by WILL FOLKS
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The ongoing collapse of the University of South Carolina football program under sixth-year head coach Shane Beamer plumbed new depths in Tuscaloosa, Alabama this weekend.
The Gamecocks (2-2, 0-2 SEC) were blown out 49-18 by No. 8 Alabama on Saturday (September 26, 2026) – a debilitating, undisciplined defeat that exposed the deepening dysfunction and deteriorating culture associated with Beamer’s program.
This was more than just a loss, people… it was a total unspooling. And it came just one week after Beamer vowed his team would respond “the right way” to its last ignominious defeat.
Well, the Gamecocks responded… by completely crapping the bed, rolling around in the feces-covered sheets and doubly dousing themselves in additional defecation.
Stupid penalties. Blown coverages. Poor play-calling. Abysmal execution.
This beatdown had a little bit of everything…
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South Carolina didn’t just get its ass kicked by the Crimson Tide – Beamer’s team showed its ass.
The Gamecocks were out-played, out-coached and out-classed… in every facet of the game. And that was before star edge rusher Dylan Stewart completely lost his composure on multiple occasions – throwing punches at Alabama players and ignoring instructions from multiple Gamecock coaches (including Beamer).
Stewart has been suspended from the team indefinitely as a result of his behavior, and his future at South Carolina seems very much in doubt. While the potential loss of this 6-foot-5, 250-pound defensive end would be a significant blow to coordinator Clayton White‘s defense, it’s impossible to ignore how bad this unit has been against SEC competition – especially defending against opponents’ passing attacks.
Through two SEC games, South Carolina’s defense has surrendered 90 points – and seen its defensive backfield utterly eviscerated by first-year starting quarterbacks Kamario Taylor and Keelon Russell.
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South Carolina ranks No. 126 out of 138 FBS programs in pass efficiency defense – and that’s including stats from blowout wins over Kent State and Towson.
Meanwhile, the regression of South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers – once viewed as a Heisman Trophy frontrunner and potential No. 1 overall NFL draft pick – has become even more pronounced under first-year offensive coordinator Kendal Briles.
Not surprisingly, the drumbeat for Beamer’s ouster – which developed some real rhythm and volume after the previous week’s debacle against Mississippi State – has suddenly become deafening. In fact, it was honestly a little bit surprising Beamer make it through the weekend with his job – although our guess is his $27.9 million buyout may have something to do with him sticking around.
Beamer’s buyout dips to $22 million if he is fired after December 31, 2026 – but that would still rank as one of the costliest buyouts in college football history (and would come just six years after the school had to eat $15.5 million to get rid of former head coach Will Muschamp).
Nonetheless, FITSNews called for athletics director Jeremiah Donati to pull the plug on the Beamer experiment last November, arguing it was time for the Gamecocks to “cut their ‘Beamerball’ losses.”
That didn’t happen…
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While Beamer was hired by former athletics director Ray Tanner, it was Donati who extended his contract in early 2025 – saying “the culture and commitment to excellence that Coach Beamer has built in our football program shows that we are headed in the right direction and on a strong upward trajectory.”
That trajectory has since reversed. Beamer is now 35-32 (.522) at South Carolina – including a 16-26 (.380) record against SEC opponents. The Gamecocks have now lost seven straight conference games – including five games in which they held leads (and two games in which they held double-digit leads).
The road ahead is ominous, too.
South Carolina hosts No. 24 Kentucky this Saturday (October 3), travels to the Swamp against No. 8 Florida the following week (October 10) and then hosts No. 17 Tennessee on October 24 following a bye week.
That’s three straight games against ranked opponents…
For his part, Beamer doesn’t seem to be feeling any pressure – citing a “great conversation” with a “super supportive” Donati following the Alabama game.
“My conversations with my bosses have been super supportive,” Beamer said on Sunday. “We got a hell of a football team. We’re not playing like it right now, and it’s my job to get this stuff right and get us playing better football on Saturday.”
Indeed… but the problem is Beamer is running out of opportunities to show he can do his job.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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SOUND OFF…
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7 comments
Man I hope we don’t wind up paying yet another coach not to coach…
Hope all you want, but it isn’t going to happen. Beamer will be lucky to finish out the season.
The entire problem comes from a lack of accountability from anyone involved. Dylan Stewart should be fired for bad behavior. Beamer fired for poor performance. Donati should be fired for giving the ridiculous contract extension. Any Board member who signed off on it should be asked to resign.
Beamer may get fired and paid $28mm. Dylan Stewart will get drafted into the pros and get a big payday too.
There will be no lessons learned and the same people will make similar (bad) decisions in the future. That is the true Chicken Curse.
So we’re looking at anywhere from 37 to 42 million dollars spent in about 6 years to just make mediocre to poor coaches go away, on top of the millions in salary that they were paid while here. Muschamp was paid 32 million in salary and buyout; Bamer has been paid about 26M. If we pay his buyout, we are looking at at least 80 million dollars being paid over the course of 11 years. While I do blame the coaches for the poor results for the paid salary, I don’t blame them for the buyouts – that was good negotiating on the part of their lawyers, and piss poor judgment on the part of our ADs and Board of Directors.
Beamer for Coach of the Year!
Can’t we all just “wait until next year”?
“Okay team, meet the new coach that needs to be fired, same as the last coach that needed to be fired.”