Shane Beamer reacts: What went wrong in South Carolina loss to Texas A&M

Shane Beamer said the first half against Texas A&M was about as bad as it could’ve been in all three phases.

In his postgame press conference, Beamer made a point to say he wasn’t happy about the 44-14 loss, the lack of offensive production, Texas A&M’s 290 rushing yards or Ainias Smith’s opening punt returned for a touchdown.

South Carolina fell outmatched in every facet of the Texas A&M game. The Gamecocks were outgained 477-185 offensively, lost the turnover margin 3-1 and never had control of the contest.

“I thought we had a great plan. It obviously didn’t go quite like we thought,” Beamer said. “When you perform like we did in the first half, offensively, defensively and special teams, we’ve got to look at the plan at everything.”

Most of the Gamecocks’ offensive production came after Jason Brown came in for Zeb Noland at quarterback in the fourth quarter. By then, South Carolina was against a 44-0 deficit with less than 15 minutes to go in College Station. South Carolina put up 170 yards and 14 points in the fourth quarter.

Beamer said he’ll be watching film as soon as he gets on the plane back to Columbia, with nothing left off the table for evaluation.

“It’s easy to point to the offensive line,” Beamer said. “We didn’t play great anywhere. Receiver, running back, quarterback, tight end, offensive line, coaching. I would say that we all had a hand in it. “

The Gamecocks ended the third quarter with 15 total yards, minus-15 rushing and 30 passing. Noland did not play after the third quarter, finishing his day going 7-of-12 for 30 yards. He was sacked three times for a loss of 18 yards.

Beamer said the Aggies’ defensive front was the best South Carolina had played since Georgia, and he praised their ability to get sacks.

“We’ve gotta be able to block,” Beamer said. “We’re SEC football players too.”

South Carolina collapsed throughout the first half and went into halftime down 31-0. In its first six drives, USC’s offense went three-and-out three times, punted five times and lost a fumble in Texas A&M’s red zone. The Gamecocks ran 21 plays for 11 yards, including minus-10 rushing yards on 13 attempts, an average of 0.5 yards per play.

Texas A&M’s offense had few issues with South Carolina in the first half. The Aggies put up 268 yards in the first 30 minutes, with a running back tandem of Isaiah Spiller and Devon Achane combining for 147 yards. A&M totaled 16 first downs by halftime while South Carolina had two — and one of those came off an Aggies penalty.

When asked for his message to the fanbase, Beamer said he shared frustrations.

“I’m like them, I’m not happy with the way we’ve played,” Beamer said. “But we’ve also got a great group of kids in there that are fighting their butts off, and we’re 4-4. We’re 4-4 with four games left. We’ve got three games at home, and like always, we’ve got a bunch of competitors in that locker room.”