What Shane Beamer said after win over Kentucky
South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer spoke to the media after a 17-14 win over Kentucky. Here’s what he had to say.
— Beamer walks in with a huge smile on his face. What a win. What a testament to the fight of this football team. No one can ever question the fight and culture of this team. The team just kept playing. Defense played their rear ends off and got huge stops. Offense has to be a lot better. Couldn’t run the ball. But nobody panicked. Knew it would be a four quarter war. Two best players on offense made the big play to save the day. Awesome night. Stadium was rocking. Fans were a huge part of that win.
— Nick Emmanwori and Jalon Kilgore had huge games. Some bad football offensively. Points out some of the mistakes they made. Kept putting the defense out there and they kept making stops.
— Thanks Darude for being here. Told him if he’s ever in Finland he’s hitting him up for sure.
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— Had a heck of a celebration in that locker room. Proud of the way they battled.
— That was a long third quarter. Couldn’t get much going. Don’t know exactly what changed but the guys made plays when they needed to. Have to be a lot better, though.
— Didn’t play good defense in the month of October. Lots of missed tackles and didn’t do a great job.
— Knew they needed to be creative offensively with only two scholarship running backs. Mario Anderson is tough as heck. But can’t overuse him or put Djay Braswell in a tough spot. Knew they were going to need to use LaNorris sometimes to change things up.
— OD Fortune was suspended for violating a team policy. He’ll be back next week.
— Hard to hear on the headphones during the game. The crowd noise was louder than any venue he’s been on the road.
— Beamer asks the cockpit to show up the whole game and not leave early.
— Kept saying they needed one big play to kickstart the team. The crossing route on third down to Legette was huge. At the end of the day, they hit a big play and hit another big play.
— With OD out, Judge Collier and Emory Floyd had to step in and play. Beamer knew their reps will be split. Dial had to go the whole way. Thought they did okay. Knows they’ll be good players but they’re just young.
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— Found out on Monday that OD wouldn’t play this week. Had to change up some of the game plan. Credit to Clayton White and Torrian Gray for adjusting.
— Screw next year, how about next week, Beamer says referring to a question about next season. Told the guys whatever happens this month will come down to leadership. At the end of the game, older guys made the big plays.
[Win two tickets to the South Carolina-Clemson football game]
— Emmanwori is playing like the freshman all-American he was last year. These guys in the secondary are playing their butts off right now. Kentucky has some really good receivers. Corners were out there on an island and made some plays.
— Doesn’t like having Kroeger punt eight times. Knew tonight was going to be a field position battle and it was.
— Defense blocked out the outside noise and did a good job. Got the best players on the field and put them in a scheme to be successful. Took ownership and competed.
— Continue to stay the course and keep mixing things up. But it’s tough when you’re struggling to run the ball. The offense kept hanging in there and then the defense fought til the end.
— Feels good to beat these guys two years in a row. Yes, Soulja Boy was playing in the locker room.
