South Carolina football: Shane Beamer refuses to call Clemson by name

The South Carolina football coach referred to the program as “our in-state rival.”

Shane Beamer kicked off his first ever SEC Media Day event on Monday, and absolutely took the league by storm. He made references to the current state of the program and his expectations for the future. He also threw in a few recruiting notes from what’s been a busy Summer in Columbia, and was able to earn the respect of fellow SEC coaches and supporters.

SEC Network analyst Jordan Rodgers is already anointing Beamer with his MVP of SEC Media Day honors. Pretty impressive for his first time at the podium.

One thing that was rather noticeable is Beamer’s omission of the word “Clemson.” Asked on multiple occasions how he plans to make headway in the rivalry and get the Gamecocks back to national relevance, the South Carolina head coach would only refer to the program as “our in-state rival.”

This is nothing new in college sports. Ohio State frequently refers to archrival Michigan as TTUN or “the team up north.” It’s been seen in many other rivalry matchups around the country, as well.

Beamer himself knows the significance of the rivalry in South Carolina first-hand. The new leader was on staff under Steve Spurrier in the early 2000s, and helped jumpstart the Gamecocks’ five-game winning streak over the Tigers between 2009 and 2013.

Unfortunately, things have changed in the time that Beamer’s been gone, with the South Carolina program now on a current six-game skid to Clemson. The Tigers have become a perennial playoff contender year in and year out, while the Gamecocks have won just six games since 2018.

Beamer vowed, though, to get the Gamecocks back to the pinnacle of college football.

"“Our goal is to be the very best we can be… I’m 100% convinced that the best days of South Carolina football are in front of us.”"

Part of getting to that point is making this rivalry competitive once again. He’ll get his first chance to take down his “in-state rival” this November in Williams-Brice Stadium.