Yahoo Sports columnist Dan Wolken released his latest edition of the “Misery Index” — and this week, both South Carolina’s Shane Beamer and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney found themselves near the top of the list.
Each week, Wolken’s column highlights the coaches, players, and fanbases enduring the most frustration in college football. After another rough weekend in the Palmetto State, both Beamer and Swinney earned unwelcome mentions in what Wolken dubbed the “headset misery” category.
South Carolina suffered a 26-7 home loss to No. 14 Oklahoma, while Clemson fell 35-24 to SMU — both in front of their own fans. Wolken argued that these defeats only deepened already serious problems for both programs.
For South Carolina, the loss represented a turning point in what Wolken called a “collapse.” Once ranked in the AP Top 10 in September, the Gamecocks are now 3-4, with preseason hopes of a College Football Playoff appearance long gone. Wolken bluntly wrote that Saturday’s defeat turned the Gamecocks’ season from “disappointing to calamitous.”
He also pointed to head coach Shane Beamer’s postgame tension with reporter Jack Veltri of GamecockCentral, noting that Beamer twice interrupted Veltri when asked about potential staff changes — specifically at offensive coordinator.
Under first-year OC Mike Shula, South Carolina’s offense has been dreadful. Across eight games — including last year’s Citrus Bowl — the Gamecocks have scored 21 points or fewer in every single outing. Despite firing offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley last week, Beamer has resisted further changes, a decision drawing increased scrutiny from fans and media alike.
Wolken didn’t stop there. Turning his attention to Clemson, he criticized Dabo Swinney for what he called the coach’s “refusal to see reality the last few years,” suggesting that Swinney has allowed “a lot of little issues to pile up.” He argued that Clemson football is now in “disrepair” and will need a “complete teardown” to regain elite status.
Both South Carolina and Clemson sit at 3-4, marking one of the lowest combined midseason records between the two programs in decades. Their annual rivalry game on November 29 could be played under unusually bleak circumstances — with ESPN’s FPI Predictor giving South Carolina a slight edge to win.
As Wolken summed up in his column, misery has firmly settled over the Palmetto State — and unless something changes soon, both Beamer and Swinney may find their fanbases running out of patience.
