The Southern Line
South Carolina's win at Florida eases the pressure on Beamer heading into its open week
LaNorris Sellers threw for 279 yards and four touchdowns as South Carolina won at Florida, easing the pressure on Shane Beamer before an open date.
South Carolina came out of The Swamp with a win it needed badly. The Gamecocks beat then-No. 16 Florida on the road, and quarterback LaNorris Sellers played his best game of the season. The win also took some of the heat off coach Shane Beamer after three straight weeks of calls for his job.
Andrew Miller of the Aiken Standard laid out the turnaround in his Tuesday column. Before the trip to Gainesville, South Carolina had lost SEC games to Mississippi State, Alabama and Kentucky. Opposing receivers kept getting loose in the secondary. Beamer and Dylan Stewart, the team's top defensive player, were seen feuding on the sideline. Sellers, a Heisman hopeful, had looked out of sync in Kendal Briles' new offense.
Against the Gators, Sellers threw for 279 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another score. The Aiken Standard credited the offensive line for giving him time to throw and Briles for an aggressive game plan. Beamer said he had challenged Sellers in front of the team after the Alabama loss. He also gave backup Cutter Woods some first-team reps before the Kentucky game, about a quarter of the work. After the Florida win, Beamer singled out his coordinator: "Kendal was a stud tonight."
The defense had taken much of the criticism during the losing streak, and it answered in Gainesville. It forced three turnovers and kept pressure on Florida quarterback Aaron Philo, especially after halftime. Beamer praised defensive coordinator Clayton White and secondary coach Torrian Gray. He also pointed to the offense's reply after Florida opened the second half with a field goal: the Gamecocks drove straight down for a touchdown.
Miller called the Gamecocks consistently inconsistent. One stop on a Kentucky two-point try and a few plays against Mississippi State could have them at 5-1 and in the playoff conversation. He framed the next question as how South Carolina handles a win. The next month should show whether the Florida game saved Beamer's job and the season.
The Gamecocks are off this weekend and get two weeks to prepare for Tennessee. Miller noted that the Volunteers struggled to get past Arkansas. Tennessee, now No. 14 at 5-1, has its own test first when No. 6 Alabama comes to Knoxville on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC. Alabama is favored at -317 on Novig, one of the venues listing the game, and Tennessee is getting 8.5 points (game page). DraftKings has Alabama at -325. The result will shape how big South Carolina's next game looks.
Florida, now 4-2, tries to recover on the road at No. 7 Texas at noon Saturday on ABC. Texas is favored at -376 on Novig and by 10.5 points, with a total of 52.5. FanDuel has the Longhorns at -410 (game page).
Two of the teams that beat South Carolina are also on the road this weekend. No. 16 Mississippi State visits No. 22 LSU, and LSU is favored at -471 on Novig and by 14.5 points (game page). No. 15 Kentucky plays at Oklahoma, which is favored at -223 and by 6.5 (game page).
