Helpless and hapless: South Carolina’s season hits new low in loss to Oklahoma
It was at about 3:15 p.m. Saturday when Williams-Brice Stadium began emptying, fans circling down the exits ramp late in the third quarter, perhaps headed across George Rogers Boulevard to the S.C. State Fair.
There was no reason to stay because there was no question as to what South Carolina was going to do. The Gamecocks haven’t done a lot of good this season, but give them credit: They’ve been predictable, and they proved it again in their 26-7 loss to No. 14 Oklahoma.
South Carolina is going to miss tackles. It’s going to keep 6-foot-3, 240-pound quarterback LaNorris Sellers in shotgun. It’s going to keep calling run plays into the heart of the defense — trusting, hoping, praying that it’ll work this time. It’s going to find itself behind the chains, scrambling and coming up short on third down. It’s going to try at least one fake punt a game, which probably won’t work when everyone on defense knows it’s coming.
The Gamecocks are going to look sloppy and unprepared. They’re going to look helpless and hapless and feel so unlucky that you begin to wonder if it’s not luck, but something else, working against them.
If you took any of coach Shane Beamer’s preseason hype seriously, they were supposed to be able to compete with and beat any team they play.
“I am not getting the most out of this team right now, offensively, defensively and special teams,” Beamer said after the game.
South Carolina (3-4, 1-4 SEC) is now more than halfway through this 2025 season. It needs to beat, at least, Alabama, Ole Miss or Texas A&M to even have a chance at making a bowl game. And if you watched Saturday’s game, that feels almost impossible.
All that is to say this: The Gamecocks’ season might not be over ... but it sure feels that way.
South Carolina’s offense finished with 224 total yards Saturday, a season low. They scored seven points in a game for the second time this season.
They’ve already pulled the fire-a-coach-in-the-middle-of-the-season lever, dismissing offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley. Perhaps Beamer could keep pulling that lever, but it feels unlikely, though the constant boos from fans and continuous chants of “Fire Shula” (referring to offensive coordinator Mike Shula), could cause Beamer some thought.
And, while new offensive coach Shawn Elliott was effective in lessening the penalties, he wasn’t able to completely overhaul the entire unit in a week. The Gamecocks gave up six sacks and a dozen tackles for loss while running for just 54 yards on 34 carries.
Even worse: South Carolina was 2 of 14 on third down.
When it mattered the most, the Gamecocks lacked a hero. It also didn’t help that South Carolina’s defense struggled to shut down drives, allowing the Sooners to convert on eight of their 16 third-down tries.
And despite all that, South Carolina was within striking distance for most of the day — as it’s been in a number of its SEC contests ... before losing.
“What’s the goal for this season? What’s a successful season?” Beamer said. “To get the most out of this team. And right now, I’m not getting the most out of this team as the head football coach.”
The surprise was not that South Carolina went into halftime down a touchdown. It was that the Gamecocks ran into the locker room only down 14-7.
USC looked hopless for nearly the entire first half, almost incapable of playing winning football. To its credit, South Carolina answered Oklahoma’s opening touchdown, driving down to the 9-yard line.
But the Gamecocks somehow missed out on getting any points. They handed the ball off to Rahsul Faison on three straight plays. Not until fourth down did Sellers keep the ball, and he was tackled short of the end zone.
A quarter later, the Gamecocks again had the ball first and goal — this time from the 1-yard line. And, again, the 6-4, 240-pound Sellers was at quarterback, taking the snap out of shotgun and handing it off.
It took until South Carolina’s eighth goal-to-go play of the game for Sellers to throw a pass. He lobbed the ball into the end zone, where a wide-open Nyck Harbor snatched it. Touchdown. Finally.
By halftime, South Carolina trailed Oklahoma (6-1, 2-1 SEC) in every statistical category. Most notable: Penalties. A week after getting flagged 13 times in their loss to LSU, the Gamecocks did not commit a single penalty in the first half Saturday. Meanwhile, the Sooners earned eight first-half flags for 73 yards ... and still led by a touchdown.
If you turned on the TV at halftime, it looked like South Carolina was still in the game. But like all the fans at Williams-Brice Stadium who left early on Saturday, anyone who’s watched this team knew exactly how the game would end.
Next South Carolina football game
- Who: South Carolina vs. Alabama
- When: 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25
- Where: Williams-Brice Stadium
- Watch: ABC
This story was originally published October 18, 2025 at 4:07 PM.
