Shane Beamer left Saturday with a headline-making win and an old argument still hanging in the air.
South Carolina stunned Tennessee, 27-24, thanks to Malik Orsan’s last-second 48-yard field goal, and Beamer had plenty to celebrate after the upset. But the conversation also circled back to the 2022 meeting between these teams, a 63-38 South Carolina rout over then-No. 5 Tennessee that still seems to draw noise from Volunteers fans.
That game featured Spencer Rattler at quarterback, and he put up huge numbers with 438 passing yards and six touchdowns. Afterward, some Tennessee fans floated claims that South Carolina players wore arm bands for the first time that season, with the idea being that the Gamecocks had access to Tennessee’s play calls.
Beamer wasn’t having any of it.
“It’s disrespectful to our players and coaches that scored 63 points against them that night,” Beamer said. “I don’t know what conspiracy theories they will come up with this year. “Maybe light from the State Fair.”
Shane Beamer went off on 2022 Tennessee conspiracy theories after beating the Vols:
"It's disrespectful to our players & coaches that scored 63 points against them that night.
"I don't know what conspiracy theories they will come up with this year.
"Maybe light from the State…
- SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) October 25, 2026
The bigger story, though, is how South Carolina has steadied itself after looking lost just a couple of weeks ago.
Two games earlier, Beamer was facing pressure after the Gamecocks coughed up another double-digit lead in a 35-34 overtime loss to Kentucky. Since then, they’ve answered with a dominant performance against Florida in the Swamp and then backed it up again by taking down Tennessee, which came in off a win over Alabama.
That stretch has kept South Carolina together and, at least for now, has Beamer and the Gamecocks focused on the 2026 season.
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Tennessee brings a very different kind of challenge into Columbia after beating Alabama and keeping its College Football Playoff hopes alive. For South Carolina, this is the sort of measuring-stick game that can say plenty about whether the Florida breakthrough was a one-off or the start of something steadier, and with the league race still taking shape, the stage at Williams-Brice should be as loud as it is revealing. [Read more 🡒]
Lamont Paris Finally Has What South Carolina Fans Wanted To See
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South Carolina has already used that lift to remake the roster, bringing in 12 new players and leaning on several international transfers in the process. Greenberg praised Paris for the coaching job he has done and said the new group has enough potential to make the Gamecocks more competitive in the SEC, which is exactly the kind of development fans have been waiting to see. [Read more 🡒]