South Carolina’s offense goes nowhere in loss to Oklahoma
South Carolina’s offense, once again, found itself floundering in a loss.
The Gamecocks lost 26-7 to No. 14 Oklahoma at home Saturday in Williams-Brice Stadium, the second time South Carolina has been held to seven points in a game this season. Before 2025, the last time the Gamecocks were held to seven points was in 2023 against Clemson.
South Carolina totaled 224 yards in Saturday’s game, split between 170 passing and 54 rushing, and averaged just 3.3 yards per play.
“Not a whole lot to say about that one,” Shane Beamer said. “Pretty disappointing.”
Issues on the ground…again
The Gamecocks’ issues in the run game reared their ugly head again in the loss to Oklahoma. Sure, South Carolina continued to deal with injuries on the offensive line, but the Gamecocks simply couldn’t find a way to establish the run.
South Carolina’s 54 rushing yards came on 36 carries for an average of 1.6 yards per play. A 36-yard rush by Rahsul Faison accounted for most of the teams’ total rushing yards in the game.
“We knew there were going to be some ugly runs,” Beamer said. “It’s a really good defense, one or two in the country and everything. When you’re missing three offensive line starters ... it’s not ideal.
“Not being able to line up and run the ball downhill like we need to, certainly, it was a challenge to do that today.”
At one point it seemed like the Gamecocks were aiming to establish the run no matter the result. A prime example came when South Carolina was faced with a fresh set of downs just one yard away from the end zone.
LaNorris Sellers handed the ball off to Matt Fuller on three straight plays. Fuller picked up a total of minus-1 yard.
The Gamecocks gambled and went for it on fourth and goal. Lucky for South Carolina the gamble paid off and Sellers found Nyk Harbor for a two-yard touchdown pass. It was the lone touchdown of the day for the Gamecocks.
“We had to do something. We tried to run and we got stuffed,” Sellers said. “It’s kind of like, you’ve got to take what’s there. We got to be aggressive when we get down there.”
That example from the second quarter wasn’t the only one though. On South Carolina’s first drive of the game, Faison’s 36-yard rush got the Gamecocks deep into Oklahoma territory at the nine-yard line. South Carolina then ran the ball on four straight plays and only gained six yards before turning the ball over to Oklahoma on downs.
Third-down woes
The lack of success in the run game (and just generally on offense) kept South Carolina behind the sticks all afternoon long.
South Carolina faced an average distance of 7.5 yards to go on third downs against Oklahoma. The Gamecocks were only able to average 2.9 yards per third-down attempt. As such, South Carolina was 3-for-15 on third downs in the game. That set a new season-low mark.
“I looked up one time and I think we were 0-for-10 [on third down], maybe?” Beamer said. “That’s not ideal, to say the least.”
South Carolina was in a third and short situation (between one and four yards to go for a first down) eight times on Saturday. The Gamecocks converted just one of those for a first down.
“Disappointing, too, on some of the short yardage where we weren’t able to finish drives and convert in short yardage situations,” Beamer said.
The Gamecocks were 4-for-7 on third down passes for 37 yards and ran the ball seven times for seven yards on third downs.
“You’ve got to be able to sustain drives and stay on the field and we weren’t able to do that,” Beamer said.
While South Carolina struggled on third down a silver lining could certainly be success on fourth downs. The Gamecocks were 4-for-7 on fourth downs, a season-high mark in attempts and conversions.
