South Carolina Football Hits Bye Week at 3-2: Reasons for Hope and Worry
South Carolina football has reached its first bye week of the 2025 season with a 3-2 record. The Gamecocks, led by Shane Beamer, picked up wins over Virginia Tech, South Carolina State, and Kentucky, while suffering setbacks against Vanderbilt and Missouri.
The road ahead only gets tougher, but as the midway point arrives, there are both encouraging signs and looming concerns for Gamecock fans.
Three Reasons for Optimism
1. LaNorris Sellers’ Progress
The preseason Heisman buzz around quarterback LaNorris Sellers may have cooled, but his numbers show clear improvement. Through five games, Sellers has thrown for 886 yards and four touchdowns with just one interception.
That’s already ahead of last year’s pace, when he had 793 yards, four touchdowns, and four interceptions at the same stage. His completion percentage has risen from 62.1% to 66.7%, and his passer efficiency rating has skyrocketed from 124 to 165.1.
According to ProFootballFocus, Sellers ranks No. 6 in overall offense and No. 7 in passing among SEC quarterbacks (minimum 50% of snaps).
2. Defense Making Big Plays
While tackling issues have shown up at times, the Gamecocks’ defense has been a difference-maker in 2025. South Carolina leads the nation with three defensive touchdowns, and when combined with special teams, the unit has scored six times in five games.
Defensive coordinator Clayton White’s group has also forced nine turnovers — second-best in the SEC and seventh nationally. That includes six interceptions, ranking No. 3 in the SEC.
The pass rush has been effective as well, with the team tied for No. 13 nationally at 14 sacks. If White’s defense continues trending upward, it could carry the Gamecocks through the SEC grind.
3. Emerging Wide Receivers
Much of the preseason focus was on Nyck Harbor, but South Carolina’s wideout room has showcased multiple weapons.
Harbor has already posted 11 catches for 220 yards and a touchdown, surpassing his early-season production from a year ago. However, redshirt sophomore Vandrevius Jacobs has emerged as the true WR1, leading the team with 18 catches, 323 yards, and two scores.
Freshmen Donovan Murph and Brian Rowe Jr. have also provided early sparks, ranking third and fourth in team receiving yards. Alongside offensive lineman Shedrick Sarratt, they’ve played the most freshman snaps this season.
Three Reasons for Concern
1. Brutal Schedule Ahead
Life in the SEC is unforgiving, and the Gamecocks’ next stretch is as difficult as it gets. After the bye, South Carolina travels to No. 13 LSU before back-to-back home games against No. 5 Oklahoma and No. 10 Alabama. Road trips to No. 4 Ole Miss and No. 6 Texas A&M also await, with only a game against Coastal Carolina serving as a likely win.
With five ranked opponents looming — four inside the top 10 — South Carolina will be an underdog almost every week. That could leave the Gamecocks fighting for bowl eligibility in the regular-season finale against Clemson.
2. Offensive Struggles
The Gamecocks’ offense has been inconsistent at best. While averaging 24.8 points per game, the number ranks near the bottom of the SEC. The defense and special teams have scored nearly as many touchdowns (six) as the offense itself (10).
Offensive coordinator Mike Shula’s unit ranks poorly in key categories:
- No. 84 in passing offense
- No. 88 in scoring offense
- No. 97 in yards per play
- No. 103 in third-down conversions
- No. 107 in red zone offense
- No. 121 in total offense
- No. 124 in rushing offense
Those numbers underscore how much the offense needs to improve if South Carolina hopes to stay competitive.
3. Anemic Run Game
The most glaring issue has been the rushing attack. After posting negative nine yards against Missouri, the Gamecocks rank dead last in the SEC at 99.8 yards per game.
Through five games, the team has 499 rushing yards — far off last year’s pace of 920 through the same stretch. Injuries along the offensive line and the absence of a proven star like former All-SEC back Rocket Sanders have only magnified the problem.
The only silver lining came in the Kentucky game, when the Gamecocks managed 178 rushing yards, their best performance of the season. Whether that was a breakthrough or an outlier remains to be seen.
Looking Ahead
As Shane Beamer’s squad rests during the bye, the Gamecocks sit at a crossroads. Sellers’ growth, a turnover-hungry defense, and promising young receivers offer reasons to believe. But a daunting schedule, sputtering offense, and lack of a ground game could leave South Carolina in danger of missing out on a bowl.
One thing is certain: the next month will define the 2025 season in Columbia.
