Shane Beamer and South Carolina suffered a heartbreaking 36-33 loss to No. 16 LSU in Columbia on Saturday, a game in which the Gamecocks had a 17-point lead but were whistled for 13 penalties.

While South Carolina fans will feel as if the officiating crew favored the Tigers in this one, Beamer wasn’t in a mood to point the finger.

“I want to apologize to our fans … 13 penalties. You’re not going to win football games in the SEC with 13 penalties,” Beamer said, according to GoGamecocks.com.

The Gamecocks were up 17-0 early in the 2nd quarter. But LSU eventually found its way back into the contest, with the teams exchanging leads before the Tigers went ahead for good on Josh Williams’ short touchdown run with just over a minute left. Alex Herrera’s field goal try from 49 yards out with no time remaining was no good as the Gamecocks couldn’t force the game into overtime.

South Carolina returns home to face Akron in Week 4. It’s a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff on ESPNU.