Perhaps folks will start believing this South Carolina team is for real. Despite entering as road underdogs, head coach Shane Beamer's Gamecock team got their third-straight victory over the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday afternoon.
It was a convincing 42-25 win as South Carolina now improves to 5-3 on the season. The victory was fueled by both a dominant Gamecock defensive effort (for three quarters) and a monster performance from quarterback LaNorris Sellers.
LaNorris Sellers rebounds after shaky start and puts up video game numbers
This game couldn't have started any worse for Sellers early in the game. He led South Carolina's first scoring drive, fueled by a strong running effort capped off with a 15-yard rushing touchdown from Sellers.
Following two consecutive punts by both teams, disaster struck for Sellers. Early in the second quarter on second down, Sellers threw a pick six to Oklahoma defensive back Kip Lewis:
LaNorris Sellers is intercepted and Oklahoma returns it 30 yards for the pick six 😳 pic.twitter.com/C2yPPS7scI
— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) October 31, 2026
The score allowed Oklahoma to even the score at 7 and give momentum back to the Sooners at home. But instead of crumbling and continuing to make mistakes, Sellers rebounded impressively. He led the Gamecocks to three more scoring dives before halftime to give his team a 28-10 halftime lead. Two of those scores were touchdown passes for Sellers, including an 84-yard bomb on 3rd-and-12. He impressively stepped up in the pocket on the throw, too:
LaNorris Sellers with a rocket to score the 84-yard TD 🚀 pic.twitter.com/hI6rHGxyvU
— ESPN (@espn) October 31, 2026
But Sellers did not slow down in the second half. He scored another 11-yard rushing touchdown late in the third quarter to make it 35-10 South Carolina. But his best throw of the day came on a 79-yard bomb to Mazeo Bennett Jr. on a play that initially looked as if he was going to get sacked:
LaNorris Sellers at his best can be the best player in college football
— Will Thomas (@willthomascfb) October 31, 2026
He evades the sack and finds Mateo Bennett for the 79 yard touchdown
South Carolina is putting a BEATING on Oklahoma pic.twitter.com/sTWuFyerG8
He did throw a second interception in the third quarter, and with South Carolina up 42-19, Coach Beamer took Sellers out of the game with such a big lead. In all, Sellers finished 19-of-24 passing for 301 yards with three touchdowns and the two picks. He also led the Gamecocks in rushing with 96 yards and two scores on 13 carries. It was a season-high day of passing for him, and it was one of his best performances on the ground.
It was also a great day as a whole for Kendal Briles' offense, which put up 521 total yards of offense, as the unit also finished 8-of-14 on third down.
Defense falls flat in fourth quarter
If it wasn't for such a big South Carolina lead, this game could have easily gone the other way. The Gamecock defense fell apart in the fourth quarter, giving up 17 points, including two passing touchdowns to Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer. After the game, Beamer told reporters he was not happy with the team's fourth-quarter effort:
Beamer: Don't like the way we finished, that's not our standard. https://t.co/rxUiOdwxUe
— David Cloninger (@DCPandC) November 1, 2026
Coach Beamer is now 2-0 against the Sooners when he plays Oklahoma in Norman. It's a familiar place for Beamer, who coached for Oklahoma for three seasons under former Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley from 2018-2020.
With the victory, South Carolina is officially just one win away from reaching bowl eligibility.
Next up for the Gamecocks is a home game against the Texas A&M Aggies, with kickoff set for 3 p.m. ET.
ALSO READ: South Carolina RB Matt Fuller leaves Oklahoma game with apparent ankle injury
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