Sports

Shane Beamer Denounces Lane Kiffin For Besmirching Gamecocks’ Name Ahead Of CFP Reveal

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Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin pictured next to South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer.

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The South Carolina Gamecocks are arguably the hottest team in college football. Shane Beamer’s bunch has won six straight games following a 3-3 start to the year, which includes four wins over teams that were ranked in the AP Poll at the time of the matchup.

That late run has placed the Gamecocks firmly in the College Football Playoff conversation, though they’ll have to convince the committee that they’re more deserving than other comparable contenders. Ole Miss is one of those teams vying for CFP entry.

Each school boasts an identical 9-3 record. The Rebels own the head-to-head win, besting South Carolina 27-3 in Columbia on October 5th. That would seemingly give Ole Miss a leg up in the argument, but much has changed since that day!

South Carolina is 6-1 since losing to the Rebs with the lone setback being a two-point setback in Tuscaloosa. Ole Miss is 4-2 with losses to LSU and Florida. They’ve also given the Kentucky Wildcats their only SEC win of the year but are just one of two teams to beat Georgia.

Ole Miss has beaten the best and fallen to the worst. They haven’t been as consistent while navigating a schedule ESPN deems less daunting than the one South Carolina has played. The Gamecocks hold an edge in strength of record. Lane Kiffin doesn’t think those metrics matter. He beat the Gamecocks straight up!

Since winning his rivalry game vs. Mississippi State, Kiffin’s been doing his best to dismiss the Gamecocks, who just bested 12th-ranked Clemson on the road. The head coach has re-shared a barrage of posts promoting his team.

In many cases, he’s put the Gamecocks down while doing so.

X (Lane Kiffin)


He continues to take aim at South Carolina on social media with the ranking reveal quickly approaching!

X (Lane Kiffin)


Shane Beamer called him out for it on Tuesday ahead of the College Football Playoff release. He suggests that Kiffin can promote his own team without putting down another.

“He can say what he wants,” Beamer said. “I think the SEC’s the best conference in America. I think we deserve more than three teams. In my mind, it’s let’s continue to promote the great things about the South Carolina football program. I get it, they beat us. He’s trying to jump on the table for his team… But I can stand up for South Carolina without trying to take down other teams.”

Both Beamer and Kiffin continue to fight for their schools’ inclusion in the College Football Playoff. They’ve done that in much different fashions. It will come down to whether or not the committee values that head-to-head result over the full resume of work. And in the end, both might get left out for a team like Alabama or Miami. We’ll know a lot more after Tuesday night!