Shane Beamer came out of South Carolina’s 17-9 win over Texas A&M sounding like a coach who knew exactly what kind of game he’d just survived. He hugged his father, Frank Beamer, after the final whistle and called it the sort of ugly, low-scoring fight his dad used to love.
The younger Beamer had plenty to like, too, especially after the No. 21 Gamecocks held the Aggies to nine points on a night when the defense faced 86 plays.
“I think we had 86 plays ran against us, and they just kept making stops,” Beamer said after his fourth straight win and the clinching of his fourth postseason trip in six seasons. “To have 86 plays ran against you and only give up nine points, it's freakin’ awesome.”
That kind of night left South Carolina with more than just another win. It also put LaNorris Sellers in the middle of the game’s biggest swing, and maybe its biggest concern. Sellers scored a touchdown and appeared to re-injure his ankle in the process, creating two very different possibilities: one where the Gamecocks’ playoff hopes crashed if the defense couldn’t finish the job, and another where South Carolina won but had to wonder whether its quarterback would be able to go in the final three games.
Sellers sounded calm afterward and said he was fine. Beamer said he wasn’t worried. Still, the injury will be one of the first things to watch if Sellers says he didn’t practice because there’s a black-and-blue cantaloupe where his ankle used to be.
The game itself had the feel of a back-alley brawl, and South Carolina also avoided one of the night’s nastier turns when Jason Autrey’s ruling on a fumble recovery stood. That decision cost a potential lede and would have let Nyck Harbor become Nyck “Hands” Harbor.
South Carolina’s offense did show a different gear early. The Gamecocks pushed the pace on their first touchdown drive, going 75 yards in eight plays over 2:54.
Texas A&M looked completely scrambled on the touchdown, a screen to Mazeo Bennett, after the Aggies had just spent 6½ minutes on a 15-play field-goal drive. It was enough to make it look like Kendal Briles wanted to speed the whole thing up and force the Aggies to chase.
On the other side, one of the night’s biggest hidden plays came before the scoreboard really started to tilt. David Olano tried a fake field goal on Texas A&M’s first possession, and South Carolina saw it coming.
“That was a great job (by) our guys. That's a fake that they've, their special teams, I'm not even sure it's the coordinator.
It's like they're analysts that they have on the staff,” Beamer said. “Maybe it is the coordinator, but they, not just A&M, but previous schools that those guys have been at, they had run that fake in the past.
And something that we looked at this week and talked about, ‘Be ready for it.’”
Texas A&M still spent much of the night leaning on field goals, including a miss after reaching first-and-goal at the 7. The sequence that followed was ugly: a dropped touchdown, two false starts, a dropped swing pass and a run up the middle that kept the ball in the middle.
Defensively, South Carolina did not have one of its cleaner nights. Clayton White’s group had been playing well over the previous three games, but Texas A&M pushed it around and finished with 457 total yards.
The Aggies averaged nearly 5 yards per rush and moved the ball with force up front. Still, as White has said, and as plenty of others have repeated, “Yards ain’t points.”
The Gamecocks also had to deal with a uniform look that didn’t land well. The combo drew plenty of eye-rolls because the garnet and black clashed in a way that made the whole thing look off from the start.
There were bright spots beyond the headline names. Brady Hunt, the blocking tight end, caught three passes for 51 yards after having 14 for 118 all season.
David Bucey, the safety who many thought was just holding a place until J’Zayvien Currence took over, finished with seven tackles and a pass breakup, including one stop on the fake field goal. He had 22 tackles with another PBU in the previous eight games.
That kind of production is why this one felt bigger than the score. South Carolina got the win, got bowl eligibility and kept its College Football Playoff hopes alive.
Next week’s trip to Arkansas is no longer about simply getting to six wins, but the stakes are still heavy. A victory would keep the CFP dream moving and set up a massive week of anticipation for a presumed No.
1 Georgia showdown in two weeks.
Arkansas, at least on paper, should not be a problem. The Razorbacks are in their first year under a new coach and have won five conference games over the past four years. Even if Sellers can’t go, it still should not be a disaster.
But South Carolina has already spent enough time flirting with one. November has been kind to Beamer’s team, now 15-7 in the month, and a loss in Fayetteville would cost the Gamecocks far more than they can afford.
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Dawn Staleys Clemson Visit Had A Personal Twist Gamecocks Fans Will Notice
Dawn Staley made a familiar kind of appearance with an unexpected angle this week, heading to Clemson to take in a mens basketball game and support her godson, Madden Collins. Collins, who plays for American University, ended up leading his team with 23 points in the loss, while Staley showed up in an American University hoodie after spending the earlier part of the day at practice with her own South Carolina team.
For Gamecocks fans, the trip is another reminder of how deeply Staley stays connected to the broader basketball world even in the middle of her own programs grind. A Clemson visit is always going to draw attention around these parts, but the personal tie to Collins made it more than just a casual courtside stop, and it added a little extra intrigue to an otherwise ordinary night on the schedule. [Read more 🡒]
LaNorris Sellers Just Put South Carolinas Momentum On Edge
South Carolinas surge rolled on Saturday with a 17-9 win over Texas A&M, a result that gave the Gamecocks their fourth straight victory and locked up bowl eligibility. The night had plenty of familiar ingredients for this stretch run, with special teams making a real impact and key players stepping up when the game tightened.
LaNorris Sellers was at the center of it again, scoring the game-winning touchdown even after taking a second-quarter injury that sent him to the sideline with assistance. South Carolina got the result it needed, but the sight of its quarterback leaving the field added a layer of concern to a win that otherwise kept the momentum very much alive. [Read more 🡒]
LaNorris Sellers Injury Suddenly Puts South Carolina's Offense On Edge
LaNorris Sellers gave South Carolina an uneasy moment in the second quarter against Texas A&M when an opposing player landed on his left ankle, briefly putting the Gamecocks offense in a vulnerable spot. Sellers was evaluated and X-rays came back negative, a relief for a team that has leaned on his presence and playmaking to steady the attack.
He returned to the field for halftime warmups, leaving open the possibility he could play in the second half, but the situation still put the spotlight on how South Carolina would handle the offense if he could not go. Shane Beamer acknowledged the concern while also showing confidence in backup Cutter Woods, a reminder that even with a negative test result, the Gamecocks were still waiting to see how much Sellers could give them after the break. [Read more 🡒]