2012 Southeastern Conference football season


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

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. In the press conference announcing the termination, Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long said, " made the decision to mislead the public, 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.
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. In his place, Ole Miss hired Arkansas State Head Coach Hugh Freeze.

Preseason All-SEC

2012 Pre-season Coaches All-SEC
PositionPlayerClassTeam
QBSr.Arkansas
RBJr.South Carolina
RBJr.Arkansas
WRJr.Tennessee
WRSr.Arkansas
WRSr.Texas A&M
TESr.Auburn
OLSr.LSU
OLSr.Alabama
OLJr.Texas A&M
OLSr.Kentucky
CSr.Alabama

PositionPlayerClassTeam
DLSo.South Carolina
DLJr.LSU
DLJr.Auburn
DLJr.LSU
LBSr.Texas A&M
LBSo.Alabama
LBSr.Georgia
DBSr.Mississippi State
DBSr.Georgia
DBJr.LSU
DBJr.LSU

PositionPlayerClassTeam
KSr.Florida
PSo.LSU
RSJr.LSU
All-purpose backJr.Arkansas

Rankings

Regular season

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

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

Players of the Week

Week Three

Players of the Week

Week Four

Players of the Week

Week Five

Week off: Auburn, Florida, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt.
Players of the Week

Week Six

Week off: Alabama, Tennessee.
Players of the Week

Week Seven

Week off: Georgia
Players of the Week

Week Eight

Week off: Arkansas, Ole Miss, Missouri.
Players of the Week

Week Nine

Week off: LSU.
Players of the Week

Week Ten

Week off: South Carolina.
Players of the Week

Week Eleven

Week off: Kentucky.
Players of the Week

Week Twelve

Players of the Week

Week Thirteen

Players of the Week

Week Fourteen/SEC Championship

SEC vs AQ-conference matchups

Rankings from the AP Poll
DateVisitorHomeSignificanceScore
August 31NC StateTennesseeChick-fil-A Kickoff GameW 35–21
September 1#14 ClemsonAuburnChick-fil-A Kickoff GameL 19–26
September 1#8 Michigan#2 AlabamaCowboys ClassicW 41–14
September 2Kentucky#25 LouisvilleGovernor's CupL 14–32
September 8Washington#3 LSUW 41–3
September 8VanderbiltNorthwesternL 13–23
September 15Arizona StateMissouriW 24–20
September 15#14 TexasOle MissL 31–66
September 22RutgersArkansasL 26–35
November 17SyracuseMissouriL 27–31
November 24#13 South Carolina#12 ClemsonBattle of the Palmetto StateW 27–17
November 24#6 Florida#10 Florida StateFlorida-Florida StateW 37–26
November 24Georgia Tech#3 GeorgiaClean, Old-Fashioned HateW 42–10
November 24VanderbiltWake ForestW 55–21

Bowl games

Nine SEC teams became bowl eligible, and all were selected for post-season competition. SEC teams are bolded.
Bowl GameDateStadiumCityTelevisionTime TeamScoreTeamScore
Franklin American Mortgage Music City BowlDecember 31LP FieldNashville, TennesseeESPN12:05 PMVanderbilt38NC State24
Chick-fil-A BowlDecember 31Georgia DomeAtlantaESPN7:30 PM#14 Clemson25#8 LSU24
TaxSlayer.com Gator BowlJanuary 1EverBank FieldJacksonville, FloridaESPN212:00 PMMississippi State20#20 Northwestern34
Capital One BowlJanuary 1Citrus BowlOrlando, FloridaABC1:00 PM#7 Georgia45#16 Nebraska31
Outback BowlJanuary 1Raymond James StadiumTampa, FloridaESPN1:00 PM#10 South Carolina33#18 Michigan28
Allstate Sugar BowlJanuary 2Mercedes-Benz SuperdomeNew OrleansESPN8:30 PM#21 Louisville33#3 Florida23
Cotton Bowl ClassicJanuary 4Cowboys StadiumArlington, TexasFOX7:00 PM#10 Texas A&M41#12 Oklahoma13
BBVA Compass BowlJanuary 5Legion FieldBirmingham, AlabamaESPN1:00 PMPittsburgh17Ole Miss38
Discover BCS National ChampionshipJanuary 7Sun Life StadiumMiami Gardens, FloridaESPN8:30 PM#1 Notre Dame14#2 Alabama42

Awards and honors

National awards

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.

NFL Draft

Home attendance

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