South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer must be keeping receipts, because he spent time to address an article from more than a year ago in his latest press conference without even being prompted.
Beamer, who has led South Carolina to three-straight wins and a 6-3 overall record, has been open with his comments recently in what he perceives as slights against his program. After the win against Vanderbilt, Beamer said that the AP voters were "crapping on them."
Shane Beamer after @GamecockFB's win over Vanderbilt:
— Matt Dowell (@MattDowellTV) November 10, 2024
"The people that do the rankings don't think we're worth a crap and that's fine. Keep crappin' on us, that's the way we like it. Don't rank us this week. We're good where we are."
Also gives a shoutout to Sir Big Spur pic.twitter.com/4HNsEocK8J
Of course, the Gamecocks were ranked in the latest AP Top-25 poll — now sitting at No. 23 — and the expectation is that they'll be ranked in the latest College Football Playoff Rankings, as well.
As Beamer basks in the winning, he also had a peculiar quip to share at his press conference on Monday.
Beamer took more than a minute of time to address an article from The State, written over a year ago. The article, penned by Clemson’s beat writer, suggested that South Carolina's program had regressed due to a narrower point spread against Vanderbilt compared to previous years.
After securing a 28-7 victory over Vanderbilt this season, which made the Gamecocks bowl-eligible, Beamer revisited his frustrations with that earlier article.
“Last year, when we played Vanderbilt, y’all wrote one of the most ridiculous articles I’ve ever read in the history of journalism," he said via On3.
He took issue with the notion that South Carolina had “fallen as a program” solely based on the shifting point spread, calling it “bush league stuff.”
Beamer and the Gamecocks seem to be heading in the right direction after a shaky start to the 2024 season. South Carolina has one of the best defenses in the country and their sophomore quarterback, LaNorris Sellers, is starting to see the field better and the game is slowing down for him.
As a result, South Carolina has won three-straight and, out of their three losses, the Gamecocks have had two narrow defeats — a 36-33 loss to LSU early in the season, and a 27-25 loss to Alabama in Tuscaloosa. If either of those had gone the other way, South Carolina would actually be a favorite for a College Football Playoff berth right now.
That hope is not entirely off the table for the Gamecocks. They'll close out the season with Missouri, Wofford, and Clemson. If they were to somehow win out, they'd be sitting at 9-3 and potentially have a chance to backdoor their way into the playoff. Of course, that's a longshot at this point.
South Carolina will host Missouri this Saturday in Williams-Brice Stadium. The game is set to kickoff at 4:15 p.m. E.T. on the SEC Network. The Gamecocks are listed as 11.5-point favorites against the Tigers, who will likey be without starting quarterback Brady Cook.