‘We didn’t finish’: What Shane Beamer said after USC’s loss to No. 4 Alabama
As the clock winded down on South Carolina’s game against No. 4 Alabama at home Saturday, it seemed the Gamecocks might pull off a major upset and find some solace in an otherwise down season.
Those hopes were dashed as quarterback LaNorris Sellers fumbled the ball to start a potential game-winning drive, and handed the keys to the Crimson Tide. They didn’t miss that opportunity.
USC fell 29-22 to Alabama and to 3-5 (1-5 in the SEC) on the year. Here’s what Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer had to say after the game:
Spoiled upset
Beamer didn’t hide the disappointment in his opening statement after the loss.
“Obviously a gut-wrenching loss to say the least. ... Really proud of our team and how they played today. That’s not a surprise. I mean, I knew we would. That’s who we are. That’s the culture in this football program right now, that the culture in our program is stronger than ever, and it was on display today.”
He said that he felt the key to the loss was not finishing in the fourth quarter, something Alabama did and the Gamecocks were unable to do.
“Give Alabama credit. To be down on the road going into the fourth quarter about eight points, and to do what they did in the fourth quarter, give them credit. I just told our team in the locker room, we’ve got to finish. We’ve got an eight point lead at home. [The] crowd is losing their minds in there. It’s electric, and we’ve got to go finish. We didn’t finish and they did. So that’s a hurt locker room in there, as you can imagine.”
Injury report
Heading into the week, Beamer said his team was the healthiest it had been since its 29-20 loss to Missouri on Sept. 20. Beamer said the only Gamecock to come away from Saturday’s game banged up was tight end Moe Brown, who exited the game with an upper-body injury.
“We lost Moe Brown, but you guys know what a weapon he is on special teams. We lost him to an upper-body injury, I think on the first punt, when they punted. And so he didn’t play the whole game, which is a big loss, because he’s such a weapon. He’s a starter on every special team that we have.”
Beamer said the loss of Brown was particularly disappointing given the plans USC had for him this game.
“We wanted to be able to get him going a little bit more today on offense, to just, you know, being able to get us 10, 15 plays in there. So we lost some of that from a tight end standpoint, and then certainly, we lost our best special teams player.”
Alabama’s final drive
Beamer revealed that USC was hoping to force Alabama into a field goal from 40-yard range to end the fourth quarter and potentially go to overtime, but then chose to let the Crimson Tide score a touchdown after their first down on the final drive. He explained that he wanted to give USC one more chance on offense and avoid the game ending on chip shot.
“That’s why I used my timeouts. I wanted them to kick a 40-something-yard field goal. But we said if they get the first down, we need to let them score, because otherwise they’re just going to run the clock down and basically kick an extra point to win the game.”
USC got the ball back with 34 seconds on the clock but was unable to capitalize.
Offensive scheme changes
USC’s offense looked different against Alabama than in recent performances. The Gamecocks called multiple designed QB runs and rollouts, and seemed to lean into its best players, especially Sellers. Beamer revealed the adjusted scheme came to be from a conversation he had with offensive coordinator Mike Shula this week.
“It’s easy to say simplify, but we were probably less volume in the game plan today. I told Mike and the offensive coaches ... we ain’t gonna out-scheme Alabama. Let’s get whatever our best freaking stuff is schematically, and let’s get it in the game plan and figure out who our best players are, and just feature our best plays and our best players over and over and over again. I don’t care if we have 10 plays in the game plan, just run those 10 over and over again.”
Defensive performance
The Gamecock defense had a standout game and were a big part of why USC was in a position to pull off an upset in the first place. Beamer credited pressuring Alabama QB Ty Simpson and USC’s defensive front for the success.
“If you look just statistically in the SEC, I think we’re better in pass defense than anybody they had played. So we liked our matchup out there. We didn’t do anything different defensively. We wanted to heat [Simpson] up a lot and put pressure on him and stop the run, and we did that. I mean, they had two yards rushing at halftime, and we did a nice job stopping the run and keeping him in the pocket. We missed a couple sacks that turned into big plays. But, you know, proud of the way those guys played up front.”
Season struggles
Beamer reflected on the difficulty of this season and how he feels about being at the helm of USC’s lackluster year and how he’s been able to cope with the weight of things not going how he wants.
“As the head coach and the leader of this program, I feel like I’m letting a lot of people down. And I know today, I let a lot of people down that we weren’t able to get this win, because our players put so much into it. And I wish I had something I could say to them to make it better. I know our fans hurt.”
“But you know, I just told the team in the locker room, yes, it’s been a tough year, and that weighs heavily on me as the leader of the program. But you know, I don’t see my family much during the week because I’m in the facility, which sucks. But outside of seeing my family when I come home at night, if they’re still awake, the best part of my day is the four hours that I get to spend with the players when they come in our building. They’re just an awesome group of kids, and I really hurt for them, but I love coaching them, I love spending time with them.”
This story was originally published October 25, 2025 at 8:36 PM.
