The South Carolina Gamecocks upended Nebraska 30-13 in the Capital One Bowl. Can they use this game to jumpstart a 2012 BCS run?

This team has had a rollercoaster of a ride in 2011 that saw far more success than failure.

They won close games against Auburn, Navy, Mississippi State, Georgia and Florida. They won all but the Auburn contest.

They were also manhandled by Arkansas to the tune of 44-28.

They watched as their All-Star running back, Marcus Lattimore, went down with an ACL injury and their starting quarterback, Stephen Garcia, was booted from the team. Despite maintaining a position well within the Top 25 all season long, there were moments where this team looked anything but an elite program.

On the other hand, that Georgia win ended up looking pretty good in light of the Bulldogs' 10-game winning run and finished the regular season with a strong 34-13 win over a Clemson team that put together a strong season of its own.

While they may have looked more than shaky at times, they also looked awfully good at others.

Through it all though, this team may have come out the other side smelling like a pot of roses. QB Connor Shaw quickly made fans forget inconsistent Garcia. RB Brandon Wilds averaged over 4.5 yards per carry and showed that the ground attack has more depth than just Lattimore.

In this Capital One Bowl, the defense largely shut down Nebraska's offense. They held QB Taylor Martinez to just 116 passing yards with a touchdown and an interception. They limited RB Rex Burkhead to 89 yards on 23 carries and kept him out of the end zone.

Meanwhile Shaw threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns while running for 40 yards and another score. RB Kenny Miles stepped in and ran for 67 additional yards and another score.

What makes this team so exciting for the future though, is that they're a young squad.

Lattimore will hopefully come back next year as only a junior. Wilds will be just a sophomore and Shaw will only be a junior.

Their top three receivers are underclassmen. Alshon Jeffrey is a junior, Ace Sanders is a sophomore and Bruce Ellington is only a freshman.

Jeffrey could decide to forgo his senior season to enter the 2012 draft, but the rest of SC's core offense is young enough to hang around a year or two.

The defensive secondary will take a hit or two. LB Antonio Allen and DB C.C. Whitlock are seniors. DB Stephon Gilmore is a junior, but could opt to go pro this year.

The line loses some big talent too when DE Melvin Ingram and DL Travian Robertson graduate.

However, if this unit can do half as much as they did this year, the Gamecocks should be considered a strong contender for the SEC East crown and could have an honest shot at winning the SEC title outright.

Big bowl wins on big stages set the tone for the next year. South Carolina's big win over Nebraska in one of the biggest non-BCS bowl games could help catapult them into a BCS bowl next season.

Key pieces are in place. They've identified their leader (Shaw), and the return of Lattimore could make their offense terrifying.

The SEC and the rest of the nation should take notice. This team is set to come into its own in 2012.