Shane Beamer shoulders blame for sloppy start as South Carolina trails Missouri early in 2nd quarter

South Carolina didn’t have an auspicious start to a road contest against Missouri on Saturday afternoon. And a week removed from coughing up a 10-point lead in the final stages of a game, Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer lamented his team coming out of the game so poorly.

A number of issues plagued South Carolina, be it pre-snap penalties, drops or blown assignments. Beamer said the blame for that falls on him while speaking with SEC Network sideline reporter Alyssa Lang to start the second quarter.

“We need to execute better than we are. We’ve got dropped balls. We got an illegal formation on the first play of the series. We line up offsides on a third down. That’s on me, I’m the head coach. Just not playing very clean football but we knew it’s not easy coming on the road in the SEC, this is a really good team,” Beamer said.

Beamer won’t be content with the ensuing drive from his offense in the second quarter, after a low snap was dropped on 3rd and 8, sending quarterback Spencer Rattler to all fours to try and secure the loose football, ending the drive.

And while South Carolina got into a 14-0 hole in the first quarter, Beamer knows it’s not an insurmountable margin by any means.

“It’s a four-quarter game. When we get drives like we did in the beginning of the game we gotta finish. They’re really good on the defensive line so we need to settle down, be able to protect our quarterback and if we do, there’s going to be opportunities downfield for some plays,” Beamer said.

After South Carolina punted back to the Tigers, it was short work for Missouri to march down the field and make it 21-0 halfway through the second quarter.

The news only got worse for Beamer and Co.

Star wideout Xavier Legette is out for the remainder of the game against Missouri, Lang relayed on the broadcast shortly before halftime. South Carolina trailed, 24-0, at the time of the report.

Legette took a heavy hit on a kickoff late in the second quarter after a Missouri score. After going to the sideline, he was deemed out for the remainder of the contest after briefly getting medical attention from the training staff. It was reported to be an upper-body injury.

“Some really tough news for South Carolina. Xavier Legette, who got popped hard on that kickoff a few moments ago is out for the remainder of this game. Dealing with an upper-body injury,” Lang said.

The broadcast showed Legette on the sideline with his jersey still on, helmet off and a towel over his head.