiana, where the game was to be held.

Players of the week:

Week Two

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance
September 8	9:00 a.m.	Auburn	Mississippi State	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, Mississippi	ESPN	MSU 10–28	56,111
September 8	9:21 a.m.		South Carolina		SEC Network	W 10–48	77,006
September 8	12:30 p.m.	24 Florida	Texas A&M		ESPN	UF 20–17	87,114
September 8	12:30 p.m.		Alabama		SEC Network	W 0–35	101,821
September 8	1:00 p.m.		Tennessee		PPV	W 13–51	87,821
September 8	4:00 p.m.		3 LSU	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, Louisiana	ESPN	W 3–41	92,804
September 8	4:00 p.m.		Ole Miss	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, Mississippi	FSN	W 10–28	53,133
September 8	4:00 p.m.		8 Arkansas		ESPNU	L 34–31 OT	53,089
September 8	4:30 p.m.		Kentucky			W 14–47	48,346
September 8	4:45 p.m.	7 Georgia	Missouri			UGA 41–20	71,004
September 8	5:00 p.m.	Vanderbilt				L 13–23	31,644

Players of the week:

Week Three

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance
September 15	9:21 a.m.	Louisiana–Monroe	Auburn		SEC Network	W 28–31 OT	85,214
September 15	9:30 a.m.		Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt Stadium • Vanderbilt, Tennessee	CSS	W 0–58	35,491
September 15	12:30 p.m.	1 Alabama	Arkansas	Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, Arkansas		ALA 52–0	74,617
September 15	12:30 p.m.	Texas A&M			FSN	W 48–3	32,016
September 15	3:00 p.m.	18 Florida	23 Tennessee	Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, Tennessee	ESPN	UF 37–20	102,455
September 15	4:00 p.m.		Kentucky	Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, Kentucky	ESPNU	L 32–31 OT	53,980
September 15	4:00 p.m.		Missouri		ESPN2	W 20–24	71,004
September 15	4:00 p.m.		8 South Carolina	Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, South Carolina	FSN	W 6–49	77,963
September 15	4:00 p.m.	Mississippi State				W 30–24	29,013
September 15	4:30 p.m.		7 Georgia	Sanford Stadium • Athens, Georgia	CSS	W 20–56	92,746
September 15	5:00 p.m.		3 LSU	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, Louisiana	PPV	W 14–63	92,177
September 15	6:26 p.m.		Ole Miss	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, Mississippi	ESPN	L 66–31	61,797

Players of the week:

Week Four

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance
September 22	9:00 am	Ole Miss			FSN	W 39–0	28,913
September 22	9:00 a.m.	Kentucky	14 Florida	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, Florida	SEC Network	UF 0–38	87,102
September 22	2:00 p.m.		1 Alabama	Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, Alabama	PPV	W 7–40	101,821
September 22	2:30 pm	Missouri	7 South Carolina	Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, South Carolina	CBS	SCAR 10–31	80,836
September 22	4:00 pm	2 LSU	Auburn	Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, Alabama	ESPN	LSU 12–10	86,721
September 22	4:00 pm		Arkansas	Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, Arkansas	ESPNU	L 35-26	72,543
September 22	4:00 pm		Texas A&M	Kyle Field • College Station, Texas	FSN	W 14–70	86,775
September 22	4:00 pm		23 Mississippi State	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, Mississippi	PPV	W 10–30	55,186
September 22	4:30 pm		Tennessee	Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, Tennessee	CSS	W 26–47	81,719
September 22	4:45 pm	Vanderbilt	5 Georgia	Sanford Stadium • Athens, Georgia	ESPN2	UGA 3–48	92,746

Players of the week:

Week Five

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance
September 29	12:00 pm	Missouri			FSN	W 21–16	35,835
September 29	12:21 pm	Arkansas	Texas A&M	Kyle Field • College Station, Texas	SEC Network	TAMU 58–10	86,442
September 29	3:30 pm	Tennessee	5 Georgia	Sanford Stadium • Athens, Georgia	CBS	UGA 51–44	92,746
September 29	7:00 pm	6 South Carolina	Kentucky	Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, Kentucky	ESPN2	SCAR 38–17	49,810
September 29	8:00 pm		3 LSU	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, Louisiana	ESPNU	W 38–22	92,154
September 29	9:15 pm	Ole Miss	1 Alabama	Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, Alabama	ESPN	ALA 33–14	101,821

Week off: Auburn, Florida, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt.

