Shane Beamer wasn't playing for overtime, he was playing for the win vs. Missouri

South Carolina was able to finish a close game this season that didn't result in a loss. Some would say that the Texas A&M win was close, but it felt like the Gamecocks were in the driver's seat for the majority of that game. In the game against Missouri, South Carolina was driving in the first half, but things got rocky in the second half.

When South Carolina was down by three points with a little over a minute left in the fourth quarter, some fans were probably thinking it wasn't as bleak as it could be because a field goal could tie it and send it to overtime. However, with three timeouts in his pocket, head coach Shane Beamer was never planning on going into overtime.

After the big pass to Dalevon Campbell that put the Gamecocks into field goal range, Beamer knew the game wasn't going to overtime and the Gamecocks were walking away with the win.

"We know we're in field goal range, but we're not playing for overtime," Beamer said in his post-game press conference. "We weren't playing for overtime, but we also wanted to be smart."

The Gamecocks were able to score with just 15 seconds left on the clock, making it that much harder for Missouri to pull off a miracle. The defense stepped up yet again with a sack and an interception to end the game and get South Carolina's first win over Missouri in five years.

South Carolina started the season with three losses against ranked opponents, but now they have three straight wins over ranked opponents in consecutive games for the first time in program history. The close losses early in the season helped South Carolina win tonight because they learned a lot from those losses.

"I think [we’re] just battle-tested," Beamer said. "This is just life. when you go through shared struggles together, I truly believe it makes you closer and even more resilient."

After starting the season 3-3 and their College Football Playoff chances seemingly down the toilet, suddenly, South Carolina is 7-3 and is known as the best three-loss team in the country right now, and their chances of making the playoffs are small but grow with each win. If the Gamecocks can win their final two games this season, which would include a ranked matchup against Clemson, they have a chance with the way chaos has erupted this season.

Beamer is truly leading this program and building something special in Columbia, but gives all the credit to his players.

"I tell high school prospects and their families all the time that the best days of South Carolina football are right in front of us," Beamer said. "I truly, truly believe that with the direction that we're headed right now."

When the Gamecocks were 3-3, fans were ready to move on from Beamer, but really, he is the reason South Carolina is where they are right now and is in line to have their best season on the fourth-year head coach.