Gamecocks struggle to beat ranked teams under Beamer. Why can’t they win the big one?
The South Carolina Gamecocks and Shane Beamer must be running out of patience, right?
After a heartbreaking 27-25 loss to No. 7 Alabama on Saturday, South Carolina dropped to 3-14 against ranked opponents under Beamer, with no wins against those top teams since 2022.
It’s become a frustrating trend this season: The Gamecocks often come close but keep letting winnable games slip away.
They have made a habit of shooting themselves in the foot this season. Penalties, turnovers and self-inflicted mistakes have been the culprits in some close losses, including Saturday’s narrow defeat in Tuscaloosa.
Beamer, drawing inspiration from Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, recalled a Tomlin quote that seems painfully relevant to USC’s struggles.
“We gotta stop kicking our own butt before we worry about kicking somebody else’s,” Beamer said, paraphrasing Tomlin. “We’ve had a lot of that.”
The Gamecocks have turned the ball over 12 times this season, effectively negating the 12 takeaways they’ve gotten. Nine of those turnovers came against their three ranked opponents — including four against Alabama.
Despite those mistakes, South Carolina has hung tough in these games. They lost to both Alabama and then-No. 16 LSU by a combined five points.
“I think we’re extremely close,” Beamer said when asked about finishing games. “But I think we also know the margin of error, in this league especially, is extremely small.”
The inability to finish games has continued to be an issue. In the losses to Alabama and LSU, USC squandered fourth-quarter leads, leaving Beamer disappointed in how those games slipped away.
South Carolina entered the fourth quarter with the lead Saturday and even picked off Alabama’s Jalen Milroe on the first drive of the quarter. But they gave the ball right back with a fumble, setting up a short field and an Alabama touchdown. USC never regained the lead.
“We can look back at Saturday in Tuscaloosa and there’s so many opportunities on all three phases — offense, defense and special teams — that we had opportunities to finish that game and not even let it get to a final drive,” Beamer said.
Despite the losses, Beamer remains focused on helping the Gamecocks grow each week by emphasizing the positives, win or lose. While the wins against ranked teams haven’t come yet, he sees encouraging signs.
One of those signs has been the offense’s improvement. After scoring three points against Ole Miss, the Gamecocks rebounded with a much better performance against Alabama, though protecting the quarterback and avoiding turnovers remain issues.
Had USC closed out its tight games this season, the narrative and outlook on 2024 would be drastically different. Instead of sitting at 3-3 and aiming for bowl eligibility, they could be 5-1 with SEC Championship game hopes.
“This group is an older, mature group where I don’t have to tell them,” Beamer said in reference to building on the positives. “They’re hurt. They’re disappointed.”
There’s always noise after a big game, win or lose, but South Carolina isn’t buying into it. They weren’t swayed by the negative buzz after the blowout versus Ole Miss, and they’re not indulging in “you did so well” talk after nearly upsetting Alabama.
“They’re not into the moral victories,” Beamer said.
Wins against ranked teams under Beamer
- 2022: South Carolina 24, No. 13 Kentucky 14
- 2022: South Carolina 63, No. 5 Tennessee 38
- 2022: South Carolina 31, No. 7 Clemson 30
Losses against ranked teams under Beamer
- 2021: No. 2 UGA 40, South Carolina 13
- 2021: No. 17 Texas A&M 44, South Carolina 14
- 2021: No 23 Clemson 30, South Carolina 0
- 2022: No. 16 Arkansas 44, South Carolina 30
- 2022: No. 1 Georgia 48, South Carolina 7
- 2022: No. 21 Notre Dame 45, No. 19 South Carolina 38
- 2023: No. 21 North Carolina 31, South Carolina 17
- 2023: No. 1 Georgia 24, South Carolina 14
- 2023: No. 21 Tennessee 41, South Carolina 20
- 2023: No. 20 Missouri 34, South Carolina 12
- 2023: No. 24 Clemson 16, South Carolina 7
- 2024: No. 16 LSU 33, South Carolina 30
- 2024: No. 12 Ole Miss 27, South Carolina 3
- 2024: No. 7 Alabama 27, South Carolina 25
