Everyone thought Arkansas was the program with the most miserable fanbase through Week 3 of the regular season. But the razorbacks now have competition. A second half collapse has caused the home crowd fans to declare that enough is enough.
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Williams-Brice Stadium had an electric crowd on Saturday night as the fans were cheering for South Carolina. The team held a 16-point lead entering the second quarter in its first conference game opener against Mississippi State. But by the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the energy had shifted and the upset was imminent.
The Bulldogs quickly climbed back to win 41-34, leaving the crowd chanting for head coach Shane Beamer to be fired. The Gamecocks had entered Week 3 with a 2-0 record and some much needed confidence after winning over Kent State and Towson. That confidence did not survive the fourth quarter, as South Carolina led 23-14 at halftime and had control of the game in the first thirty minutes. The Bulldogs flipped the script after the break, and by the end of the game, disappointed fans were shouting “Fire Beamer” in unison.
“Fire Beamer. Gamecock fans don’t like the product they’ve seen on the field tonight,” according to an X post by Jared Parker, which captured fans expressing their disappointment over the upset loss. On3 posted the same video, where South Carolina fans could be seen chanting “Fire Beamer” after the Mississippi loss, with the fans writing the same message on their phone, which got displayed on the bigger LED display. However, it’s not such an easy task as Beamer’s buyout could prove quite costly for the struggling program.
If South Carolina decided to move on from Beamer, the Gamecocks may have to pay a steep price, facing a $27.9M buyout if they fire him before December 31, being one of the largest payouts in the SEC. The figure drops to $22.1M once 2027 begins, which gives a bit of a financial break for the school, if they decide to move on from Beamer.
Mississippi State was able to turn a 16-point deficit into a 41-34 win. The Bulldogs took their first lead in the third quarter after a costly pass interference call, and quarterback Kamario Taylor took advantage from there. He threw four touchdowns after failing to complete a pass in the first quarter, while South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers threw two second-half interceptions that further sank the team.
This loss hit a lot harder for the fanbase that is expecting the Gamecocks to bounce back after a 4-8 finish last year. In his six seasons with South Carolina, the team has never started 3-0. With a tough schedule against Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Georgia, and Texas A&M ahead, Shane Beamer has a lot to answer for when it comes to the future progress of South Carolina’s football season.
“Disappointing night,” Beamer said during the press conference after the game, per On3. “Want to thank our fans. They created an awesome environment out there and were loud. They affected Mississippi State at times, for sure, so we appreciate them.”
“Certainly, really, really disappointing with us and how we performed overall tonight. We’ll be defined, this team will, by how we respond from this night. I know the type of young men that we have on this football team. I know the leadership that we have on this football team, and we will respond the right way.”
This isn’t the first time Beamer has faced criticism for his coaching or faced firing calls for his job. Fans wanted him to be out of the coaching position last November after South Carolina blew a 30-3 halftime lead against Texas A&M, and Saturday night’s collapse brought back those same frustrations. As the schedule is getting tougher after Week 4, time is something the Gamecocks do not have.
Shane Beamer sends clear message after South Carolina blows 16-point lead against Mississippi State
Beamer has stressed the team’s second-half issues throughout the season. After watching his team give away a 16-point lead after halftime, Beamer believes his program can “respond in the right way” by cleaning up on the issues after the brutal Mississippi State loss.
“We got to be better,” Beamer said, according to Griffin Goodwyn of On3. “We work way too hard and emphasize it way too much to not play better in the second half as we did. I mean, we’ve talked about it all year that, in this league, man, it’s a four-quarter game every week.”
“You see that when you just look around the scores in this league. Mississippi State was in a bunch of them last year in the fourth quarter, and we were in a bunch of them in the fourth quarter. Tonight really sucks for everybody, and it hurts. I mean, that locker room hurts. But the great thing about sports, and life, it’s all about how you respond, and we get to do this again in seven days.”
South Carolina now has seven days to put this loss behind and fix the problems that allowed Mississippi State to take control in the second half. Beamer knows the Gamecocks have to be better for all four quarters, and their response next week in the game against Alabama would be the real test of that progress.