Paul Finebaum: Shane Beamer, South Carolina are on the brink of a terrible season
Shane Beamer’s second season at South Carolina was a clear step up from his first. However, as the Gamecocks are halfway through his third campaign, Paul Finebaum thinks they’re about to see a decent-sized step down in Columbia by the end of the fall.
Finebaum shared his concerns over Beamer and South Carolina on ‘The Matt Barrie Show’ on Sunday, the day after they lost their fourth game of the season to Florida. Following the 41-39 late-game loss to the Gators, Finebaum believes the Gamecocks are inching closer to a disastrous finish based on what’s left on their schedule.
“It’s great to love Shane Beamer because he had that eight days last year where he knocked off Tennessee and Clemson,” said Finebaum. “But, what’s that? Four losses?”
“He still has a lot of real estate to deal with this year – Missouri, Texas A&M, Clemson? He’s really on the brink of a terrible year,” Finebaum said.
South Carolina currently sits at 2-4 following the latest loss this weekend. To be fair, the Gamecocks have played a tough slate to this point with a current pair of Top-10 teams in North Carolina and Georgia as well as another Top-20 team in Tennessee. Still, it’s been pretty messy throughout with missed opportunities and poor play in different areas throughout their year so far.
That’s not to mention a pair of trips to Columbia and College Station over the next two weeks while also having to close by hosting teams that won’t be layups in Kentucky or Clemson.
Many remain high on Beamer based on what he has put together over the past two years. Even so, this third year could end up looking like a significant downturn if some things don’t change through October and into November.
Beamer provides updates on Stone Blanton, Vershon Lee injuries
South Carolina led Florida by two scores during the final quarter but wasn’t able to finish. Losing to the Gators at home by a score of 41-39, the physical matchup saw both sides lose players to injury that could have played a role in the game’s final outcome.
Both LB Stone Blanton and OL Vershon Lee were forced to leave the game early for South Carolina due to their respective ailments. Following the loss, Shane Beamer updated their statuses.
“Stone had a thigh bruise. I think he will be fine. Vershon had a little bit of a knee. We will get a look at that tomorrow,” Beamer said postgame. “[Lee] tried to go in the second half and didn’t feel like he could do what he needed to do. Give him credit. What a dude to move from our starting center to be our starting right tackle today. He is everything that you want in this program. Thankful for him.”
“The other was — I’m proud of Mario (Anderson). He had an ankle injury in the first half that he really fought through to play with in the second half. Not many guys would have been able to do it. Proud of him from that standpoint.”