Shane Beamer takes blame for failed fake punt vs. Ole Miss: 'I screwed us'

Early in the first quarter of Saturday’s game against Ole Miss, South Carolina coach Shane Beamer tried to get creative. The Gamecocks ran a fake punt, which was stopped short on 4th-and-1 and set up a Rebels touchdown to take the 7-0 lead.

It looked like it could be a pivotal play in the game moving forward. During an in-game interview with ESPN’s Taylor McGregor, Beamer took the blame for the call and putting South Carolina in that position.

The Gamecocks had 4th-and-1 at their own 36-yard line at the time of the play. Maurice Brown didn’t get the yard necessary to get a first down. That meant Ole Miss took over with great field position, and Beamer admitted it might not have been the right call.

“I screwed us and put us in a bad spot on that fake punt,” Beamer said. “And then, we had the turnover when we were driving. I think that’s the biggest thing is just settling down, playing football.

“It’s a four-quarter game. Need to be able to continue to run the ball well, like we’re doing right now, and then being able to get off the field on defense on third down.”

South Carolina then turned the ball over on a Robby Ashford fumble, leading to a 14-0 deficit. That made it a 14-0 deficit for the Gamecocks entering the second quarter, although they started to threaten by reaching the red zone with 11:05 to play in the first half.

Shane Beamer’s group entered Saturday’s game looking to get back on the winning track, and the Gamecocks got a big boost on offense. Quarterback LaNorris Sellers and running back Rocket Sanders were both active after appearing on the availability reports during the week.

South Carolina ended up trailing Ole Miss 24-3 at halftime. Two of the Rebels’ touchdowns came on runs by defensive tackle J.J. Pegues, who lined up in the backfield and ran both of his one-yard carries in for scores.