The South Carolina Gamecocks fell 35-34 on Saturday night, in what felt like one of the last chances for Shane Beamer to keep his job. He was out Beamer-Balled against Kentucky head coach Will Stein, as his gutsy 2-point conversion call in overtime gave the Wildcats the win.
The loss dropped the Gamecocks to 0-3 in SEC, and a 2-3 record overall. As South Carolina is set to take on Florida next week, it feels as though head coach Shane Beamer could be fired at any point during the remainder of the season.
The loss was yet another blown lead by Beamer during his South Carolina career, and perhaps was the most disappointing because the Gamecocks showed fight throughout, and played better than they had in recent weeks.
But with the loss to Kentucky, South Carolina under Coach Beamer has now blown seven two-score leads. According to CBS Sports' Brad Crawford, the 17-0 squandered lead the Gamecocks had was one of several the Gamecocks have had under Beamer.
Here's a look at all of them, dating back to the 2022 season.
2022: Led 21-7 against Notre Dame, lost 45-38
In Shane Beamer's second season as head coach, he led the Gamecocks to an 8-4 finish and a Gator Bowl berth against Notre Dame. Although South Carolina got out to a 21-7 in the first quarter, the Gamecocks gave up a game-tying touchdown to the Irish in the third quarter to make it 24-all.
Although South Carolina responded to both of Notre Dame's two touchdowns, the Irish scored the game-winning touchdown drive during the game's last six minutes.
2023: Led 14-3 against Georgia, lost 24-14
South Carolina went on the road against Georgia and played well early, taking a 14-3 lead at halftime. But the Gamecock defense surrendered three unanswered touchdown drives to the Dawgs to lose 24-14.
2023: Led 37-27 against Florida, lost 41-39
This one was actually quite the entertaining game throughout. In a back-and-forth first half, Florida went to the locker room with a 24-21 lead.
Florida led 27-24 in the third quarter, but South Carolina scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The second score was helped by a blocked Gator field goal attempt that gave the Gamecocks the ball back.
But the Gamecocks surrendered two touchdowns in the games' final five minutes to give the Gators a 41-39 win.
2024: Led 17-0 against No. 16 LSU, lost 36-33
South Carolina looked on the verge of upsetting a No. 16 LSU team in this one. Playing at Williams-Brice, the Gamecocks took a 17-0 lead, forcing the Tiger offense to punt on their first three offensive possessions.
But LSU started to chip away at the lead in the second quarter, as Tiger quarterback Garrett Nussmeier put together three scoring drives before halftime to cut South Carolina's lead to 24-16, as LaNorris Sellers scored on a 75-yard touchdown run in the second.
In the second half, LSU pulled within two points with a third quarter touchdown on a five-play, 45-yard scoring drive to make it 24-22. It was an eventful fourth quarter, with both offenses trading touchdowns, but South Carolina's two-point conversion attempt kept it a one-point margin at 30-29 Gamecocks.
South Carolina capitalized off an LSU fumble with a field goal to make it 33-29, but Nussmeier's eight play, 55-yard scoring drive sealed a 36-33 victory.
2025: Led 30-3 against No. 3 Texas A&M, lost 31-30
South Carolina was on the verge of upsetting No. 3 Texas A&M last season, leading 30-3 in the first half. But in a stunner of a second half, the Aggies scored 28 unanswered points in the last two quarters to win 31-30.
2026: Led 16-0 against Mississippi State, lost 41-34
Just two weeks ago, the Gamecocks looked on the verge of starting the season 3-0. South Carolina led 16-0 early in the second quarter. The Gamecocks even went to the locker room with a 23-14 lead at halftime.
But the Bulldogs scored 27 unanswered points in the second half, as South Carolina fell 41-34.
2026: Led 17-0 against No. 24 Kentucky, lost 35-34
This might be the most brutal loss of Beamer's career yet. This was a much-needed victory for South Carolina, entering 0-2 in SEC play. The Gamecocks got out to a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Although unlike the game against the Bulldogs, South Carolina kept it competitive towards the end. But in the end, Coach Stein's two-point conversion call allowed the Wildcats to get the win.
While obviously Beamer's 35-33 overall record at South Carolina is enough to justify moving on from him, the blown leads just gives athletic director Jeremiah Donati even more justification to make a coaching change.
Add us as a preferred source on Google