Inside Stuff As “Shane Beamer Blitzes SEC Office with Calls for Clarity After LSU Defeat!”

South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer contacted SEC head of officials John McDaid following the Gamecocks’ 36-33 loss to LSU on Saturday.

In the game, South Carolina (2-1, 1-1 SEC) experienced a total of 13 penalties, with seven occurring in the fourth quarter. Two of those penalties negated interceptions by the Gamecocks’ defense that were returned for touchdowns. During his weekly Sunday night media call, Beamer mentioned he couldn’t recall another instance like that happening.

Before leaving Williams-Brice Stadium, Beamer reached out to McDaid, and he noted that athletic director Ray Tanner also communicated with the league office on Sunday.

“We’re not going to sit around and complain; it’s time to move on to next week. However, I definitely want some clarification on a few things from Saturday,” Beamer stated.

He acknowledged that McDaid reviews each game and evaluates the officials’ performances, so Beamer typically doesn’t submit many plays for review.

“Today, we submitted quite a few,” Beamer noted. “There were a couple of calls yesterday that I’ve never encountered in my 25 years of coaching.”

When Alex Herrera missed a 49-yard field goal that could have tied the game and sent it into overtime, Beamer pointed out that there were two clear instances of taunting by the Tigers that were not penalized.

“I was informed that celebrations were going to be permitted, but there would be a strict focus on taunting,” Beamer explained. “For that officiating crew to throw 22 flags and then ignore two obvious taunting incidents after the kick is puzzling. It’s something I want clarification on. Of course, there were also plenty of areas where we need to improve.”

As he left the field, Beamer mentioned hearing fans express sentiments like “the game was stolen from you.” While he appreciated the support behind those comments, he reminded his players to avoid adopting that mindset.

“We’re not going to find solace in thinking that way,” Beamer stated. “I get what they mean, but ultimately, we didn’t perform well enough to win the game. That said, we reviewed the tape with the players today, and they’re aware of some of the calls that didn’t go our way or that we missed.”