Everything Shane Beamer said after South Carolina's loss to Clemson

South Carolina head football coach Shane Beamer spoke to the media after the team’s 28-14 loss to Clemson in the 122nd Edition of the Palmetto Bowl on Saturday. Here’s everything he had to say.

Opening statement

“Congratulations to Clemson. They obviously played and coached better than we did, made the plays when they needed to make them.

“When you’re 2-of-14 — I think, at one point, we were 0-for-10 on third and fourth downs — it’s going to be hard to win. Certainly, not being better there was a factor. When you lose the turnover battle, whatever it was — I think, 4-1 — you’re not going to win football games. When you turn the ball over as many times as we did today…

“Proud of our guys and the way they competed and battled. Hurt for that locker room. It’s an emotional locker room, as you can imagine, saying goodbye to the seniors on this team.

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“Want to thank the fans for what they did today to sell out every home game this season. Don’t take that for granted. We got the greatest fans in America, and they showed that again today. So, grateful for them, and really, really sorry to them that we didn’t finish better.

“Extremely disappointing finish to an extremely disappointing season.”

You’ve talked before about how pivotal this offseason is that you’re turning your attention to once this game ends. What will the next few days look like for you, as you have to make a few hires and conduct end-of-season meetings?

“As soon as I walk out of this stadium today and finish with you guys and do the radio show with Todd Ellis and tape the TV show with Todd, we’re full speed ahead on 2026. I’m sick as heck about this feeling right now. I’m responsible; I’m going to get it fixed so we’re never feeling this feeling again.

“The players are off tomorrow. We’ve got a recruit here in town on an official visit that I’ll visit with tomorrow; do some work tonight and tomorrow on 2026. We’ve got a team meeting on Monday morning to finalize everything from this season and exit meetings all next week, along with making the moves and things that I have to do — not just with hiring staff, but adjustments we have to make so we’re never sitting here feeling this feeling again.

“But, again, I’m extremely invigorated and excited about 2026. When you look at who is returning, when you look at the signing class that we’re about to sign on Wednesday. That’s the other thing: We’ve got Signing Day on Wednesday, and we’ve got a hell of a class that we’re about to sign. I know it’s not a huge class — and that’s what you guys and the recruiting experts base the rankings on — but if you look at the average star rating, or whatever it is, we got a top-10 class we’re about to sign on Wednesday. And we ain’t done yet, either, in some ways. So, got to get this class signed.

“We got some day-one difference makers on and off the field that are joining this program after Wednesday, along with a really hurt group of guys that never want to feel this feeling again coming back. And can’t wait until school starts in January to get this group back and get going on ’26.”

Was there any explanation after the replay review of Ricardo Jones‘ first interception?

“Some tough calls out there. Whew.

“They told me that the ball hit the ground, but they said it can hit the ground as long as he maintains control. Because I asked him point blank, I said, ‘The ball hit the ground.’ He said, ‘It doesn’t matter. He maintained control through the catch.'”

Did you get one on the penalty that Moe Brown got on the punt?

“It looked like (he got a piece of it). I mean, it’s a disappointing play in a lot of ways, but they said he didn’t get a piece of it. It’s one of those where it’s kind of the synopsis of our season. Should have been a blocked punt for a touchdown. I mean, it happened just the way we wanted it to. He’s back there. They didn’t block him — or he beat the shield versus the rugby protection, which is what was the plan all along — and got exactly what we want. But this thing is a game of inches, and clearly we were an inch off on that one from blocking a punt and changing the game.

“When I saw it happen, first of all, I’m saying, ‘How do we not block that punt?’ Second of all, I just assumed it would be a five-yard penalty. But he said that, because the guy was in the air and didn’t have anywhere to land, that it was a roughing penalty. It’s tough when you got four guys back there that have a chance to block a punt and we don’t block it and get a roughing out of it.”

You didn’t convert a third down until the final two minutes, while Clemson went 7-for-17. Is there anything that leads to a discrepancy like that?

“Being good on first and second down, keeping yourself out of third downs.

