South Carolina Falls 35-34 in Overtime to Kentucky as Beamer Pressure Grows

South Carolina let a 17-0 lead slip away in a 35-34 overtime loss to Kentucky, sliding to 2-3 as fans called for Shane Beamer's firing ahead of an Oct. 10 meeting with Florida.

Kentucky beat South Carolina 35-34 in overtime on Saturday, deciding the game on a two-point conversion after the tying touchdown and handing the Gamecocks their third consecutive loss. The defeat dropped South Carolina to 2-3 and sharply increased scrutiny on head coach Shane Beamer, whose team surrendered a 17-0 first-half lead.

The Gamecocks opened the 2026 season with wins over Kent State and Towson before the schedule toughened. Consecutive losses to Mississippi State and Alabama preceded the overtime defeat against Kentucky, turning a 2-0 start into a losing record through five games.

South Carolina controlled the early stages against the Wildcats. Rushing touchdowns from Matt Fuller and Jabree Coleman produced a 14-0 lead, and Malik Orsan's 29-yard field goal at the start of the second quarter stretched the margin to 17-0.

Kentucky began working its way back before halftime. Baxter scored on a three-yard run and Adam Zouagui added a 42-yard field goal to trim the deficit to 17-10, and although Orsan connected on another field goal to give South Carolina a 20-10 cushion at the break, the Wildcats had established momentum.

That momentum carried into the second half, where Kentucky pulled even at 27-27 and forced overtime. In the extra period, quarterback LaNorris Sellers connected with Maurice Brown II on a five-yard touchdown pass, but Kentucky answered with Kenny Minchey's six-yard scoring throw and converted the ensuing two-point attempt to win by a single point.

The loss set off a wave of criticism aimed at Beamer on social media, where fans urged the program to fire him. One argued that Beamer was the worst head coach in the history of college football, not simply the worst currently working, and claimed his proper level was coaching travel baseball.

Parting ways would carry a heavy financial cost. After the 2024 season, Beamer agreed to a contract extension that runs through 2030. His buyout is estimated at about 65 percent of his remaining base salary and other compensation through the end of that deal, which would amount to roughly $24 million if South Carolina fired him this week.

Beamer addressed the loss afterward. "We've got to finish," he said at his postgame press conference, while praising his players as "great young men" and crediting the program's culture for the way the roster kept battling through a difficult week and a lost lead. He added that his players were hurting, apologized for the defeat and accepted responsibility for his play-calling. South Carolina is next scheduled to face Florida on Oct. 10.

Towson, one of South Carolina's season-opening opponents, hosts Stony Brook on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 1:00 p.m. EDT at Tiger Field. The game streams on FloSports.