Behind the scenes: South Carolina vs Kentucky

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‘It’s a great night for all Gamecocks’

By Collyn Taylor

Shane Beamer finished hi-fiving the swath of South Carolina fans lining the tunnel to the Gamecocks’ locker room, his smile never leaving his face.

As he turned down the small, dimly-lit hallway to the ensuing celebration, he let out a primal, guttural scream, shouting, “Yeah!” as loud as his raspy voice would allow him to go. 

From there disappeared into the horde of players and staff members to savor a watershed moment for his program and culture that had been building all summer. 

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“When y’all asked me this week if some weeks are bigger than others, I lied to you. I told you it’s just another opportunity, but this was really big for us tonight in so many ways,” he said, fighting back tears. “It’s a great night for all Gamecocks.”

The anticipation for this game began over the summer with Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops seemingly taking a shot at Beamer’s program and poking fun of a video he did at SEC Media Days where he danced in sunglasses to a Soulja Boy song. 

It grew even more as that video went viral and the Gamecocks began the year 3-2 while Kentucky ascended into the top 15 of the AP poll before Saturday night. 

But, in the end, the Gamecocks got the last laugh this year with a 24-14 win over the Wildcats, and the sunglasses and Soulja Boy reappeared in the postgame pandemonium. 

“It feels real, real, real good, man,” Sherrod Greene said. “Pulling off a win today shows a lot. It shows the world we really can go play SEC football. That’s what we were trying to prove tonight and we did that.”

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Not only was it South Carolina’s first road win in the SEC since Beamer took over, but it was also the first time the Gamecocks beat Kentucky in Lexington in a decade. 

Back then, stamps cost 45 cents. Channing Tatum was People’s Sexiest Man Alive and Taylor Swift was atop the music charts. Plus, there were just six Marvel movies out.

Saturday marked the first win over a ranked opponent since 2020. It’s the first win against a top 25 on the road since upsetting Georgia in 2019.  

The win by no means indicates the Gamecocks’ full-fledged arrival in the SEC East. But it certainly gives them an edge in the standings and makes the plane ride home that much sweeter. 

This is major, man. This is a ranked team and we came into their house. We had to show people what we were about,” Juice Wells said. “All the hype in the preseason, we stand on that. We wanted to come out and show people what we’re really about and I think we did that.”

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Players sensed the gravity of this week early on after arriving back from a brief hiatus. 

Tuesday, Beamer told whoever didn’t think the Gamecocks could win at Kentucky to leave the team meeting. What followed, Beamer said, was the team’s best practice of the season.

During the week, Beamer challenged the defensive line to live up to the lofty expectations they set for themselves. South Carolina responded with a season-high six sacks. 

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And, on the same day Oklahoma lost to Texas–the same opponent Spencer Rattler was benched against–he helped engineer a great second half for the win. 

“He’s an emotional coach. He loves to play hard and have us with him. We believe in everything he’s saying and doing,” Rattler said. “If he’s serious about something, we’re serious about it. He emphasized this game this week and we came here expecting to win this game. Not just hoping to win but expecting to win.”

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MarShawn Lloyd remembers watching the Gamecocks lose 41-18 to Kentucky in 2020. Soon after, he got a phone call from Beamer that night introducing himself as South Carolina’s next coach. 

It was the same Lloyd–a cornerstone of the culture Beamer is trying to build at South Carolina–who rattled off a 45-yard run late. Then he sprung a block to allow Jalen Brooks to score the dagger touchdown. 

So let the celebration commence for the Gamecocks this week. 

“Coach Beamer called me late that night and told me he was the head coach and trying to keep me here. I knew it meant a lot to him especially because of that night,” Lloyd said. “There’s a lot going on with social media talking about our culture. I know it meant a lot to coach Beamer.” 

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