COLUMBIA — The hole opened perfectly. Offensive lineman Trovon Baugh bulldozed LSU linebacker Whit Weeks out of the way, and Matt Fuller did the rest — one sharp cut, two broken tackles, and suddenly he was sprinting toward the end zone. Fuller dove from the 4-yard line and tumbled across the goal line, giving South Carolina a much-needed spark.
In that moment, it looked like the Gamecocks had found their new No. 1 running back.
“I told the coaches at halftime,” head coach Shane Beamer said after the 20–10 loss to LSU. “‘Give the freakin’ ball to Matt Fuller in the second half, and let’s get him back in the game.’”
Fuller, however, got only five more carries.
Asked later about the decision, Beamer explained, “It was more just a point of emphasis at halftime — ‘Let’s get Matt Fuller the ball in the second half, along with our other running backs.’ I mean, Rahsul Faison ran the ball well, and Oscar Adaway did some good things.”
Indeed, the Gamecocks’ offensive line showed rare progress, creating running lanes and moving LSU defenders off the line. Faison tallied 68 yards on 13 carries, while Adaway, valued for his blocking in two-minute situations, managed one carry for two yards. Fuller’s 72-yard touchdown came late in the first quarter — but he didn’t touch the ball again before halftime.
Beamer reiterated that he told his staff to feature Fuller more after the break. And initially, they did: Fuller logged three carries on South Carolina’s first drive of the third quarter. After that? Only two more touches for the rest of the game.
That raises some questions. Did the coaches simply ignore Beamer’s halftime directive? Did Beamer not realize Fuller wasn’t seeing the field? And most obviously — how does a running back who just ripped off a 72-yard touchdown not get another carry for more than a quarter?
From the moment of Fuller’s score, South Carolina ran 27 offensive plays before halftime — and Fuller wasn’t involved in any of them. Though Beamer’s order came at halftime, it’s still puzzling that no one turned to the hot hand sooner.
In the third quarter, Fuller caught a short pass for five yards, ran for three, then added six more after a holding penalty nullified a bigger gain. That drive ended in a field goal. His final two carries came late — one on the next drive, one in the fourth quarter — and then, nothing.
Before each game, Beamer meets with his staff to review every detail — from coin toss decisions to substitution plans. He also holds one-on-one talks with position coaches about player rotations.
For the LSU game, running backs coach Marquel Blackwell laid out the plan: Faison would start, Fuller would see early reps, Adaway had a blocking role, and Jawarn Howell and Bradley Dunn would serve as backups.
“It’s always a fine line,” offensive coordinator Mike Shula said. “Yes, you talk about riding the hot hand, and Matt obviously did a great job and is playing well, but Rahsul is, too. You have a plan, but you don’t want to over-predetermine it. Coach Blackwell does a great job keeping those guys ready, and they’re all improving.”
Beamer insisted there was no internal miscommunication. “It wasn’t that I wanted Matt in the first half and they went rogue,” he said. “We were doing exactly what we talked about. And again, coach Blackwell is the running back coach, and I’m on the headset — if I want Matt in, I’ll say, ‘Get Matt in the game.’ Don’t misunderstand me.”
Still, Beamer acknowledged that the team could’ve leaned more on the freshman after his explosive run. “Maybe ’Sul went in, and I’m fine with that. Oscar had a series. But we need to … Matt just had a long run — we need to find ways to keep him involved,” he said. “We’ve got confidence in all those guys.”
Rotations and pre-set game plans are standard procedure in football. But after watching Fuller spark a struggling offense with one electric play, perhaps a new rule should be added to the list:
“When the hot hand catches fire — keep feeding him the ball.”