“First of all, we didn’t do enough (on offense). I think, at halftime, we had 19 plays period. I’m sitting there just at halftime, and I’m saying to myself, ‘How in the heck is it 17-14?’ I think they had 47 plays of offense, and we had 19 at halftime. I think the time of possession at halftime was like 22 (minutes) to eight. And we had a couple big plays that got the 14 points that we had right there. But I think any coach would tell you, ‘You got to be great on first and second down to stay out of those third-down situations.’ And we didn’t do a great job on first and second down.

“And then, the whole key for us was, ‘Guys got to make plays today.’ That, in these games, Dabo (Swinney) said it the other day in his press conference: ‘Your best players have to play well.’ They do what they do on third down; we do what we do on third down. There’s a lot of man coverage that both teams played. Their guys made plays, and our guys made some plays. I mean, we had some great individual efforts today, but we just needed to coach and play better there on those third-down situations.”

You’ve made an emphasis this season on dominating the fourth quarter. It was a one-score game going into it today, and you were outscored 8-0. You’ve only won two fourth quarters this season. What do you think happened today, specifically? And how much has that contributed to the season that you had?

“I think today was our seventh one-score game, if I’m not mistaken. Going into the fourth quarter, Virginia Tech, I believe, was a one score game. LSU was a one-score game; Alabama was a one-score game. Missouri was a one score game; Texas A&M was a one score game. Trying to think who else in the middle of the season that I’m missing, but I think today was the seventh one-score game going into the fourth quarter.

“When we came together on the 50-yard line, like we always do, said, ‘Here we are. This is 15 minutes, and you guys can leave your legacy here with how we go play in these last 15 minutes.’ Had momentum and thought we were going to win the game in the fourth quarter — and what a story it would be. And it didn’t happen — turnovers, lack of execution, poor coaching, all of it.

“As you guys have heard me say, I mean, the past is in the past, but we’ve been a really good fourth-quarter team around here. We were last year in this game, when we won the game in the fourth quarter with plays on offense, defense, special teams. We just can’t turn the ball over in the fourth quarter, and we got to perform better than what we did. But certainly something that we’ll look at in regards to next season.

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“It sounds like an excuse, but we’ll be older. Got to learn how to win and finish those games out. And we did not do a great job of it this season. We did in the Virginia Tech game, when we played well in the fourth quarter. But after that… We’ve had opportunities to win a lot of football games by just either finishing the game against A&M, Missouri and Alabama — because we were leading those games going into the fourth quarter. And if they don’t score, we’re sitting here, at whatever we are, 7-5, if you just finish those games. It’ll be a focal point this offseason, when our guys get back here in January, to be a hell of a lot better in the fourth quarter than what we were this season.”

You mentioned how excited you are for next season and the returning guys coming back at this point. Do you think LaNorris Sellers will be a Gamecock next year?

“Yeah. I mean, you got to ask LaNorris. I’m focused on today’s game. I’m not going to dissect and give you an analysis of what the ’26 roster is going to look like. But I do know this: There’s a lot of guys in that locker room that are hurt and don’t want to feel this feeling again — and, also, understand how freaking close we are to being where we want to be. We were sitting here at this time last year feeling a whole lot different after this game, in the middle of a six-game winning streak, and thinking we were going to the College Football Playoff. We’re not there right now, but there’s a very motivated group of guys in that locker room that are excited about what’s next. I do know that. And, again, that’s a question for LaNorris.”

Alshon Jeffery was in town this week, and he was saying that no one wants to go through a season like what you guys are going through, but that there are lessons to be learned as a player. What do you hope that your players can take out of this season? And what lessons can they learn through all of what they had to go through this year?

“You all know how I feel about Alshon Jeffery and what he means to me. I appreciate him saying that.

“And he’s exactly right. You know, the heartbreak of this season… And that’s what I love about this team. We talked about it last night at our hotel. I mean, there were so many weeks where we absolutely got our guts ripped out of our bodies on Saturdays. And that sounds crazy and intense; it’s true. I mean, we got our guts ripped out with some heartbreaking losses. But, every single week, there was no, like, motivation to vote and put our guts back together and go work. They just went back to work and competed. So, testament to the culture.

