The South Carolina Gamecocks are traveling to Norman, Oklahoma this weekend to take on head coach Brent Venables and the Sooners. Both teams enter this game 4-3, in what should be another great game inside the SEC.
For Gamecock sixth-year head coach Shane Beamer, this is somewhat of a homecoming for him. Before getting hired as South Carolina's head coach in Dec. 2020, he spent three seasons with the Sooners from 2018-2020.
On former Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley's staff, Beamer was his associate head coach and tight ends coach.
He had quite the successful tenure there on Riley's staff, as well. During his three seasons in Norman, Beamer helped Oklahoma finish with a 33-6 overall record. The Sooners also made consecutive 12-2 finishes and back-to-back appearances in the College Football Playoff in 2018 and 2019. Riley left Norman one season after Beamer's departure to take the South Carolina job.
Coach Beamer spoke this week about how special it will be to return to Norman.
“Excited about going back to Norman," Beamer said via Gamecock Central. "As you guys know, somewhere that I spent three years at, and I had three special seasons out there living in Oklahoma. A lot of great friends that we made as a family that are still friends to this day, a lot of great players that I was able to be around and coach during that time, and somewhere that I’ve got a lot of respect and admiration for that program, that place, that fan base and the tradition at OU. So, looking forward to going back there."
This is Beamer and the Gamecocks' second trip to Norman. South Carolina travelled there in 2024, as South Carolina won 34-9.
Beamer will be hoping that his team can have a similar result this time around.
Although South Carolina is listed as road underdog, the Gamecocks have played well in recent weeks with wins over Florida and Tennessee. The Gamecocks are looking to keep that momentum going against a Sooner team that is coming off a road win against Mississippi State.
Saturday's game will kick off 4:15 p.m. ET and air live on SEC Network.
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