South Carolina football stats that show why Shane Beamer had his worst Gamecocks season
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COLUMBIA — South Carolina football started the 2025 season as the No. 13 team in the nation and ended with a 4-8 record.
The Gamecocks had just one SEC win in coach Shane Beamer’s fifth season. Beamer will return for a sixth season despite his worst record yet, athletic director Jeremiah Donati confirmed to The Greenville News on Nov. 26.
South Carolina’s 28-14 loss to Clemson encapsulated what went wrong all season: a fourth-quarter crumble, a lack of points and a failure to execute in necessary moments.
This offseason is vital for the program that was 9-3 waiting for a bowl game announcement just one year ago. Signees and the transfer portal can help, but South Carolina has a lot to clean up.
LaNorris Sellers’ production dropped in 2025
Quarterback LaNorris Sellers has had an inconsistent journey so far at South Carolina and it might continue depending on his next move. He can transfer, declare for the NFL draft or return for up to two more seasons.
Sellers’ passing yards, passing touchdowns, rushing yards and rushing touchdowns decreased this year. But there was an increase in sacks to 42, the second-most in the nation. He was pressured on 41.1% of his dropbacks and 25% of those pressures turned into sacks.
His lack of protection isn’t a new issue at South Carolina, and Beamer fired offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley on Oct. 12. Since 2023, Beamer’s quarterbacks have had between the most and third-most sacks in the SEC.
Regardless of who is quarterback next season, a major change is needed regarding offensive line protection.
South Carolina couldn’t run the ball well this season. Pro Football Focus graded South Carolina 51.2 for run blocking, which is 121st among 136 FBS teams.
The Gamecocks averaged 111.1 rushing yards (120th) and finished with under 54 total rushing yards in four games, including minus-9 against Missouri.
Pass blocking wasn’t that much better, as PFF graded that category 62.7 overall, which sits 89th among 136 teams.
South Carolina struggled to score, especially in fourth quarter
Scoring was a major issue as the Gamecocks averaged 22.7 points per game, 14th in the SEC.
In 10 games, the Gamecocks went at least one quarter without any points and in seven games they were scoreless in two or more quarters.
South Carolina scored zero points in the fourth quarter seven different times this season. In total the Gamecocks scored 35 fourth-quarter points and 14 were against Virginia Tech Week 1. Seven of the 14 were from a punt return touchdown by Vicari Swain.
The Gamecocks were either leading or within a touchdown entering the fourth quarter in 10 games but won only four.
Beamer stressed on Nov. 29 how badly fourth-quarter play needs to improve. He came into the year 24-5 when leading after three quarters but lost three games with a fourth-quarter lead this season.
South Carolina football defense didn’t handle critical moments well
Clayton White’s defense kept South Carolina in a lot of games but had a lot of its own issues at critical moments.
The Gamecocks allowed 28 unanswered points in the second half to Texas A&M, blowing a 30-3 lead to the No. 3 team in the country. They led Alabama 15-14 after three quarters but let the Crimson Tide score 15 in the fourth to lose.
In the 29-20 loss to Missouri, the defense had its worst performance with a 55.9 tackling grade and had 14 missed tackles.
Overall the defense allowed 353 total yards per game, 10th in the SEC. That’s just slightly better than Vanderbilt and right behind Ole Miss and Texas, which shows just how much the offense struggled.
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at LKesin@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X@Lulukesin and Bluesky@bylulukesin.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Shane Beamer’s worst season as South Carolina coach shown in key stats
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