Shane Beamer calls out media narrative that South Carolina is just a 'feel-good story'

After South Carolina took down CFP hopeful Clemson, Shane Beamer took his postgame interview as a chance to call out people doubting them. The No. 7 Clemson Tigers lost to the Gamecocks, effectively ending their shot at a College Football Playoff berth. Beamer spoke to the heart of his team, and used his chance to direct a shot at the media — and possibly coach Dabo Swinney.

Shane Beamer calls out analysts

“I saw Jesse Palmer on TV last night. And I saw he said Clemson needs a big win to impress the committee. Clemson needed to worry about winning the football game,” said Beamer. “Because we had a confident bunch and a hell of a football team coming in here. And I think the narrative was that we’re a feel-good story. We got a good football team and we showed it.”

By themselves, Beamer’s comments reflect that chip on their shoulder that the Gamecocks entered Saturday’s game with after hearing about how Clemson was looking to crush them for a better CFP ranking

However, the idea of a team forgetting to win the game in front of them rings a little more painful for Clemson coming from an SEC coach after Swinney made similar comments about Tennessee when they were upset by South Carolina before.

 “They’re flipping burgers during the conference championship weekend, like are we going to Atlanta or Phoenix, and next thing you know you forget you gotta go play,” said Swinney about Tennessee’s fall from the CFP picture while campaigning for respect for the ACC.

Although Beamer’s quotes weren’t a direct copy of Swinney’s, the impact on the rivalry between the SEC and ACC at a national championship level was not lessened after the comments by both coaches. With the loss, Clemson is now on the outside of the playoff discussion while South Carolina finishes their season with huge wins over two top-ten ranked teams.