The South Carolina Gamecocks fell just short of their first 3-0 start since 2012 on Saturday, losing 36-33 to the No. 16 LSU Tigers at Williams-Brice Stadium.
South Carolina seemed to be in control of the game at various points, jumping out to a 17-0 lead and entering the locker room at halftime with a 24-16 lead.
South Carolina’s dynamic quarterback, LaNorris Sellers, left the game right before the half with an ankle injury and didn’t return, leading to backup quarterback Robby Ashford having to run the offense in the second half.
There were many reasons South Carolina lost, and head coach Shane Beamer did not blame the officiating outright.
“A lot of the plays I send in I either have a question about like, what did you see or explain this rule to me better. We have sent in quite a few today. And that process is just me going through the tape and essentially just writing it down, the play number and what my question is or comment is and then giving it to George Wynn, our director of football operations, and he submits it. I’m sure there’s a lot of calls that LSU sent in that they were unhappy about. So there’s some interesting things,” Beamer said via On3.
Beamer repeatedly stressed he was looking for clarification instead of complaining and pointed out one example after South Carolina kicker Alex Herrera missed a potential game-tying field goal as time expired as something he didn’t understand, as he felt LSU should have been flagged for taunting.
“This isn’t sour grapes or Shane’s complaining, but I’ve been told that this year in the SEC that celebrations are going to be allowed. I watched games the first weekend and I see some guys doing celebrations in the end zone. That’s great, let these guys have fun. But I was told celebrations were going to be allowed a little bit. But there’s going to be a very clear emphasis on taunting,” Beamer added.
South Carolina will look to get back in the win column when they host the Akron Zips on September 21.
[On3]
