Shane Beamer explains why he still sees South Carolina as an underdog

South Carolina enjoyed its best season yet under head coach Shane Beamer in 2024. Many expect the Gamecocks to enjoy similar success this fall, but they aren’t exactly being looked at as an elite team in the SEC.

Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer addressed the underdog tag that is still attached to the South Carolina brand during his appearance at SEC Media Days this week. Only time will tell if the Gamecocks can have a seat alongside the Texas, Georgia and Alabama‘s of the world.

“We have to earn our respect, and we’ve got to do it consistently. When the rankings or predictions come out this week, I mean, the normal schools are going to be probably right up there at the top,” Beamer said. “When I say the normal ones, the ones that have been picked at the top for pretty much the last 20 years of the SEC, in a lot of ways, so we’ve certainly got to earn our respect. But my point to anyone is that we’ve shown we could do it.”

Consistency will be the key for South Carolina. While they enjoyed nine wins in 2024 — its most in a single season since 2017 — it followed a 2023 campaign where the Gamecocks finished 5-7 and missed out on bowl qualification. They year before that, South Carolina won eight games.

So far during Beamer’s tenure, he’s won key games against the likes of Florida, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Missouri and Clemson, among others. As he enters year five, Beamer and company will be looking to add names to that list.

“In this league, if you show you’re one of the best teams — which we’ve beaten so many of the best teams in this league — there’s other teams that we haven’t. But as you continue to recruit and continue to develop, yeah, absolutely, it’s attainable, and I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think it was,” Beamer continued.

“I didn’t come here to go 7-5 every year. I came to South Carolina to compete for championships. And we’re there, and we’re continuing to develop and get better as well.”

South Carolina will kick off its 2025 season in Atlanta against Virginia Tech as a part of the Aflac Kickoff. The Gamecocks will face the likes of LSU, Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Clemson down the stretch during the regular season, giving Beamer’s squad a number of opportunities to prove itself against some of the top programs in the sport.