Tuesday Morning QB: What a difference a month makes for Gamecock football

Nov. 3—What a difference a month makes.

On Oct. 4, South Carolina was coming off a gut-wrenching loss to Kentucky, the Gamecocks’ third straight defeat heading into their toughest stretch of games.

LaNorris Sellers was a regressing to the point that many in Gamecock Nation were calling for him to be benched and replaced by Cutter Woods.

The loudest South Carolina voices wanted to fire head coach Shane Beamer, especially after Beamer and his star defensive player, Dylan Stewart, were seen feuding on the sidelines during the Alabama game.

And then the Gamecocks man-handled then No. 16 ranked Florida in the Swamp, defeated then No. 11 Tennessee on a buzzer-beating field goal and dismantled Oklahoma in another convincing road win in a hostile environment.

Now the Gamecocks are ranked No. 23 in the country, Sellers is a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate and there are some calling to give Beamer a contract extension.

It’s been a remarkable turnaround for South Carolina, but not a totally unexpected one after what Beamer and the Gamecocks did in 2024, winning its last six games and being a serious contender for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

There’s still a lot of football left to be played, and I don’t see a clear path for the Gamecocks to make the playoffs this year as a three-loss team, even with a win over No. 2 Georgia in two weeks. A three-loss team has never made the College Football Playoffs, and I don’t see that happening this year unless several teams above them lose between now and the end of November.

The Gamecocks finish their schedule against Texas A&M in the friendly confines of Williams-Brice this Saturday, at Arkansas (Nov. 14), home against Georgia (Nov. 21) and at Clemson for Thanksgiving weekend.

A nine-win team would be a miracle for Beamer and the coaching staff after the Gamecocks looked dead in the water after those three losses in September.

What a difference a month makes!

LaNorris for Heisman

At the end of September there’s zero chance I would be typing these words — LaNorris Sellers for the Heisman Trophy.

Like many, I thought that USC offensive coordinator Kendal Briles wasn’t playing to Sellers’ strengths, which are running the football and making improvisational plays outside the pocket.

The last three games, Sellers has arguably been the best player in the country.

In the three victories, Sellers has completed 60 of 91 passes (65 percent completion percentage) for 790 yards and eight touchdowns with three interceptions. He has rushed for 257 yards and five more scores.

He has single-handedly put this team on his back and his teammates have responded.

Now, Sellers hasn’t been perfect — his pick six against Oklahoma was dreadful —but he’s made the Gamecock offense a nightmare to defend for most defensive coordinators.

“LaNorris is certainly playing better,” Beamer said after the Oklahoma victory on Saturday. “When your quarterback is playing well, that gives you a chance, and if your quarterback’s not playing well, it makes it really, really hard. So he’s playing really well right now, and everybody feeds off that, certainly, and we just need him to continue to get better.

“And give Kendal (Briles) credit. Kendal’s done an awesome job, and to come in here and put up 521 yards of offense against this defense, not many people have done that.”

Sellers also has his signature Heisman moment after his goal-line TD run against Tennessee.

Clemson wins and Norvell fired

Back in the day, when SEC teams would lose to South Carolina, there was a better than average chance that the head of coach of said team would get fired after the defeat.

Will Muschamp is just one example of a coach getting fired after losing to the Gamecocks.

Florida State fired Mike Norvell after the Seminoles lost to Clemson, 36-24, on Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Since going 13-0 in 2023, but getting snubbed in the College Football Playoffs after the injury to quarterback Jordan Travis, the Seminoles are 10-23, so Norvell’s dismissal wasn’t a huge shock.

Prior to kickoff of the game, a plane was doing laps around the stadium. It was towing a banner which read “Fire Mike Novell + Peter Collins.”

That didn’t sit well with Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney.

“It was embarrassing what I saw above the stadium,” Swinney said. “It’s embarrassing. It was an embarrassment. Florida State’s better than that. That’s not good for these kids. It’s not good for them.

“Listen, hey, I get it, man. Everybody’s got contracts and all this type of stuff, but man, that bothered me. And they didn’t even spell his name right. Didn’t even have the freaking ‘R’ in the name.”

Swinney and Norvell might have been rivals in the ACC and on the recruiting trail, but the coaching profession is a small fraternity, and they are going to stand up for each other.

Say what you want about Dabo’s outbursts at times —I know I have — but give the man credit for standing up to the mob and supporting a rival in a difficult time.

Reach Andrew Miller at 843-937-5599. Follow him on Twitter @APMILLER_PandC