Josh Pate isn't willing to say that Shane Beamer is on the hot seat, but the Gamecocks coach needs to do a better job of finding ways to get the most out of what he has on the roster.
Beamer and South Carolina football are somewhere in no man's land under the current college football structure. The Gamecocks don't seem to be any closer to making the 12-team CFP bracket, but they are in one of the two superpower conferences where the expectations will always be higher.
 "Let's not forget that, as recently as the season before last, you guys were flirting with the college football playoff. You were right there," Pate said. "Now there is that small matter of going 4-8 last year. Yes, that's not great. No, that doesn't make anyone feel good."
That's an understatement. A year after South Carolina almost had a breakthrough, the Gamecocks were just not good enough. A close loss to Bama, a total second-half choke job against Texas A&M, getting dragged at home by Vanderbilt...everything that could go wrong in 2025 did go wrong.Â
Shane Beamer has to find the special sauce in 2026
Pate makes the point of Beamer needing to find the "edges" of the program. Finding something that South Carolina can do that no one else can. That's easier said than done because most of the 65 power four programs and about a dozen G5/6 teams are also looking for the same thing, and if everyone is looking for the same thing, they are generally looking in the same places.
The good news is LaNorris Sellers stayed. Dylan Stewart stayed and Beamer did some work in the portal, adding top offensive tackle Jacarrius Peak to the mix. Pate agrees that there are some great players on the Gamecocks roster.
"You can't possibly think that you're about to start acquiring talent at a top ten level. They went and got Jacarrius Peak, the best available offensive tackle in the portal," Pate added. "They do have Dylan Stewart there, and they do have LaNorris Sellers there. They've got great players there. They don't have a great roster, but they've got great players. They've got a good enough roster to improve on 4-8."
The last line is key. Does South Carolina have enough to get to the playoffs? That remains to be seen, but the first half of the Gamecocks' schedule is very friendly. However, if they are going to make any noise, it's going to be up to the best players playing at a high level and Beamer finding those little additives that will be the difference between wins and close losses.