It’s that time of the college football calendar again. Teams have been finalized, commits have sealed their destinations, and all that remains is for teams to translate the quality on paper to the field. Shane Beamer’s South Carolina looks elite on paper and has also led in one key criterion. However, the Gamecocks’ head coach still has to be wary of the ‘rat poison,’ something that Dabo Swinney failed to avoid in 2025.

South Carolina is returning with the most overall production in the 2026 season. The team’s O-line, with 10,324 prior snaps, is returning, along with 5,316 passing yards after LaNorris Sellers’ return decision. Not just that, Shane Beamer will also have 1,954 yards of rushing production in 2026 and 563 tackles. In terms of defensive snaps, the Gamecocks return a whopping 10,215 snaps.

Likewise, Shane Beamer is also looking to reap the rewards of the veteran experience he will have. “To me, the best teams are the oldest teams,” Beamer said about his preference for veterans. “You look at Vanderbilt last season and look at the number of juniors and seniors they had playing. You look at Alabama defensively; there were a lot of teams last year. You look across the country; they were really good, they were talented.”

Of course, the return of offensive players like LaNorris Sellers, Nyck Harbor, Jabree Coleman, and Christian Clark will get Gamecocks’ fans excited. Moreover, defensive players like Dylan Stewart, Jalon Kilgore, Vicari Swain, and Tomiwa Durojaiye will play to protect every yard. Naturally, the returning production should be a matter of celebration and ideally give South Carolina an immense veteran advantage.

However, going by Clemson’s 2025 season, it’s better not to celebrate too early. Dabo Swinney, in 2025, had the most returning production and returned with 16 starters, 8 offensive and defensive starters each. Despite that, Clemson’s 2025 season was extremely woeful. The team finished with just 7 wins despite being dubbed a ‘national title’ contender in the 2025 pre-season.

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At the end of the season, Clemson’s total offense was ranked 64th nationally, gaining 392.2 yards per game. The defense was similar and stood 55th nationally. Even Cade Klubnik, a Heisman contender before the season, couldn’t replicate his numbers. The QB’s passing production dropped by almost 700 yards, and his rushing production dropped by 359 yards. Yet, can South Carolina defy Clemson’s curse and finally bounce back in 2026?

Shane Beamer touts his transfer additions to offset a Clemson-like scenario

South Carolina, too, didn’t have a great season in 2025. The Gamecocks managed to win just 4 games after a 9-win season in 2024. The team even lost to Clemson and LSU, both of whom were struggling greatly last year. This year, though, along with the returning production, Beamer has also brought in a whopping 26 transfers and has the 16th-ranked recruiting class with 17 commits, per 247 Sports.

“We had some major needs this year and needed to attack the portal a little bit heavier in certain positions than we maybe anticipated or had to in the past, and needed to get better,” Beamer said. “We’ve been able to do that. Brought in experience, we brought in production, we brought in no entitlement, just guys that want to come in here and compete and work hard and help us get better.”

But that’s not all Beamer is coming with in 2026. The Gamecocks also had some incredible moments in 2025 and held fourth-quarter leads against Alabama and Texas A&M. That alone should give players the confidence to compete. However, the team still has to be wary of a Clemson-like scenario.