Why Shane Beamer sent these two officiating calls to SEC from Vanderbilt game
South Carolina was assessed two roughing-the-passer penalties in big spots of its 31-7 loss to Vanderbilt.
Both calls came on third downs when the game was still in reach, and the Gamecocks needed a stop. But both calls were seemingly toeing the line of roughing the passer also arguably not been called at all.
South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer was asked on his Sunday teleconference how he could go about coaching his players to avoid the penalty.
“My question exactly,” Beamer responded.
The Gamecocks sent both calls to the SEC office in search of guidance from the league on the best way to avoid them, Beamer said.
“Yes, we did send both those in, honestly, just to get some clarification on how exactly we’re supposed to coach that,” Beamer said.
At the end of the day the calls were made and South Carolina lost the game. All the Gamecocks can do is continue to emphasize what the rule states roughing the passer is, though some guidance from the SEC would likely be appreciated by Beamer.
“We understand. We talk to our players endlessly about showing players where the quarterback is getting hit, going back to last year,” Beamer said. “This last year was legal. This year they may call this on you, some of the hits we had on quarterbacks last year. So we’ve really tried to emphasize it, but there were some tough ones (Saturday) night.”
Here’s a breakdown of the two penalties along with some more thoughts from Beamer on the plays:
Bryan Thomas’ penalty
South Carolina had a shot at forcing a turnover on downs with a tie game just before halftime. A roughing-the-passer call on Bryan Thomas Jr. extended a Vanderbilt drive.
Vanderbilt had 3rd-and-long and midfield. QB Diego Pavia dropped back and rolled to his right to evade Dylan Stewart, who was barreling through a gap in the middle of the line. Pavia put on the brakes and jumped as he threw the ball back to his left and found Tre Richardson, who was able to scamper for a first down.
As Pavia jumped to get the throw off, so did Thomas.
In a bang-bang play, Thomas — who was no more than a yard away and in full-speed pursuit of Pavia — launched himself just barely after the Commodores quarterback got the ball out of his hands. Thomas crashed hard to the ground with Pavia wrapped up in his arms underneath him. A nearby official threw a flag.
“Bryan Thomas has gotta try and at least hold up there a little bit,” ESPN analyst Jordan Rogers said on the broadcast. “Probably can’t avoid contact entirely. It’s tough to stop 250 pounds running full speed when the quarterback’s throwing back across his body.”
The penalty, coupled with the gain on the play, moved Vanderbilt just outside the red zone to South Carolina’s 23-yard line. The Commodores scored four plays later and took a 14-7 lead as a result.
It’s possible the flag was thrown because Thomas landed on Pavia with all of his body weight. Though that’s fair in the realm of the roughing-the-passer rule, Beamer pointed out he’s genuinely curious how he is supposed to help the Gamecocks avoid it happening.
“Bryan Thomas had already initiated the act of going to tackle the quarterback as the quarterback jumped in the air to throw the ball,” Beamer said Sunday. “So other than Bryan Thomas being able to, while in mid-air, turn his body to avoid landing on the quarterback, I don’t know how to coach him. I’d like clarification from the SEC on what exactly we’re supposed to be telling him.”
Dylan Stewart’s penalty
Down 21-7 late in the third quarter, South Carolina needed a stop. For a moment, it appeared the Gamecocks were bailed out by Vanderbilt’s own mistakes.
Vandey successfully converted on 3rd-and-1 deep in South Carolina territory before the play was waved off by a personal foul call. The penalty moved the Commodores back to 3rd-and-16. Then Vanderbilt got hit with a pre-snap penalty, moving the Commodores back even farther.
On 3rd-and-21 from their own 49-yard line, Pavia dropped back and fired a pass across the middle to All-SEC tight end Eli Stowers for a first down. To make things even worse for the Gamecocks, Stewart was flagged for roughing the passer.
Stewart’s “hit” that was called for a penalty was much more tame than Thomas’ from earlier. South Carolina ran a stunt that called for Stewart to go from his position on the end of the line behind D-lineman Monkell Goodwine, resulting in Stewart being the one applying pressure on Vanderbilt’s interior.
After a beat, Stewart was able to leak through the line and he jumped up to deflect Pavia’s pass. Stewart missed the ball, but his momentum kept him going. While he wasn’t able to avoid Pavia entirely, he gave him what could be best described as a shoulder check (albeit, a light one).
Pavia hit the ground after the contact and the flag was thrown.
“I don’t know if that’s roughing,” Rogers said on the broadcast. “And I know I’m a quarterback, I’m biased – I’m a Vandy quarterback. Not a ton of big contact. He kinda bumps him.”
Beamer echoed the sentiment on his teleconference Sunday night.
“The one on Dylan I thought if we’re going to call that a late hit, or whatever it was, I can send plenty of worse things being done to our guys,” Beamer said. “But again I’m sure there’s plays Vanderbilt disagreed with also.”
The completion to Stowers combined with the penalty yardage set Vanderbilt up in the red zone at the South Carolina 13-yard line. Luckily for the Gamecocks, Justin Okoronkwo was able to pick off a pass from Pavia two plays later to give the ball back to South Carolina (though nothing came of the ensuing drive).
