Shane Beamer didn’t just watch the film of South Carolina’s loss to Missouri — he endured it. The Gamecocks head coach had to sit through what may go down as one of the worst rushing outings in program history, a night where his team finished with negative rushing yards.
In Saturday’s 29-20 defeat at No. 23 Missouri (4-0, 1-0 SEC), South Carolina mustered minus-9 rushing yards. Even if you remove the five sacks on quarterback LaNorris Sellers, the numbers are still discouraging: 17 carries for just 37 yards.
“Little bit of everything,” Beamer said during his weekly teleconference. “I wish you could pinpoint it to one thing.”
The problem? It’s not just one thing.
Breaking Down the Issues
Beamer pointed out several flaws: missed perimeter blocking assignments, running backs cutting inside when they should’ve bounced outside (and vice versa), poor technique like leaning the wrong way — and at times, simply Missouri defenders making exceptional plays.
The offensive questions go beyond individual miscues:
- Quarterback Usage: Sellers, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound dual threat, ran the ball just five times. Defenses are clearly keying on him, but the lack of designed runs leaves observers asking whether USC is truly maximizing his abilities.
- Offensive Line Concerns: South Carolina shuffled its starting five before kickoff, then had to reshuffle again when two starters went down injured. The unit struggled to hold up against Missouri’s front.
- Tight End Blocking: According to Pro Football Focus, tight ends Jordan Dingle and Brady Hunt graded out among the four-worst run blockers against Mizzou.
- Running Back Production: Are the backs good enough? Missouri’s transfer pickup Ahmad Hardy gashed the Gamecocks for 138 yards, breaking 16 tackles. Meanwhile, South Carolina’s transfer addition, seventh-year back Rahsul Faison, managed only five yards but at least broke one tackle — the only USC tailback to do so all night, per PFF.
The contrast is glaring.
The Bigger Picture
Through four games, South Carolina has rushed for just 321 yards total, an average of 80.25 yards per game — dead last in the SEC. A year ago, through the same span, the Gamecocks had piled up 769 yards and produced two 100-yard rushers (Robby Ashford and Rocket Sanders).
This season, the single-game high is Faison’s 74 yards against Vanderbilt.
“Teams are going to load the box and make us throw, and we did that last night,” Beamer said. “We threw the ball successfully. And you would hope that would open up the run game, but we didn’t do it consistently enough.”
Passing Game Offers Hope — But Not Enough
Sellers was effective through the air, completing 18 of 28 passes (64%) for 308 yards and two touchdowns. But he missed some crucial throws, including an early deep shot to Mazeo Bennett and several key passes late in the fourth quarter with the game on the line.
Even so, Missouri didn’t have to sell out to defend him. Per PFF, the Tigers blitzed on just four snaps (11%) but still sacked Sellers five times. They crowded the line of scrimmage, trusted their coverage, and shut down the run — a formula other SEC defenses are sure to copy.
Beamer’s Response
“Talked to the staff about it today,” Beamer said. “We’ve got to take a step back and really look at everything.”
He added: “And that doesn’t mean blow stuff up, but it means, you know — there’s a four-game body of work right now of evidence that we’re not anywhere close to where we need to be. And it’s our responsibility as coaches to get it right.
