Jeff Blake-Imagn Images
By Hunt Palmer
Shane Beamer’s South Carolina squad played some of the best football in the country last November.
The Gamecocks smoked Texas A&M, played Alabama straight up in Tuscaloosa and went to Clemson and won a thriller. At 9-3, they were left out of the College Football Playoff, but expectations were high as LaNorris Sellers returned to lead the 2025 version of the team.
It hasn’t gone well.
South Carolina was throttled by Vanderbilt in Columbia in a game that Sellers left with a concussion. A week later the Gamecocks fell at Missouri by two scores. A win over hapless Kentucky entering the bye week helped, but now things get dicey for Beamer’s outfit.
South Carolina’s next five are: at No. 11 LSU, No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 8 Alabama, at No. 4 Ole Miss, at No. 5 Texas A&M. That’s five of the top 11, and three are on the road.
Let’s take a look at how South Carolina got to 3-2.
A reminder that the smaller the ranking, the better the statistic. Also, 30 teams have played six games. The rest of the country, South Carolina included, has played five. Some stats don’t have a ‘per game’ breakdown, so the total number can be shewed by the lack of a game.
Green: Top 25
Red: Bottom 50
OFFENSE
Scoring Offense: 92nd, 24.8 points per game
Total Offense: 122nd, 308.6 yards per game
Yards per play: 95th, 5.3 yards per play
Plays: 133rd, 57.6 plays per game
Rushing Offense: 122nd, 99.8 yards per game
Yards per carry: 132nd, 2.9 yards per carry
Rushing Attempts per game: 86th, 34.4 attempts per game
Rushing Touchdowns: 95th, 6
Passing Offense: 88th, 208 yards per game
Completion Percentage: 44th, 66.4 percent
Passing Touchdowns: 116th, 4
Interceptions Throw: 20th, 2
Third Down Conversions: 107th, 35.5%
Fourth Down Conversion attempts: 49th, 11
Red Zone Touchdown Percentage: 117th, 50%
20-plus yard plays: 89th, 20
10-plus yard runs: 109th, 18
20-plus yard passes: 59th, 17
First Downs: 121st, 17.2 per game
Sacks Allowed: 118th, 15
Tackles For Loss Allowed: 105th, 6.2 per game
Time of Possession: 132nd, 26:15:00 per game
Statistically, South Carolina is the worst offense in the SEC. They don’t throw it well. They don’t run it well. They give up a lot of sacks and a lot of tackles for loss. Because of that, they don’t convert third downs or possess the ball for long stretches. They’re also not explosive.
Other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?
It’s a little jarring to see an offense led by a preseason Heisman contender bottom out like this. South Carolina has a stunning six (SIX!) non-offensive touchdowns this season. Those scores do limit possessions while artificially inflating scoring stats. Still, after five games, South Carolina has scored just 10 offensive touchdowns. That’s really poor.
LaNorris Sellers is still as dynamic an athlete as there is at quarterback, but he doesn’t have a lot of help up front or in his group of weapons. Nyck Harbor is averaging 20 yards per catch, but he’s only made 11 catches in five games. He’s probably the best overall athlete in college football at 6-foot-5 and 235 lbs. with legitimate Olympic speed. None of the rushing options average more than 32 yards per game.
It’s been a struggle.
DEFENSE
Scoring Defense: 33rd, 18.8 points per game
Total Defense: 44th, 323.4 yards per game
Yards per Play Allowed: 35th, 4.87 yards per play
Run Defense: 70th, 143.2 yards per game
Yards per Carry Allowed: 48th, 3.6 yards per carry
Rushing Touchdowns Allowed: 33rd, 5
Passing Defense: 31st, 180.2 yards per game
Completion Percentage Allowed: 25th, 57%
Yards per Passing Attempt Allowed: 52nd, 6.7 yards per attempt
Interceptions: 19th, 6
Passing Touchdowns Allowed: 16th, 4
Sacks: 22nd, 2.8 per game
Tackles for Loss: 62nd, 5.8 per game
Third Down Defense: 118th, 44.4% conversion rate
Red Zone Touchdown Percentage Allowed: 25th, 47.1%
20-plus yard plays: 33rd, 16
10-plus yard runs: 73rd, 24
20-plus yard passes: 31st, 12
South Carolina’s best numbers here are affecting the passing game. They’ve gotten into the backfield for sacks and done a good job playing the ball. However, the passing offenses they played haven’t been very good. South Carolina State is an FCS team. Virginia Tech ranks 92nd. Kentucky ranks 116th. That’s the three wins. Missouri (51st) and Vanderbilt (47th) aren’t juggernauts, and they averaged 30 points in those two games.
Dylan Stewart is an explosive rusher, and he has 3.5 sacks and seven tackles for loss. He’s lived up to his sophomore hype. Bryan Thomas Jr. has done his part on the other side with three sacks and five tackles for loss.
This South Carolina unit isn’t as good as it was last season, but it does have some star power. LSU’s scuffling offense will need to clean up its play to move the football. Vanderbilt and Missouri were able to.
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