Players of the week:

Week Six

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance
October 6	12:00 pm	Arkansas	Auburn	Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, Alabama	ESPN2	ARK 24–7	85,813
October 6	12:21 pm	20 Mississippi State	Kentucky	Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, Kentucky	SEC Network	MSU 27–14	49,498
October 6	3:30 pm	4 LSU	10 Florida	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, Florida	CBS	UF 14–6	90,824
October 6	7:00 pm	Vanderbilt	Missouri		ESPN3	Vandy 19–15	66,250
October 6	7:00 pm	Texas A&M	Ole Miss	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, Mississippi	ESPNU	TAMU 30–27	55,343
October 6	7:00 pm	5 Georgia	6 South Carolina	Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, South Carolina	ESPN	SCAR 35–7	85,199

Week off: Alabama, Tennessee.

Players of the week:

Week Seven

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance
October 13	12:21 pm	Auburn	Ole Miss	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, Mississippi	SEC Network	Miss 41–20	57,068
October 13	3:30 pm	1 Alabama	Missouri		CBS	ALA 42–10	71,004
October 13	6:00 pm	4 Florida	Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt Stadium • Nashville, Tennessee	ESPNU	UF 31–17	40,350
October 13	7:00 pm	Kentucky	Arkansas	Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, Arkansas	ESPN3	ARK 49–7	67,153
October 13	8:00 pm	3 South Carolina	9 LSU	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, Louisiana	ESPN	LSU 23–21	92,734
October 13	9:00 pm	Tennessee	19 Mississippi State	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, Mississippi	ESPN2	MSU 41–31	57,831
October 13	9:15 pm	22 Texas A&M			ESPNU	W 59–57	40,453

Week off: Georgia

Players of the week:

Week Eight

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance
October 20	12:00 pm	6 LSU	18 Texas A&M	Kyle Field • College Station, Texas	ESPN	LSU 24–19	87,429
October 20	12:21 pm	Auburn	Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt Stadium • Nashville, Tennessee	SEC Network	Vandy 17–13	40,350
October 20	3:30 pm	7 South Carolina	2 Florida	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, Florida	CBS	UF 44–11	90,833
October 20	7:00 pm	1 Alabama	Tennessee	Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, Tennessee	ESPN	ALA 44–13	102,455
October 20	7:00 pm	11 Georgia	Kentucky	Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, Kentucky	ESPN3	UGA 29–24	54,553
October 20	7:00 pm		12 Mississippi State	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, Mississippi	ESPN2	W 45–3	55,108

Week off: Arkansas, Ole Miss, Missouri.

Players of the week:

Week Nine

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance
October 27	12:00 pm	Kentucky	Missouri		ESPNU	Mizzou 33–10	67,853
October 27	12:00 pm	Tennessee	13 South Carolina	Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, South Carolina	ESPN	SCAR 38–35	80,250
October 27	12:21 pm	Ole Miss	Arkansas	War Memorial Stadium • Little Rock, Arkansas	SEC Network	Miss 30–27	55,378
October 27	3:30 pm	2 Florida	11 Georgia https://web.archive.org/web/20130304004955/http://www.thegeorgiabulldogclub.com/tickets/football/georgia_florida.php			UGA 17–9	84,644
October 27	7:00 pm	20 Texas A&M	Auburn	Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, Alabama	ESPNU	TAMU 63–21	85,119
October 27	7:00 pm		Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt Stadium • Vanderbilt, Tennessee	ESPN3	W 49–7	32,227
October 27	8:30 pm	11 Mississippi State	1 Alabama	Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, Alabama	ESPN	ALA 38–7	101,821

Week off: LSU.

