South Carolina's Shane Beamer, Clemson's Dabo Swinney make Yahoo's "Misery Index"

Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wolken publishes a story each week called the “Misery Index.” The story varies in style at times but always seeks to identify the fanbases, players, and coaches experiencing the most misery at the time of the writing. After this weekend, South Carolina’s Shane Beamer and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney made the updated index.
Wolken included the Palmetto State headmen as two of his five “headset misery” choices. (It was really two of six, though, as LSU and head coach Brian Kelly had their own featured portion of the story.)
South Carolina lost to Oklahoma at home, 26-7. Clemson also lost at home, 35-24, to SMU. The latest defeats weren’t Wolken’s only reason for including Beamer and Swinney, however.
Following a fall from a spot in the AP top 10 in September, the Gamecocks are now 3-4 on the year. Preseason College Football Playoff hopes are dashed, and bowl eligibility seems like an uphill climb. Wolken didn’t hold back.
Wolken said that Saturday’s loss to Oklahoma had moved South Carolina’s 2025 season from “disappointing to calamitous.” He also criticized Beamer for his interaction with GamecockCentral’s Jack Veltri. (You can read more about that interaction here.) Veltri asked Beamer about the possibility of a change at the offensive coordinator spot, but Beamer cut him off twice before he could get his full question asked.
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Misery Index
Shane Beamer and Dabo Swinney
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South Carolina’s offense has really struggled in year one of offensive coordinator Mike Shula. In eight games (the Citrus Bowl and then seven games in 2025), the Gamecock offense has scored 21 points or fewer in all eight tries. Beamer fired offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley last week.
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Because misery loves company, South Carolina fans may be interested to see what Wolken had to say about Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers. The Gamecocks’ biggest rival owns an equal 3-4 record despite having been No. 4 in the preseason AP poll.
Wolken said that Clemson’s struggles stem from Swinney and “…his refusal to see reality the last few years.” Because of that, he said, Swinney has let “a lot of little issues pile up.” Wolken believes the Tigers are in “disrepair” and that the program cannot reclaim its spot among college football’s elite without a complete teardown.
South Carolina and Clemson, as usual, will play in the final regular-season game of the year. The Gamecocks and Tigers have been two of the most disappointing teams of 2025. Because of that, this fall’s matchup could mark one of the lowest combined records between the two teams in decades. ESPN’s FPI Matchup Predictor currently favors South Carolina to win the November 29th contest.