South Carolina perception was ‘not reality,’ Shane Beamer says after Kentucky rout
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South Carolina was a 10-point road dog on most sports betting apps. After struggling with Old Dominion in the opener, very few expected the Gamecocks to go into Lexington and beat a Kentucky team that rolled in its first game.
Correction: very few outside of Columbia. Shane Beamer knew what his team was capable of.
South Carolina dominated Kentucky in every way. The Gamecocks won 31-6, outscoring the Wildcats 21-0 in the second half.
“There was great confidence coming in here today not to keep it close and hope things work out, but there’s great confidence on this football team and we showed it today,” Beamer told ESPN’s Molly McGrath
Kentucky had just 183 yards of total offense in the game. It had only 44 yards through the air. Starting quarterback Brock Vandagriff went 3-for-10 for 30 yards. South Carolina picked off both Vandagriff and Gavin Wimsatt. With 11 tackles for loss and 5 sacks, South Carolina held Kentucky to 2.9 yards per play.
“An unbelievable statement by our defense, but an unbelievable statement by our entire program,” Beamer said. “There was a perception out there about our team this week, but it wasn’t reality. We knew what kind of team we had. There were some lazy narratives out there this week about this team. We’ve got a bunch of tough, gritty, young men, starting with our quarterback. Offense, defense, special teams, everybody did it today. That’s a team win.”
Beamer said this year’s Carolina team reminds him of past Virginia Tech teams that his father, Frank, coached. Those teams had strong defenses, good special teams units, and offenses with the ability to grow.
“We got better, and the exciting thing is we can be so much better,” Beamer said.
Beamer’s group returns home next week, where it’ll host LSU with an opportunity to show even more progress. That game will kick off at noon ET on ABC.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