Players of the week:

Week Ten

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance
November 3	12:00 pm	Missouri	7 Florida	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, Florida	ESPN2	UF 14–7	90,496
November 3	12:00 pm	Vanderbilt	Kentucky	Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, Kentucky	ESPNU	Vandy 40–0	44,902
November 3	12:00 pm	16 Texas A&M	15 Mississippi State	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, Mississippi	ESPN	TAMU 38–13	55,240
November 3	12:00 pm	Troy	Tennessee	Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, Tennessee	ESPN3	W 55–48	84,189
November 3	12:21 pm		Arkansas	Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, Arkansas	SEC Network	W 19–15	64,451
November 3	12:30 pm		Auburn	Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, Alabama	ESPN3	W 42–7	74,676
November 3	3:30 pm	Ole Miss	6 Georgia	Sanford Stadium • Athens, Georgia	CBS	UGA 37–10	92,746
November 3	8:00 pm	1 Alabama	5 LSU	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, Louisiana	CBS	ALA 21–17	93,374

Week off: South Carolina.

Players of the week:

Week Eleven

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance
November 10	12:00 pm	Arkansas	8 South Carolina	Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, South Carolina	CBS	SCAR 38–20	78,772
November 10	12:21 pm		6 Florida	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, Florida	SEC Network	W 27–20	86,482
November 10	12:21 pm	Missouri	Tennessee	Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, Tennessee	SEC Network	Mizzou 51–48 OT	89,272
November 10	3:30 pm	15 Texas A&M	1 Alabama	Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, Alabama	CBS	TAMU 29–24	101,821
November 10	7:00 pm	5 Georgia	Auburn	Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, Alabama	ESPN2	UGA 38–0	86,146
November 10	7:00 pm	21 Mississippi State	7 LSU	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, Louisiana	ESPN	LSU 37–17	92,831
November 10	7:00 pm	Vanderbilt	Ole Miss	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, Mississippi	ESPNU	Vandy 27–26	60,572

Week off: Kentucky.

Players of the week:

Week Twelve

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance
November 17	12:21 pm		4 Alabama	Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, Alabama	SEC Network	W 49–0	101,126
November 17	12:21 pm	Arkansas	Mississippi State	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, Mississippi	SEC Network	MSU 45–14	54,838
November 17	1:00 pm		6 Florida	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, Florida	ESPN3	W 23–0	82,691
November 17	1:00 pm		9 South Carolina	Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, South Carolina	ESPN3	W 24–7	79,982
November 17	1:30 pm		5 Georgia	Sanford Stadium • Athens, Georgia	ESPN3	W 24–7	92,746
November 17	2:00 pm		Auburn	Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, Alabama	ESPN3	W 51–7	74,832
November 17	3:30 pm	Ole Miss	7 LSU	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, Louisiana	CBS	LSU 41–35	92,872
November 17	3:30 pm		8 Texas A&M	Kyle Field • College Station, Texas	ESPN3	W 47–28	87,101
November 17	7:00 pm		Missouri		ESPNU	L 27–31	63,045
November 17	7:00 pm	Tennessee	Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt Stadium • Nashville, Tennessee	ESPN2	Vandy 41–18	40,350
November 17	7:30 pm		Kentucky	Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, Kentucky	ESPN3	W 34–3	46,749

Players of the week:

