Officiating a football is not easy. In fact, it's a really hard thing to do. Ideally, officials call clear penalties and let the two teams on the field decide the game with how they play. However, on Saturday, the SEC officiating crew in charge of manning the LSU-South Carolina football game at Williams-Brice Stadium had a huge impact on the outcome.
Just at first glance, 13 accepted penalties for 123 yards went against the Gamecocks and 9 accepted penalties for 75 yards went against the Tigers. Speaking generally, that's too much. After the game, South Carolina football head coach Shane Beamer went as far as to apologize to the fans, saying that he and his team were sorry for what happened because, "You're not going to win football games in the SEC with 13 penalties."
The ABC/ESPN broadcast duo of Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler didn't think Beamer should have been apologizing. In the immediate aftermath of Alex Herrera's missed game-tying field goal, Herbstreit emphatically said that officiating "decided things" between South Carolina and LSU and that the calls made in the game would be something "everyone is going to talk about." After the game, he tried to soften the stance but didn't back down from the impact the penalties had on the game.
What a game. Game could have gone either direction. Some tough calls late in the game that I’m sure many will be talking about for some time. Congrats @LSUfootball and good luck to @GamecockFB rest of the year. This was Ben’s vantage point from back home. pic.twitter.com/eGu6qz99RS
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) September 14, 2024
The total number of penalties was bad enough, but some of the penalties were questionable (at best) and took away huge plays.
The Gamecocks had two defensive touchdowns erased by penalties against Kyle Kennard. One was a horse collar penalty that would not have been a penalty at any point before this season and was a borderline call on Saturday. The other was an unnecessary roughness call in which Kennard gave a blindside shove to LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier as he was on his way to try to stop Nick Emmanwori on his 100-yard score. On a long completion from Nussmeier to Kyren Lacy that set up the winning score for the Bayou Bengals, an egregious hold against LSU was missed.
On offense, a potentially game-sealing deep ball completion from Robby Ashford to Dalevon Campbell was wiped away due to a ticky-tack offensive pass interference call away from the ball, and there is an argument to be made that Campbell was interfered with on the play, regardless. There also was a phantom false start called against the Gamecocks that set them back before being forced to punt earlier in the game.
Former Gamecock players like DJ Swearinger, Damiere Byrd, and Bryson Allen-Williams took to social media to voice their displeasure with the officiating, but the amount of 3rd-party complainers was what really drove home the reality of what happened on Saturday.
Barstool Sports' Dave Portnoy called the referring in the game "openly cheating for LSU," 247Sports' Brad Crawford argued that the "game was stolen from South Carolina," and virtually every unaffiliated fan commenting on the game on social media (even some Clemson Tigers fans) contended that South Carolina football lost thanks to the officiating.
It is important to note that the Gamecocks had every opportunity to win this game despite the poor officiating.
Carolina led 17-0 and was dominating on defense before switching up their front and running more zone on the back end. The conservative approach allowed LSU to have some success and gain confidence as they got back into the game.
Near the end of the game, a Gamecock defensive back dropped an interception at the goal line that would have sealed the victory. It wouldn't have been an easy play as the LSU defender was on his back, but the play was there to be made.
At the end of the game, South Carolina football head coach Shane Beamer and offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains were too conservative, electing to play for a 50-yard game-tying field goal instead of spiking the ball to save some clock and get an extra play or two to move a little closer.
Starting quarterback LaNorris Sellers was injured near the end of the 1st half, and despite trying to give it a go in the 3rd quarter, backup Robby Ashford had to come into the game. Ashford had some good moments and some not-so-good moments, but there didn't seem to be much faith in his ability to throw the ball as the Gamecocks all but abandoned their air attack in the 2nd half, making it much easier for the LSU defense to get stops.
After a big turnover in the 4th quarter, Rocket Sanders (who had just scored a 66-yard touchdown on his previous touch) was not given the ball as the Gamecocks gained 0 total yards on 3 downs before settling for a field goal.
Still, even with all of the missed opportunities that do fall on the Gamecocks' shoulders, South Carolina football fans can't help but feel as if there were forces outside of any players' or coaches' controls that kept their favorite team from being victorious against LSU.