What’s up with South Carolina’s offense: Poor execution or serious concern?
It is hard to make generalizations with such a small sample size.
It is too early to know exactly what No. 11 South Carolina’s offense is going to look like, but the returns through two games are lackluster.
Sure, the Gamecocks’ offense against Virginia Tech was bland, but at least LaNorris Sellers hit Nyck Harbor for a 64-yard touchdown. Plus, it’s hard not to grade on a curve after the season opener.
That curve, though, drastically shrinks when it’s Week 2 or you’re up against an FCS opponent.
Many folks on social media and message boards are already going after the play-calling of offensive coordinator Mike Shula, which seems unfair this early in the season. Especially when there was plenty of creativity in Saturday’s offense.
There was a triple-option play where Sellers pitched the ball to Jared Brown ... but you could argue Sellers should have kept the ball. And, even worse, Brown dropped the pitch.
There was a reverse end-around to Harbor in the second quarter, which resulted in a first down but not a massive gain.
There was an early dump-off pass to tailback Rahsul Faison, which might have turned into a chunk play if the pass wasn’t batted down at the line of scrimmage.
“We’ve got to be more consistent and clean that up,” coach Shane Beamer said in his Sunday teleconference. “We didn’t play enough winning football last night, particularly offensively.”
The Gamecocks’ offense looked especially bad running the ball, picking up only 3.5 yards per carry. And per Pro Football Focus, Sellers didn’t force a single missed tackle on Saturday and only collected 9 yards after contact. (He had 51 yards after contact against Virginia Tech.)
There was an especially-ugly run from Sellers on a 3rd-and-10 just before kicker William Joyce missed a field goal in the second quarter.
Sellers took the snap and immediately looked confused. He was swarmed by defenders and safely slid down. Beamer chalked that up to miscommunication. Sellers said one thing. A teammate heard something different.
On their own, none of those mistakes are egregious. But together, it’s concerning.
“It’s early in the football season and we’ve got a lot of new players,” Beamer said. “Trying to get everyone on the same page. And we’ve played two good football teams, in my opinion, and we haven’t been consistent enough.”
What’s odd is this early-season inconsistency comes after coaches and players raved about how the offense looked during preseason practices. How improved the offensive line look. And how unbelievable the freshman wide receivers were. How Sellers was taking the next step as a passer.
Even the redshirt sophomore quarterback himself said the offense hasn’t been as good in games as it was during summer practice just two weeks ago.
“I’m not sure if it’s the competition,” he said, “or just the different looks from seeing our defense to looks from other teams.”
Whether you chalk that up to details, execution or coaching, the Gamecocks need to find an answer quick.
They begin SEC play on Saturday against a Vanderbilt squad that just hung 44 points on Virginia Tech — the same Hokies team that allowed 24 to South Carolina.
Gamecocks’ next game
Who: South Carolina (2-0) vs. Vanderbilt (2-0)
When: 7:45 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia
Watch: SEC Network
This story was originally published September 7, 2025 at 7:07 PM.
