South Carolina football's Shane Beamer drops bold SEC, College Football Playoff take

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South Carolina football head coach Shane Beamer gave a bold take on the SEC Conference and College Football Playoff. The Gamecocks’ leader had a very encouraging fourth season in Columbia. South Carolina went 9-3 during the regular season and was as high as No. 15 in the country. The Gamecocks had a few signature moments, such as winning at eventual ACC Champion Clemson.

Shane Beamer’s program gained enough momentum and public support that many fans were angry at the team’s exclusion from the College Football Playoff. In an interview with College Sports Business and Transfer Portal Reporter for On3sports, Pete Nakos, the Gamecocks’ head coach, addressed this snub and the SEC Conference as a whole.

“The fact of the matter is, we beat the ACC champion on their field this year and didn't get in… I do believe this league is just different than others, and there has to be some consideration.”

South Carolina football has a very bright future under Shane Beamer

Many arguments can be made against Shane Beamer’s take. It is true that the trio of Alabama, Ole Miss, and South Carolina did not make the College Football Playoff in favor of SMU. All of those teams did have a case. However, aside from Ole Miss, Alabama and South Carolina both went on to lose their bowl games. In the Gamecocks’ case, they dropped a tight one to No. 20 Illinois in the Citrus Bowl.

The SEC teams that made the College Football Playoff did Beamer no favors in his bold take. No. 7 Tennessee was embarrassed by eventual national champion Ohio State. Meanwhile, in its one playoff game, No. 2 Georgia lost convincingly to Notre Dame. The only SEC team that did win a playoff game was newcomer Texas, which won two, but was also eliminated by Ohio State.

As the SEC went 2-3 overall in this tournament, the Big Ten Conference went 6-3 and had a better record during the bowl season overall. It’s simply not a convincing argument from Beamer to make this point about the SEC right now. The conference deserves respect and multiple bids in the College Football Playoff. But to argue that there’s a wide gap between the Gamecocks’ league and all the others is simply inaccurate.

However, the SEC and South Carolina football will have ample opportunities to prove skeptics wrong next season. As this team definitely has a chance to be better than the past season’s squad. Shane Beamer’s program is currently ranked No. 10 in the way-too-early rankings.

Quarterback LaNorris Sellers is returning on a huge deal and is a potential Heisman Trophy candidate. Overall, while Beamer’s comments will spark controversy, it’s not a debate that his program is on the rise, and it’s a great time to be a South Carolina football fan.

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