Week Thirteen

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance
November 23	2:30 pm	7 LSU	Arkansas	Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, Arkansas (Battle for the Golden Boot)	CBS	LSU 20–13	71,117
November 24	12:00 pm		3 Georgia	Sanford Stadium • Athens, Georgia (Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate)	ESPN	W 42–10	92,746
November 24	12:21 pm	Kentucky	Tennessee	Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, Tennessee (Battle for the Barrel)	SEC Network	Tenn 37–17	81,841
November 24	3:30 pm	4 Florida		Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, Florida (Florida Cup)	ABC	W 37–26	83,429
November 24	3:30 pm	Vanderbilt			ESPNU	W 55–21	26,134
November 24	3:30 pm	Auburn	2 Alabama	Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Iron Bowl)	CBS	ALA 49–0	101,821
November 24	7:00 pm	Mississippi State	Ole Miss	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, Mississippi (Egg Bowl)	ESPNU	Miss 41–24	61,005
November 24	7:00 pm	12 South Carolina	11 Clemson	Memorial Stadium • Clemson, South Carolina (Battle of the Palmetto State)	ESPN	W 27–17	82,000
November 24	7:00 pm	Missouri	9 Texas A&M	Kyle Field • College Station, Texas	ESPN2	TAMU 59–29	87,222

Players of the week:

Week Fourteen/SEC Championship

SEC vs AQ-conference matchups

Rankings from the AP Poll

Date	Visitor	Home	Score
August 31	NC State	Tennessee	W 35–21
September 1	14 Clemson	Auburn	L 19–26
September 1	8 Michigan	2 Alabama	W 41–14
September 2	Kentucky	25 Louisville	L 14–32
September 8	Washington	3 LSU	W 41–3
September 8	Vanderbilt	Northwestern	L 13–23
September 15	Arizona State	Missouri	W 24–20
September 15	14 Texas	Ole Miss	L 31–66
September 22	Rutgers	Arkansas	L 26–35
November 17	Syracuse	Missouri	L 27–31
November 24	13 South Carolina	12 Clemson	W 27–17
November 24	6 Florida	10 Florida State	W 37–26
November 24	Georgia Tech	3 Georgia	W 42–10
November 24	Vanderbilt	Wake Forest	W 55–21

Bowl games

Nine SEC teams became bowl eligible, and all were selected for post-season competition.^[6] SEC teams are bolded.

Bowl Game	Date	Stadium	City	Television	Time (EST)	Team	Score	Team	Score
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl	December 31	LP Field	Nashville, Tennessee	ESPN	12:05 PM	Vanderbilt	38	NC State	24
Chick-fil-A Bowl	December 31	Georgia Dome	Atlanta	ESPN	7:30 PM	14 Clemson	25	8 LSU	24
TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl	January 1	EverBank Field	Jacksonville, Florida	ESPN2	12:00 PM	Mississippi State	20	20 Northwestern	34
Capital One Bowl	January 1	Citrus Bowl	Orlando, Florida	ABC	1:00 PM	7 Georgia	45	16 Nebraska	31
Outback Bowl	January 1	Raymond James Stadium	Tampa, Florida	ESPN	1:00 PM	10 South Carolina	33	18 Michigan	28
Allstate Sugar Bowl	January 2	Mercedes-Benz Superdome	New Orleans	ESPN	8:30 PM	21 Louisville	33	3 Florida	23
Cotton Bowl Classic	January 4	Cowboys Stadium	Arlington, Texas	FOX	7:00 PM	10 Texas A&M	41	12 Oklahoma	13
BBVA Compass Bowl	January 5	Legion Field	Birmingham, Alabama	ESPN	1:00 PM	Pittsburgh	17	Ole Miss	38
Discover BCS National Championship	January 7	Sun Life Stadium	Miami Gardens, Florida	ESPN	8:30 PM	1 Notre Dame	14	2 Alabama	42

Awards and honors

National awards

Heisman Trophy

Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M

Archie Griffin Award (MVP): Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M
AP Player of the Year

Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M

Chic Harley Award (Player of the Year): Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M
SN Player of the Year

Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M

Campbell Trophy ("academic Heisman"): Barrett Jones, Alabama
Davey O'Brien Award (quarterback): Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M
Manning Award (quarterback): Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M
Dave Rimington Trophy (center): Barrett Jones, Alabama
Outland Trophy (interior lineman): Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M
Jack Lambert Trophy (linebacker): Jarvis Jones, Georgia
Ted Hendricks Award (defensive end): Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina
Jim Thorpe Award (defensive back): Johnthan Banks, Mississippi State

Consensus All-Americans

See main article: 2012 College Football All-America Team.

