Shane Beamer explains decision to accept holding penalty on 2nd-quarter Kyle Kennard sack
South Carolina trailed by 14 points as the clock continued to wind down towards the end of the first half. Ole Miss was marching down the field, and the Gamecocks needed a big play.
Kyle Kennard would provide South Carolina with exactly what it needed. With what seemed like minimal effort, Kennard beat the Rebels’ left tackle and narrowly missed taking down Jaxson Dart, only to get back on his feet and tackle the Ole Miss quarterback for a seven-yard loss.
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But then a yellow flag flew from a nearby referee’s pocket. Micah Pettus, who was blocking Dylan Stewart on the play, had thrown the freshman edge rusher to the ground before Stewart could grab Dart and sack him. The referee called for holding, a ten-yard penalty that would have pushed the Rebels back further than the result of the play.
That beckoned the question: Should the Gamecocks decline the penalty, forcing Ole Miss to move backwards and lose a down? Or, should they accept the penalty and preserve time on the clock for another offensive possession?
“Initially, we missed the sack, and the quarterback got back closer to the line of scrimmage. Then, as he scrambled, whatever you want to call it, he went backwards more,” Shane Beamer said. “My thinking was getting them farther away from field goal-range. Their kicker, in pre-game warmups – he was hitting field goals from the 40-yard line, which would be essentially a 57-yarder.”
The decision to accept the penalty became one that, like many in South Carolina’s 27-3 loss on Saturday, ultimately did not work out in the home team’s favor.
“I was thinking it was going to be more closer to second-and-11 than it was second-and-17. I wasn’t good enough there,” Beamer said.
“I usually ask the official, ‘Okay, tell me exactly what the down and distance is going to be here,'” Beamer said. “We had a communication, and I was probably too – I don’t want to say – rushed. But (I) needed to be better there as far as what the actual down and distance was going to be.”
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The Rebels regained the lost yardage from the penalty on a 10-yard first-down run from Matt Jones one play later. But on third down – which could have been fourth down, had the penalty been declined – Dart found Jordan Watkins for a 41-yard catch-and-run, bringing Ole Miss to South Carolina’s two-yard line.
Jones’ next rushing attempt appeared to find the end zone, but video review overturned the call. Rebels defensive tackle JJ Pegues then poked the ball across the goal line on second down, giving the visitors a three-possession lead.
The score gave the Gamecocks just over a half-minute of time to answer with a scoring drive of its own. It was not meant to be, though, as Ole Miss’ defense kept South Carolina from crossing midfield before time expired.
On the final play of the possession, Jared Ivey sacked LaNorris Sellers for a loss of seven yards. The Gamecocks gained just four yards on the brief four-play drive.
“(It was) poor job on me. (I) shouldn’t have accepted that penalty,” Beamer said. “Essentially, (it was) bad on my part.”
