What Shane Beamer said after South Carolina’s loss to Ole Miss
With three more wins required for South Carolina football to earn bowl eligibility, the Gamecocks entered Saturday’s contest against Ole Miss needing to win one of its final two SEC games.
USC (3-6, 1-6 SEC) is now down to one conference matchup left and still searching for that elusive win after it fell 30-14 to the Rebels in Oxford, Mississippi.
Here’s what Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer had to say after the Gamecocks’ fourth loss in a row:
Opening statement
Beamer cited a lack of “finish” from his team the second week in a row. South Carolina led against Alabama 15-14 in the fourth quarter Oct. 25 before losing 29-20. The Gamecocks trailed 20-14 in the fourth quarter against the Rebels on Saturday.
“Credit to Ole Miss. They made the plays when they needed to make them, prepared the right way,” Beamer said. “We came in here expecting to win. We got this thing to the fourth quarter just like we said we needed to do, 20-14 going into the fourth quarter, and we didn’t finish. Gotta perform a whole lot better.”
Staff changes?
Beamer was asked again if he would consider any changes to the staff after the latest loss. His answer this time around was much less combative.
“I’ll look at it,” he said. “Obviously we’ve gotta get a lot fixed, everybody in that locker room, right now.”
Injury report
The Gamecocks entered the contest relatively healthy, missing just three players, and exited almost the same. Vicari Swain went down in the fourth quarter with what looked like an upper-body injury. He went to the tent and remained on the sideline afterward.
Nyck Harbor came off the field limping in the first half, but returned to the game shortly after and later caught a 47-yard touchdown pass.
Beamer didn’t provide any updates on the pair of injured players, but did give props to Dylan Stewart. The sophomore edge rusher ended up playing after coming into the game as a game-time decision.
“I was really proud of Dylan. He had a little upper-body thing that he aggravated (Friday). He truly was a game-time decision,” Beamer said. “Proud of him, and the way he battled it out tonight. Because he certainly did not feel good, he certainly was not one hundred percent, so really, really, really proud of Dylan Stewart, him not feeling great tonight but gutting it out and finding a way to try to help us win tonight.”
Defensive performance
South Carolina’s defense allowed 417 yards of offense and 30 points, but the unit’s performance was better than it reads on paper and held Ole Miss to a 1-for-11 success rate on third downs. The Gamecocks did enough to keep it a one-score game before the Rebels pulled away late, which Beamer credited them for.
“They gave us a chance when it was all said and done, 20-14 entering the fourth quarter. We’ve got to make plays,” he said. “I thought they played really, really hard and gave us a chance, but we’ve got to continue doing a great job of making plays when they’re there to be made.”
First half closing sequence
USC’s closing drive in the first half raised some questions on social media and from broadcast pundits. After an interception by Jalon Kilgore, the Gamecocks ran the ball twice, called no timeouts and punted to finish a three-and-out drive.
Beamer expressed disappointment with how the sequence went, but said there wasn’t a thought to call a timeout in that situation.
“Pretty disappointing three plays right there. We get the ball, we get a turnover, and we’re in two-minute mode and it went nowhere. That was a great opportunity right there that we squandered,” he said. “We needed to work with a little more urgency there.”
Sluggish offense
Despite entering the fourth quarter down just one possession, USC’s offense struggled all game. It finished with 230 total yards and went 3-for-13 on third downs. QB LaNorris Sellers was sacked six times in the game.
“Like always, there’s plays [Sellers] would like to have back,” Beamer said. “We could’ve probably helped the offensive line a bit by stepping up in the pocket at times, but then there’s times where we just get beat up front, too. … Like all of us, there’s decisions I’d like to have back, plays he’d like to have back, all of us.”
Looking ahead
South Carolina has its second (and final) bye of the season next week before heading to College Station, Texas to take on the currently undefeated Texas A&M Aggies.
“We need to find a win. There’s a bunch of competitors in that room,” Beamer said. “We’re trying to get to a bowl game. The only way you can do that is finding a way to win a football game. We’ve got a lot of work to do. We’re not where we want to be. We’ve got a bye week to continue to try and get better and fix some of these issues and go to College Station. We’re not thinking about what’s beyond College Station, we’re not thinking about what’s beyond college station. It’s about this weekend and getting better.”
Beamer said he knows his players will respond, and there’s nothing he can say to motivate them more than they already are.
“We’re sick and tired of this feeling,” he said. “I told them that before the game, ‘I’m tired of coming into the team meeting on Sunday talking about how close we are, talking about we didn’t finish.’ They’re tired of hearing me say it, they’re tired of feeling it, and we’re gonna go right back to work and try to fix these things and get better so we can go out and can finish.”
This story was originally published November 1, 2025 at 10:49 PM.