QB – Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M -- CONSENSUS -- (AP, FWAA, TSN, WCFF, CBS, ESPN, Scout, SI)
OL – Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M -- UNANIMOUS -- (AFCA, AP, FWAA, TSN, WCFF, CBS, ESPN, PFW, Scout, SI)
OL – Barrett Jones, Alabama -- CONSENSUS -- (AP, FWAA, TSN, WCFF, CBS, ESPN, Scout, SI)
OL – Chance Warmack, Alabama -- UNANIMOUS -- (AFCA, AP, FWAA, TSN, WCFF, CBS, ESPN, PFW, Scout, SI)
DL – Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina -- UNANIMOUS -- (AFCA, AP, FWAA, TSN, WCFF, CBS, ESPN, PFW, Scout, SI)
DL – Damontre Moore, Texas A&M -- CONSENSUS -- (AFCA, FWAA, WCFF, ESPN)
LB – Jarvis Jones, Georgia -- UNANIMOUS -- (AFCA, AP, FWAA, TSN, WCFF, CBS, ESPN, PFW, Scout, SI)
LB – C. J. Mosley, Alabama -- CONSENSUS -- (AFCA, AP, TSN, WCFF, CBS, Scout, SI)
DB – Dee Milliner, Alabama -- UNANIMOUS -- (AFCA, AP, FWAA, TSN, WCFF, CBS, ESPN, PFW, Scout)
DB – Eric Reid, LSU -- CONSENSUS -- (AFCA, FWAA, ESPN, Scout)

All-SEC Teams

The Southeastern Conference coaches voted for the All-SEC teams after the regular season concluded. Prior to the 2012 SEC Championship Game the teams were released. Alabama had the most representatives on the 2012 All-SEC Coaches’ Football Team, the league office announced on Tuesday. Alabama had eight total members, including six on the first team. Florida was close behind with seven, while Eastern Division Champion Georgia and Tennessee had six each.

Ten of the 14 SEC schools had a member on the first-team All-SEC squad. Alabama led with six, while Florida had five and Texas A&M with four. LSU, South Carolina and Texas A&M had five total members on the annual list, while Mississippi State was next with four total selections.

Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.^[7]

Position	1st Team		2nd Team
Position	Player	School	Player	School
QB	Johnny Manziel	Texas A&M	A. J. McCarron	Alabama
RB	Mike Gillislee	Florida	Todd Gurley	Georgia
RB	Eddie Lacy	Alabama	Zac Stacy	Vanderbilt
WR	Cobi Hamilton	Arkansas	Ryan Swope	Texas A&M
WR	Jordan Matthews	Vanderbilt	Justin Hunter	Tennessee
TE	Mychal Rivera	Tennessee	Jordan Reed	Florida
C	Barrett Jones	Alabama	T. J. Johnson	South Carolina
OG	Chance Warmack	Alabama	Larry Warford	Kentucky
OG	D. J. Fluker	Alabama	Chris Burnette	Georgia
OT	Luke Joeckel	Texas A&M	Gabe Jackson	Mississippi State
OT	Jake Matthews	Texas A&M	Dallas Thomas	Tennessee
AP	Cordarrelle Patterson	Tennessee	Ace Sanders	South Carolina
DL	Jadeveon Clowney	South Carolina	Barkevious Mingo	LSU
DL	Sam Montgomery	LSU	Sheldon Richardson	Missouri
DL	Damontre Moore	Texas A&M	John Jenkins	Georgia
DL	Sharrif Floyd	Florida	Corey Lemonier	Auburn
LB	Jarvis Jones	Georgia	A. J. Johnson	Tennessee
LB	C. J. Mosley	Alabama	Jon Bostic	Florida
LB	Kevin Minter	LSU	Alec Ogletree	Georgia
DB	Dee Milliner	Alabama	D. J. Swearinger	South Carolina
DB	Matt Elam	Florida	Bacarri Rambo	Georgia
DB	Eric Reid	LSU	Robert Lester	Alabama
DB	Johnthan Banks	Mississippi State	Darius Slay	Mississippi State
PK	Caleb Sturgis	Florida	Drew Alleman	LSU
P	Kyle Christy	Florida	Dylan Breeding	Arkansas

