South Carolina suffered another gut-wrenching defeat on Saturday.
The Gamecocks were up 34-33 in overtime and needed a stop on Kentucky’s two-point conversion to secure the win, but they couldn’t get it. The Wildcats converted the deuce with a pass to wide-open tight end Willie Rodriguez to win the game.
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Kentucky fans in Williams-Brice Stadium went wild, while South Carolina fans were stunned, especially after leading 17-0 in the first half. The loss dropped the Gamecocks to 2-3 overall and 0-3 in SEC play.
Why the end could be near
Shane Beamer is in his sixth season as the South Carolina head coach, but he’s not getting the results he did in 2024, when the team went 9-4.
Since then, the Gamecocks finished the 2025 season 4-8 and are now 2-3 through their first five games, with even tougher matchups ahead. Next up, they have to play an angry Florida Gators team that just lost to Missouri.
After that, they will host the Tennessee Volunteers, who are also really good. Unless a big upset happens, South Carolina is likely sitting at 2-5 before traveling to Norman to play the Oklahoma Sooners.
With all of that, it feels like it’s time for the Beamer era to end. The school should begin launching a full search for his replacement.
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