Will South Carolina Receive A Bowl Bid in the 2021 Season
Last season the South Carolina Gamecocks struggled to a 2-8 record under coaches Will Muschamp and Mike Bobo. It has been a steady regression in the program since their last bowl appearance in 2018 and a 4-8 mark in 2019. However, there is enthusiasm with the hiring of new head coach Shane Beamer and a new sense of hope that the bowl drought ends this season.
The 44-year-old Beamer has had extensive coaching experience as an assistant starting in 2000 with Georgia Tech. Since then, he’s been on the coaching staff at Tennesse (2001-2003), Mississippi State (2004-2006), and in 2007 he was hired by Steve Spurrier a special teams coordinator and outside linebackers at South Carolina. Beamer was also successful as a recruiting coordinator for the Gamecocks in 2009, sending the likes of Alshon Jeffery and Stephon Gillmore to the NFL. After stints at Virginia Tech, Georgia, and Oklahoma, Beamer is back and liked what he saw in his first spring scrimmage.
Beamer emphasized playing clean, smart football. Losing teams generally beat themselves with turnovers, penalties and other mental breakdowns. For the most part, Beamer was pleased with fact that there were no pre-snap penalties. The offensive was getting the plays called efficiently, getting in and out of the huddle quickly. In addition, all four quarterbacks on the roster saw repetitions.
Luke Doty, who was the backup to Collin Hill last season, saw the majority of the repetitions and is the number one quarterback with Hill foregoing his final year of eligibility. Doty threw for 405 yards and two touchdowns, completing 41-of-75 passes last season.
Beamer emphasizes a more physical brand of football this year with the ability to run the ball and stop the ball. Controlling the line of scrimmage is the key to success and Beamer was pleased with the good goal line play with the running backs and tight ends producing scoring plays. On the defensive side, Beamer noted the strong play in creating turnovers in the first scrimmage. While there is a way to go on both sides of the ball, for a first practice, Beamer is optimistic.
Returning to the team is running back Kevin Harris, who rushed for 1138 yards and 15 touchdowns. Those numbers are expected to increase with Beamer’s emphasis on physical, take control of the line of scrimmage play. Also returning are wide receiver Shi Smith (57 catches, 633 yards, 4 touchdowns) and tight end Nick Muse (30 catches, 425 yards). On the defensive side of the ball, defensive back Jammie Robinson entered the transfer portal and isn’t back, but leading tackler and NFL prospect Ernest Jones returns.
The schedule is favorable for the Gamecocks to make a run at a 6-6 record and a bowl appearance. They have home games against Eastern Illinois, Kentucky, Troy, Vanderbilt, Florida, Auburn and Clemson. The combined record of those opponents last season was 31-36. Two of those games are against out of conference competition. The road is quite a bit tougher, facing East Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and Missouri, who combined for a 30-18 record a year ago.
If the Gamecocks can reduce the mental errors and play more crisp football, employing Beamer’s emphasis on physicality, there is no reason to believe they can’t sweep the out of conference games. Therefore, they need to win only three of nine in conference games with five of them at home, to get a bowl berth at 6-6. That is not at all out of the question.
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