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Shane Beamer rips officiating crew after South Carolina loss to Notre Dame in Gator Bowl

ns_headshot_2024-clearby: Nick Schultz12/31/22NickSchultz_7
Shane Beamer in favor of college football scrimmaging against other teams
Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images

One of the key plays in the first half of the Gator Bowl Friday night was when South Carolina received two 15-yard penalties. Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer got flagged for an unsportsmanlike penalty after the play, and he voiced his displeasure with that decision in his postgame press conference.

South Carolina got called for an illegal block on the play, resulting in one 15-yard penalty. But then, Beamer yelled at the officials about the call, and they threw another one — a 30-yard swing to put the Gamecocks deep in their own territory just before halftime. Spencer Rattler threw an interception to end the drive.

Beamer called out the officiating after the game and made his thoughts clear on the flag he received.

“I don’t think I should’ve gotten a flag,” he said, via The State’s Michael Lananna.

South Carolina entered halftime with a 24-17 lead, but Notre Dame battled back — despite a 100-yard Gamecocks pick-six — to win the game 45-38. The Gamecocks end the year 8-5 after marquee victories over top-10-ranked Tennessee and Clemson to end the regular season.

Spencer Rattler becomes 7th South Carolina quarterback to throw for more than 3,000 yards in a season

South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler was on a roll in his last three games for the Gamecocks. For his team to play at its best, everybody knew Rattler was going to need to step up, and he’s done just that down the stretch for South Carolina.

Rattler was dialed in during the Gator Bowl against Notre Dame, and after connecting with Xavier Legette on an amazing 42-yard touchdown strike in the third quarter, he etched his mark into Gamecock football history. Rattler has now thrown for over 3,000 passing yards this season, becoming just the seventh quarterback in South Carolina football history to do so, according to the ESPN broadcast.

During the final two games of South Carolina’s regular season, Rattler put on a spectacular display throwing for 438 yards and six touchdowns against the Tennessee and then 360 yards and two touchdowns against Clemson.