South Carolina’s season has flipped fast, and the strangest part is that the turnaround may have been built on the skid that nearly buried it.
The Gamecocks are 5-3 overall and 3-3 in the SEC now, riding a three-game winning streak into a very different conversation than the one that surrounded them a month ago. In October, plenty of fans were calling for Shane Beamer’s job.
By the end of the month, the talk had shifted to whether No. 21 USC could still find a path to the College Football Playoff.
That swing came after South Carolina opened conference play with three straight losses: a blowout at Alabama, plus blown leads against Mississippi State and Kentucky. Since then, the Gamecocks have beaten No.
16 Florida, No. 11 Tennessee and Oklahoma.
The obvious question hangs over all of it: would this run have happened without the rough patch that came before it?
“I would think so,” Beamer said Tuesday, “but at the same time, I think you grow from adversity. ... I would like to think that we didn’t have to go through the losing streak to be where we are right now, playing at a high level. But I also believe know that there is growth that comes from adversity.”
That’s the kind of question nobody can answer cleanly. If South Carolina had handled LSU in September, maybe the season looks entirely different.
Maybe the Gamecocks still catch fire later. Maybe they don’t.
But changing one result and assuming everything else stays the same is a neat theory that doesn’t really fit how a season works.
Beamer has spent time thinking about that, including conversations with coaches outside football. One of them was Tony Bennett, who coached Virginia basketball for 15 seasons.
Bennett’s Cavaliers became the first 16-over-1 upset in NCAA Tournament history in 2018, then came back a year later and won the national title. After that championship, Bennett offered a line Beamer has clearly carried with him.
“If you learn to use (adversity) right,” Bennett said, sharing a lesson he learned through a TED Talk, “it will buy you a ticket to a place you couldn’t have gone any other way.”
Beamer said Tuesday, “Maybe there is something to that. During (the losing streak), we grew closer as a team and we learned a lot about ourselves as a team, on and off the field too. And we’re definitely better for it.”
If there’s a face to South Carolina’s change, it might be quarterback LaNorris Sellers. During much of the losing streak, he looked unsettled, missing open throws and appearing unsure of himself. In the last three wins, he has looked like a different player entirely, throwing with conviction and playing as if the mistakes aren’t waiting around the corner.
Beamer pointed to Sellers’ relationship with first-year offensive coordinator Kendal Briles as part of that shift, especially as the outside noise intensified.
“I think the growth, just between Kendal and LaNorris,” Beamer said, “just from a personal level - as you learn about one another ... you grow through shared struggles.”
That may be the cleanest explanation for South Carolina’s season right now: the losing streak didn’t just precede the winning streak. It may have helped shape it.
In Other News...
South Carolina Fans Just Got A Clear CFP Message From The Committee
The College Football Playoff committees first in-season rankings sent a familiar message across the sport, and South Carolina fans had reason to notice it. The initial list leaned heavily toward the SEC, with the committee elevating several league teams above unbeaten squads from other conferences and signaling once again that rsum, schedule strength and quality wins will matter as much as raw record.
For the Gamecocks, it was a reminder of how narrow the margin can be in a crowded playoff race. The committees chairman pointed to the absence of signature wins for teams such as Notre Dame as a reason they landed lower, while SEC teams were given credit even with losses on the ledger. South Carolina now has a clearer sense of the standard it will be judged against, even if the road ahead still leaves plenty to be decided. [Read more 🡒]
South Carolinas New-Look Roster Already Showed Why Fans Should Believe
South Carolinas new-look mens basketball roster wasted little time giving fans a reason to buy in, rolling past Stetson 81-55 to open the 2026-27 season. Juan Fernandez led the way with 20 points, Cam Heide added 13, and the Gamecocks looked every bit like a team built to be harder to handle around the basket than they were a year ago.
The size and rebounding edge was obvious from the start, and it gave South Carolina a steady foundation even as the lineup featured plenty of new faces. For a team trying to establish an identity early, that kind of opening-night performance matters, especially when the pieces are still learning how to fit together. [Read more 🡒]
Texas A&M Gets A Real Opening Against Surging South Carolina
South Carolinas late-season surge has made its next trip through the SEC a little more interesting, even after the Gamecocks climbed to No. 21 in the College Football Playoff poll. They have won three straight conference games, including a recent win over Oklahoma, and have given themselves real momentum heading into a matchup with Texas A&M that now carries a different kind of weight for both sides.
Texas A&M comes in looking to steady itself after a loss to Alabama, while Mike Elkos team tries to keep moving forward against one of the leagues hotter squads. South Carolina will have to do it without running back Matt Fuller because of injury, adding another wrinkle to a game that already feels like a useful measuring stick for how far the Gamecocks have come and how much more they still want to prove. [Read more 🡒]