“And then, the lessons that you take out of that. I think, one, I would hope, is just the details of plays. I mean, I don’t want to sit here and dissect every play from today’s game, but there’s so many plays where we got to be more detailed — coaching, playing — that were difference-making plays in this game. And then, just understanding, I would hope, what a fine line it is between winning and losing. I still remember my dad’s 1992 team at Virginia Tech. They led or tied, similar to us this year, six games in the fourth quarter and won two of them. And then, the next year they won nine, and went to 29 straight bowl games, or whatever it was, after that, and went on a run.

“I would hope that our team would understand that, every week in this league, it is an absolute war. And when you play a team like that today, it is an absolute war, because that’s an SEC roster with the talent they have. It’s why they’ve got multiple first round draft picks on that defense. Cade (Klubnik)‘s a warrior and a great young man and great player. They’ve got great players, and this ain’t high school, where you can just roll the ball out sometimes and be better than the other team. In this league, in the SEC, every week is a war.

“Just understanding the details where every play matters. And then, just the leadership that you got to have. There’s a lot of guys; we have a lot of seniors. As far as seniors that played a lot on offense and defense today, there’s not a lot of them. So, I would hope that we’ll be battle-tested and hardened. We’ve been in some pressure situations this season — A&M and all that — where the game’s on the line in the fourth quarter, like today. We didn’t make those plays in the fourth quarter, but I hope we’ll remember that feeling and be better because of it next season that we’ve gone through this.

“I hate that we’ve gone through this. I hate it for the seniors that don’t come back. But I can one billion percent promise you, when we have a hell of a season in 2026, and when I’m doing this press conference after the Clemson game next year, and we finished the regular season, that, because of the success that we’re going to have next season — I know we will — we’re going to look back at this season and say, ‘It sucked going through it. But because of what we went through in ’25, it led us to what we just did in ’26.’ A million percent confident in that.”

Is it possible you could have your new offensive coordinator in place by Signing Day? And will the OC have a lot of say as to what the offensive staff will look like?

“Again, we’ll talk more about dissecting what’s next and coming forward. I’m going to look at everything, the entire staff, and do the things that I need to do to elevate this program — offense, defense and special teams. We’ve got a lot of really good coaches on the staff, and we all know that we need to be a lot better than what we were today in all three phases. And, as the head coach, that’s my responsibility to to look at everything and do the things that you need to do that.”

You mentioned how much this hurts for the seniors and all the times you’ve had your guts ripped out this season. Do you need to have more concern for the true freshmen, who are going through this, about reinforcing them that things are going to get better?

“I don’t know if I need to reinforce it. I want guys here that love football and love to compete. And we got a lot of guys in that locker room. After every game, we always have the seniors that have played their last game talk. We talk about them at the hotel on Friday night. Our coaches pour into them and talk about the players in the meeting.

“And then, in the locker room after our last game, we always have the seniors get up and talk to the team and send their final words, goodbyes. And that was the message by a lot of those guys today: ‘This thing flies by, and don’t take it for granted, and never feel this feeling again, and how special it is here and how close this football team is.’ Guys that transferred here from other places talked about how it’s not like this at other programs — just the culture and the connection that we have in that locker room.

“So, there were some great messages from those guys. And I would hope that it resonated with everybody in that room — freshmen, sophomores, juniors, coaches, everyone.”

Dylan (Stewart) didn’t play much in the fourth quarter. Is he okay?

“Yeah, he said his back flared up, and he wasn’t able to go.”

With LaNorris, overall, do you think he regressed this season from the way he finished last year?

“Certainly, I don’t think any of us played our best this season, when you finish with the record we just finished with. We had a lot of guys that did some really, really good things this season, and a lot of plays and moments that we need to be better at. And that’s all of us — me, every coach and staff member in here and every every player. But, again, we’re gonna get it right.

“Disappointing way to finish a disappointing season, to say the least. But could not be more excited about what’s next as we move forward with, like I said, the signing class we’re signing on Wednesday, the players that are returning and how we’re going to make this team better. Because there’s a lot of teams that are sitting there right now, getting ready to punch their birth to the College Football Playoff, that we’re feeling like crap last year at this time. You saw the difference from one year to the next. And fully confident that we’re going to be one of those teams next year.”

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