‘Turned Into a Heisman Contender,’ ‘Looked Like a Top 10 Pick’ — LaNorris Sellers Delivers as South Carolina Stuns Florida
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South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers threw four touchdown passes and ran for a fifth score as the Gamecocks beat No. 16 Florida 38-19 on Saturday, ending an eight-game Southeastern Conference losing streak.
Sellers completed 23 of 35 passes for 279 yards without an interception, and South Carolina (3-3, 1-3 SEC) won in Gainesville for the first time since 2014. The win also snapped a three-game skid that had coach Shane Beamer answering questions about his job.
LaNorris Sellers Thrives as South Carolina Downs Florida
Sellers spread the touchdown passes among Nyck Harbor, Mazeo Bennett Jr., Donovan Murph, and Lex Cyrus. South Carolina did not commit a turnover and forced three, after forcing two in its first five games. Defensive end Dylan Stewart, back from a one-game suspension for punching an Alabama player, had a sack and forced a fumble that South Carolina recovered.
While it was an overall improvement for South Carolina, it was quarterback Sellers who thrived in The Swamp on Saturday afternoon, prompting praise on social media platform X.
Sellers’ 12-yard touchdown pass to Bennett with under two minutes left in the half put South Carolina ahead 17-10, and Florida never led again.
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The outing was a far cry from two weeks ago, when Sellers threw for 185 yards and an interception that was returned for a touchdown in a 49-18 loss at Alabama. Backup quarterback Cutter Woods then took more first-team reps in practice before the Kentucky game.
Beamer said Sunday that the reps reflected both Woods’ work and a push for Sellers. “I can’t sit here and tell the players that I’m holding everybody accountable and competition’s not real and then not hold the quarterback accountable.”
Beamer also said Sellers played his best game of the season against Kentucky, throwing for 226 yards and running for 147 in a 35-34 overtime loss. In Pro Football Network’s grading, Sellers’ PFN Impact grade of 79.5 through Week 5 ranks tied for 51st of 165 graded and qualified FBS quarterbacks, the top half.
Sellers said after the Kentucky loss that the extra reps for Woods did not change his preparation. “I just need to play better.”
“Ever since LaNorris Sellers was threatened with being benched, he has turned into a Heisman candidate,” another fan wrote late in the game.
South Carolina Wins Third Quarter 14-3 After Shane Beamer’s Halftime Message
The third quarter had been a sore spot. South Carolina led Kentucky 20-10 at halftime last week, then was outscored 14-0 in the third. “We have not been good in the third quarter, offensively and defensively, in the three SEC games,” Beamer said Tuesday.
Beamer said after the game that he told his players at halftime they had not played well in third quarters and that a Florida surge was coming. A 45-minute lightning delay stretched the break, and Beamer said his players waited with their helmets on, listening to music, without knowing when it would end.
South Carolina outscored Florida 14-3 in the third quarter. Sellers threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Murph, then shook off a defender late in the period and reached the 1 before scoring on the next play for a 31-13 lead.
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“Shane Beamer is going to get a big win on road at Florida,” Pete Nakos, a college football insider for On3, wrote after Sellers’ fourth touchdown pass, a 21-yarder to Cyrus, made it 38-13 in the fourth quarter.
Beamer said Tuesday that a 2-3 start was not good enough, that he owned it, and that he had not been on social media in three weeks. After the game, he thanked his bosses, who were in the room, and said they had done nothing but have his back.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
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