Analysts are still furious over refs robbing South Carolina in loss to LSU
If South Carolina doesn't make it into the College Football Playoff this season, every single fan is going to point the finger at the LSU game, not because of what their team did, but what happened to their team.
The first is the fact that the Gamecocks lost starting quarterback LaNorris Sellers in that game, who was a catalyst for the offense and was lethal in both the passing and rushing game. Losing Sellers completely changed the game for South Carolina, but so did something else.
Penalties were a big problem against LSU, but it doesn't mean every call was correct. The Gamecocks were flagged 13 times for 123 yards against the Tigers, but some calls were more crucial than others. Two defensive touchdowns scored by South Carolina were called back due to penalties called on EDGE rusher Kyle Kennard. One of the two might have been warranted, which was the unnecessary roughness call, but the horse caller penalty was very borderline.
Now that we are just weeks away from the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff being announced, South Carolina fans are anxiously awaiting to see if their Gamecocks have done enough this season to make it in, even with three losses, the first being to LSU.
Football analysts have been on the side of the Gamecocks all season long, with ESPN's Dan Orlovsky consistently saying South Carolina deserves a shot. Even ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit said after the South Carolina-LSU game, a game he was calling, that the calls in that game would be talked about for a while and they are definitely being talked about right now.
If CFB Selection committee looks truly at every game & "injury" factor, then South Carolina ABSOLUTELY deserves a real look at the Playoff if they beat Clemson
— Peter Burns (@PeterBurnsESPN) November 24, 2024
Their loss to LSU was due to LaNorris Sellers injured in that game & several horrendous calls that cost them.
Give even one of those called-back touchdowns back to the Gamecocks, and it doesn't come down to a missed field goal by kicker Alex Herrera. That would give South Carolina two losses on the season versus three and would even put them in the top three or four teams in the SEC and could be primed to have a spot.
South Carolina has one last chance to make their case to the College Football Playoff committee as they take on a ranked Clemson team this weekend in a game that could send the winner right in the final spot in the playoff.
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