At the end of the first half at Kyle Field, it looked liked South Carolina football might be on its way to the best win of its season, and that new interim offensive coordinator Mike Furrey might be the Gamecocks’ savior.
Then it happened.
USC was shut out in the second half. The Aggies put up four touchdowns in four straight drives. The Gamecocks would fall out of bowl eligibility in a 31-30 loss to Texas A&M.
Here’s what head coach Shane Beamer had to say after the game:
Early dominance
The first half was all Gamecocks. Furrey’s offense looked sublime, finishing the half with 312 yards and 23 points — more production than USC averaged all season with fired OC Mike Shula. The USC defense forced three turnovers and carried a forced fumble back for a touchdown of its own.
“I know the rest of the country was surprised with what was going on the first half. We weren’t,” Beamer said. “I’ve been watching us play all season. We had great confidence coming in this game, we fully expected to be in this game, fully expected it to be a fourth-quarter game, and certainly we got out for a great start.”
“Nobody came into the locker room at halftime celebrating, thinking the game was over, thinking that we can just go up here and coast in the second half.”
Second-half collapse
USC and Texas A&M were completely different teams in the second half. The Aggies put up a 21-point third quarter, and took the lead with a touchdown early in the fourth. The Gamecocks were shut out in the final two quarters, and quarterback LaNorris Sellers was sacked twice on USC’s final offensive drive.
“To say that I’m hurt for our guys is a understatement,” Beamer said. “A lot of them are going to be sick when we watch this tape, because there’s a lot of missed opportunities in the first half that made it, whatever it was at that time, 30-3, when it could have easily been 42-3. … I think we’re going to be sick offensively and defensively with the number of plays that we left out there, so credit to them. It hurts to say the least.”
Mike Furrey’s offense
Beamer gave flowers to Furrey and the rest of his offensive staff for their first game of the new interim regime, particularly in the first half.
“I thought Mike really did a great job of giving our guys on offense clarity. ‘Here’s how we’re going to attack Texas A&M, and here’s how we’re going to score points on offense,’” Beamer said. “On the opening drive and throughout the first half, they did a nice job of that. Certainly some new things schematically that we did. Nothing too radical. I think it’s more just, got us playing with confidence and taking what we do in practice over to a game.”
No bowl
Beamer said he was hurt for his team, especially his seniors, as USC is now ineligible to play in a bowl game this year.
“I don’t know why we’ve had this heartbreak that we had, but we will be better and stronger and hardened because of it as we go into next season,” he said. “I really, really hurt for these seniors that have given so much that there won’t be a postseason. I’m sad for our team. … We didn’t want this thing to end. We wanted a whole month of togetherness as a team throughout the month of December, and that hurts, but really, really hurts for the seniors that deserve better than this.”
Who’s coming back for 2026?
Going into Saturday’s game, there was a lot of talk about whether Sellers would be back with the Gamecocks, in the NFL or with a new college program in 2026. Beamer took time to acknowledge the rumors postgame.
“I think there’s a bunch of absolute horse garbage that’s on social media right now,” he said of rumors about Sellers’ departure, before joking about rumors that Sellers might stay at USC. “Hopefully that’s not horse garbage.”
Ultimately, Beamer said he’s had conversations with players about their plans, but it isn’t anyone’s main focus as of now.
“Obviously as a head coach, if I wasn’t having conversations with players throughout the season in regard to, you know, their futures … you got guys that have NFL decisions to make, and a lot of that,” he said. “I don’t want to speak for everyone. There’ll be a time for all of that.”
He added, “I’ll say this, though: There’s a lot of guys on this team that love being a Gamecock. There’s a lot of guys on this team and in this program that hurt like hell right now about what we’re going through. But there’s a lot of guys that have great grit and resolve to get this right and understand how close we are to being where we want.”
South Carolina is back at home Nov. 22 to host Coastal Carolina.
This story was originally published November 15, 2025 at 4:19 PM.
Jackson Castellano
The State
Jackson Castellano is The State’s college sports intern covering South Carolina men’s basketball. A Cape Coral, Florida, native, he is an alum of the University of Florida.