NFL Draft

See main article: 2013 NFL draft.

Home attendance

Team	Stadium	Capacity	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7	Game 8	Total	Average	% of Capacity
Alabama	Bryant–Denny Stadium	101,821	101,821	101,821	101,821	101,821	101,821	101,126	101,821		712,052	101,722	99.90%
Arkansas	Razorback Stadium	72,000	71,062	53,089	74,617	72,543	67,153	55,378	64,451	71,117	529,410	70,014	97.99%
Auburn	Jordan–Hare Stadium	87,451	85,214	86,721	85,813	85,119	74,676	86,146	74,832		578,521	82,646	94.51%
Florida	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium	88,548	84,704	87,102	90,824	90,833	90,496	86,482	82,691		613,132	87,590	98.92%
Georgia	Sanford Stadium	92,746	92,446	92,746	92,746	92,746	92,746	92,746	92,746		648,922	92,703	99.95%
Kentucky	Commonwealth Stadium	67,942	48,346	53,980	49,810	49,498	54,553	44,902	46,749		347,838	49,691	73.14%
LSU	Tiger Stadium	92,542	92,059	92,804	92,177	92,154	92,734	93,374	92,831	92,872	741,005	92,626	100.10%
Mississippi State	Davis Wade	55,082	55,082	56,111	55,186	57,831	55,108	55,240	54,838		389,396	55,628	100.99%
Missouri	Faurot Field	71,004	62,173	71,004	71,004	66,250	71,004	67,853	63,045		472,333	67,476	95.03%
Ole Miss	Vaught–Hemingway	60,580	50,544	53,133	61,797	55,343	57,068	60,572	61,005		399,462	57,066	94.19%
South Carolina	Williams-Brice Stadium	80,250	77,006	77,963	80,836	85,199	80,250	78,772	79,982		560,008	80,001	99.69%
Tennessee	Neyland Stadium	102,455	87,821	102,455	81,719	102,455	84,189	89,272	81,841		629,752	89,965	87.81%
Texas A&M	Kyle Field	82,589	87,114	86,775	86,442	87,429	87,101	87,222			522,083	87,014	105.36%
Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt Stadium	40,550	38,393	35,491	40,350	40,350	32,227	40,350			227,161	37,860	93.37%

Games played at Arkansas' secondary home stadium War Memorial Stadium, capacity: 54,120.

Attendance was 84,644 for the Florida vs. Georgia game in Jacksonville

Notes and References

News: Arkansas fires Bobby Petrino . ESPN.com News Services . ESPN . April 10, 2012 . April 11, 2012.
News: Scandal another ugly exit for Petrino . Mark . Schlabach . ESPN . April 11, 2012 . April 11, 2012.
News: Houston Nutt resigning at Ole Miss . ESPN.com News Services . ESPN . November 8, 2011 . April 11, 2012.
News: Report: Hugh Freeze to coach Ole Miss . ESPN . December 5, 2011 . April 11, 2012.
News: SEC Announces Coaches Preseason All-SEC Teams . Ledger-Enquirer . July 12, 2012 . September 14, 2012.
Web site: 2012-13 bowl schedule . ESPN.com . December 29, 2012.
Web site: 2012 All-SEC Football Team Announced. SEC Sports. 2012-12-04. 2013-08-02.