When South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers went down against Vanderbilt, the script played out as expected — backup Luke Doty stepped in. What wasn’t expected, though, was Beamer’s decision to keep him in for the rest of a blowout loss that spiraled into one of USC’s worst offensive showings of the season.
Doty’s presence did little to spark the offense. Every Gamecock drive with him under center ended in disappointment: a missed field goal, a punt, two turnovers on downs, two fumbles, and an interception. Not a single point.
Despite that, Shane Beamer defended the move on Sunday. “(Luke) did some really good stuff managing the offense, making calls, directing traffic, making throws,” he said.
Doty’s stat line wasn’t awful — 18-for-27 (67%) for 148 yards — but the lack of scoring was glaring. And with the game clearly out of reach in the fourth quarter, fans were left scratching their heads: why not give Air Noland or freshman Cutter Woods some experience?
Beamer admitted he and offensive coordinator Mike Shula had the conversation.
“Not necessarily because Luke was playing bad, but just to get some other guys experience,” Beamer said. “But we didn’t.”
The admission makes the choice even harder to justify. With Vanderbilt up 31-7 late, South Carolina had nothing to lose by testing its depth. Instead, Beamer clung to false hope.
“I was confident that we were going to go down the field, score a touchdown, get the two-point conversion and make it a two-score game,” he insisted.
Beamer doubled down: “(I) really felt confident about us being able to win the game in the fourth quarter, and felt like Luke gave us the best opportunity to do that.”
But that confidence translated into another wasted opportunity, both on the field and for the future of USC’s quarterback room. By refusing to pull Doty, Beamer not only failed to change the outcome but also missed a valuable chance to see what Noland or Woods could bring in live SEC action.
For a fan base already questioning the direction of the offense, Beamer’s decision is just the latest in a string of head-scratchers. His “brief” discussions about playing other quarterbacks left many wondering: if not in a blowout, then when?
