Shane Beamer points to LaNorris Sellers injury in defense of South Carolina's College Football Playoff resume

South Carolina is on the cusp of making its first College Football Playoff appearance. However, its three losses this season have the selection committee hesitant to give the Gamecocks a chance. On Tuesday, South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer explained why the Gamecocks’ losses weren’t an accurate representation of his team.

“They kept Florida State out of the playoff last season because of an injury at their quarterback position,” Beamer said on The Paul Finebaum Show. “If injuries were a factor last year, then to me, it’s a factor this year, and you have to look at the fact that our starting quarterback did not play the entire second half of the LSU game, a game that we lost by three points.

“I’m not saying that we would have won, and I don’t want to take anything away from Coach Kelly and LSU, because they beat us that day, but that was a certainly a tough game for us to lose, and we didn’t play the entire second half with our quarterback. If injuries are a factor, and he’s healthy, we may be sitting here at 10-2, and it’s a moot point.”

South Carolina’s 36-33 loss to LSU was its first of the season. In the loss, South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers left the game just before halftime with an ankle injury. The Gamecocks took a 17-16 lead into the break.

Alas, with Sellers sidelined due to his injury, the team was unable to hold on to its lead. In his limited time on the field, Sellers completed 9-of-his-16 pass attempts for 113 yards while also racking up 88 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Sellers missed South Carolina’s next game against Akron and returned for its Week 6 showdown against Ole Miss. Shane Beamer claims Sellers may not have been at full-strength in his first game back.

“When we lost Ole Miss, that was LaNorris’ first game back from missing a game and a half before that with an injury, and he’s continued to improve,” Beamer said.

“The Alabama loss, I think we were a 23-point underdog, and ended up losing by two, and it came down to a two point conversion at the end of the game. I know head to head matters, but also know what we’ve done since then should matter also.”

Since losing back-to-back games against Ole Miss and Alabama, South Carolina has rattled off six straight wins, including three victories over ranked opponents. Most recently, the Gamecocks downed No. 12 Clemson 17-14.

In the win, LaNorris Sellers completed 13-of-21 passes for 164 yards. He also erupted for 166 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. If the selection committee gives South Carolina a chance in the CFP, perhaps Sellers can continue to lead the Gamecocks to more success.