Beamer recycles a system during the bye. Why that could help USC this weekend
Just thinking about South Carolina football’s history coming back from a bye week, head coach Shane Beamer knocked on the lectern Tuesday afternoon — not wanting to jinx anything.
The Gamecocks have succeeded when returning from a bye, not just while Beamer has led the program, but overall. USC is 13-3 since 2007 when coming back from a bye week, including wins over Tennessee (2018), Georgia (2019) and Alabama (2010).
In the last two years, Beamer and Co. defeated Florida 40-17 in 2021 and Texas A&M 30-24 in 2022. And in preparation for Florida on Saturday, Beamer said he hasn’t changed his approach to the bye week all three years. It’s a process he’s comfortable with, that he said balances evaluations, preparation and relaxation.
There are more than three steps, but these three points were some Beamer said the Gamecocks enforced during the open week.
1. Evaluating where they are as a team
The first thing on the to-do list during a bye week — look at what’s gone right, and what’s gone wrong.
For one, there were multiple injuries that needed to be addressed. Beamer said the majority of the team is “fine,” with the exceptions of Antwane “Juice” Wells Jr. and Cason Henry, who are out with their respective injuries.
Then, it’s about evaluating how certain schemes and lineups performed through the first five weeks.
“What we need to do to get where we want to go as the season goes on, was great to you know, reevaluate some personnel schemes, you name it.”
This week’s depth chart against Florida hasn’t changed from the Tennessee game and earlier, but that doesn’t mean Beamer won’t try and mix things up on the field Saturday afternoon. It’s just a matter of which positions will see some changes.
“We have to play and coach better on the offensive line at every position, center, at guard, tackle really everywhere on offense, for sure,” Beamer said. “And part of the bye week was being able to step back and kind of re-evaluate everything and think outside the box a little bit. And maybe the same five guys will be out there Saturday, maybe you know we’ll make an adjustment.”
2. No talk about last season vs. Florida
As straightforward as it sounds, it’s still a sticking point for the Gamecocks, Beamer said. Last season’s 38-6 loss to Florida hasn’t been and won’t be mentioned by the head coach this week.
Debo Williams said the same thing, that there’s no need to focus on the 2022 Gators with the 2023 Gators around the corner.
Beamer said he started introducing plans to prepare for Florida before sending the players off for a few days off during their practices, but didn’t want to hammer down details until game week against the Gators. Now that the South Carolina roster is back in its regular schedule, the focus on what Florida will bring to Williams-Brice this weekend is back at the forefront of conversations.
“You know, it’s last year,” Beamer said. “I haven’t mentioned at one time with the coaching staff and I haven’t mentioned last year’s game one time with the team and don’t plan on it.”
3. Let USC’s players rest
Even if the bye week is about evaluations and getting ahead, the bye week is also supposed to mean rest for the players. Beamer said he gave the Gamecocks a long weekend to “get away.”
“They needed to get away physically, mentally,” Beamer said.
Beamer said the staff haven’t taken any true days off since the start of the season, and the players haven’t had much more than a typical Monday, going back to August. The players and staff returned Sunday afternoon for team meetings and practice, to which Beamer said there was a lot of energy.
“They’re college students just like everybody else, and they have problems just like everybody else,” Beamer said. “Also so certainly on the off weekend it was good for for everyone be to get away from it and ... to be able to come back in here and refreshed and ready to go on Sunday.”
A bye week in Week 7 is still early, even if it is the halfway point of the season. USC likely won’t have another off day outside of the NCAA mandated Mondays the rest of the season, with three straight SEC (two on the road) to start the second half of the schedule.
But it’s time for South Carolina to focus on Florida, period. Beamer said the Gamecocks are jumping right back into it, and just like the beginning on the season, there’s no easing into things.
Game info: South Carolina vs Florida
Who: South Carolina (2-3, 1-2 SEC) vs. Florida (4-2, 2-1 SEC)
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium
When: 3:30 p.m. Saturday
TV: SEC Network
Stream: via the ESPN app
This story was originally published October 11, 2023 at 7:00 AM.
