There’s a pattern South Carolina can’t seem to shake, and it’s hard to miss now: once the Gamecocks build a lead, the game somehow starts slipping through their fingers.
That feeling was on display again Saturday against Kentucky. South Carolina jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the second quarter, but Williams-Brice Stadium didn’t exactly feel celebratory. The crowd had seen this script before, and for good reason.
This isn’t a one-game problem. In 2023, the Gamecocks led No.
1 Georgia by 11 at halftime and still lost by 10. Later that year, they were up 10 late against Florida and lost in regulation.
In 2024, they led LSU by 17 and lost, helped along in part by some questionable officiating.
The trouble has only felt more pronounced since the start of the 2025 season. In SEC play over the last season and a half, South Carolina has gone to halftime with the lead five times and won only once. That lone win came against Kentucky over a year ago, which also stands as USC’s last conference victory.
The numbers behind those collapses are ugly. After those halftime leads, South Carolina has been outscored 100-38 in the second half and overtime, lost the turnover battle 3-1, and had nine offensive drives that never even produced a first down.
This season has brought more of the same. The Gamecocks led Missouri by two at halftime and lost by two scores.
Then came the meltdown against unbeaten, No. 3 Texas A&M, when South Carolina didn’t score in the second half after taking a 27-point halftime lead in what remains the most-embarrassing loss of the Shane Beamer era.
Even in the Kentucky game, USC managed only seven points after halftime.
The third quarter has been the real problem. Through three conference games this season, South Carolina has not scored a point in the third quarter and has been outscored 31-0. It blew a 16-point lead against Mississippi State on Sept. 19, then blew another 17-0 advantage against Kentucky before falling on the Wildcats’ successful two-point conversion in overtime.
Beamer said the staff is looking for ways to change the routine.
“Games are getting away from us in some ways in the third quarter,” Beamer said. “We’re looking at, ‘Are there things that we do a little bit differently at halftime, or are there things that we do differently when we come back out on the field after halftime?’
And the answer is ‘yes.’ I mean, we’re going to tweak some things this week just to try and shake it up.”
He added on Sunday that the issue keeps showing up even though South Carolina has had success in the past when it played with a lead.
“We’ve always been a team that’s been really, really good when we’ve been ahead,” Beamer said during his Sunday teleconference. “But for whatever reason, we’re in this rut right now where we get ahead and we just haven’t been able to finish.”
Beamer does not get a pass here. He talked all offseason about making changes so his team would close better, and those changes have not produced results. The halftime messaging, the adjustments, the plan - none of it has stopped the slide.
At the same time, the execution has been rough, especially in the second half this season. South Carolina had chances to put Kentucky away if Nyck Harbor catches the third-and-2 pass that hit him in the stomach.
It had another chance if CB Vicari Swain stays with his man, TE Willie Rodriguez, on the two-point conversion. And it had a path to seal things if Maurice Brown takes the fourth-down direct snap and runs through the A-gap, as the play called for, instead of bouncing outside.
That has raised the obvious question: is this some kind of mental block?
“I don’t think it is,” Beamer said. “I don’t think anybody in that locker room comes out of the locker room at halftime and thinks, ‘Uh-oh, here we go.
It’s the third quarter.’ I don’t.
I’ve never once sensed that.
“I don’t think it’s a mental thing,” he continued. “I don’t think it’s a physical thing. I think it’s just that we’ve got to be better.”
Swain said he doesn’t have a neat explanation either.
“I don’t really have an answer for that,” Swain said. “I’d just say, coming out of the half, rather than just being complacent with where we are at the half, we might have to come out with more energy. Just not thinking we won the game because we won the first half.”
Mazeo Bennett echoed that uncertainty.
“Honestly, I don’t even know. I don’t have an answer for that.
We just have to go out there and play better. We have to go finish games and sustain the lead when we have it.
And every time we have the ball, we have to go score.”
If only it were that simple.
In Other News...
South Carolinas Return Game Just Put Nyck Harbor On Notice
South Carolina made a noticeable tweak on special teams against Mississippi State, turning its kickoff return duties from Nyck Harbor to Jaquel Holman during the game. The switch was not a surprise in the sense that both players have been in the mix this season, but it did add a little more clarity to how the Gamecocks are evaluating the role as the year goes on.
Special teams coordinator Matthew Smiley said Holman has shown improvement and brings a fearless approach to returning kicks, which helps explain why the staff wanted to see him in that spot. Holman has averaged 23 yards on four returns this season, while Harbor has averaged 19.3 yards on four returns, leaving South Carolina with at least one more interesting decision to sort through as the return game develops. [Read more 🡒]
South Carolina Is Still Chasing A Defensive Line Target To Watch
South Carolina is continuing to work the board on the defensive line, and 2027 prospect Gehrig Felix has emerged as a name worth watching. The South Alabama commit made a visit to the Gamecocks for their game against Kentucky, where he met with coaches and spent time talking through how he could fit into Travian Robertsons defense.
Felix has been productive this senior season, with 19 tackles and four for loss in six games, and that kind of early impact is exactly why South Carolina remains interested. For the Gamecocks, the visit was another chance to make a pitch to a player already pledged elsewhere, and the next steps in that evaluation will be worth tracking. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Is Suddenly Facing A Dangerous Spot Before Its Brutal Stretch
Floridas upcoming run is getting attention for all the wrong reasons, and the Week 6 pick against South Carolina only adds to the unease. The broader upset trends through Week 5 suggest underdogs have not been cashing in at the usual rate, especially in Group of 6 versus Power 4 games, but this matchup still stands out because of how the two teams have looked and what each side has coming next.
South Carolina has its own questions to sort through, but the Gamecocks are being viewed as the side better positioned to take advantage if Florida is even a little off. One wrinkle worth watching is Dylan Stewarts status, with his suspension situation still listed as TBA, leaving one more piece of the puzzle unresolved as the Gamecocks line up for a game that could say plenty about both teams. [Read more 🡒]