Justin Edmonds/Getty Images
The football team at the University of South Carolina has firmly failed to live up to expectations after heading into the season as the #13 team in the country. There’s plenty of blame to go around, and some students have directed their ire at Mike Shula by organizing a protest pushing for the ouster of their offensive coordinator.
There are a number of college football teams that headed into the current season with clear eyes, full hearts, and a national ranking that gave them plenty of reason to be optimistic about their chances.
That includes Texas, Penn State, and Clemson, all of which were sitting in the top five when the year got underway only to find themselves plummeting out of the Top 25 after things failed to unfold as they (and the voters) envisioned.
There’s also South Carolina, which was sitting at #13 and opened up its season with wins over Virginia Tech and SC State before falling to 2-2 with losses to Vanderbilt and Missouri. The Gamecocks did bounce back with a win against Kentucky, but they’re in the midst of a two-game skid after falling to LSU and Oklahoma and could see that losing streak extended to five with Alabama, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M on the horizon.
Shane Beamer has caught his fair share of heat, but many fans have also opted to paint Mike Shula as a scapegoat due to the anemic nature of the offense he oversees—including the students responsible for organizing a protest calling for his job.
South Carolina offensive coordinator Mike Shula is the target of a formal protest that students organized on campus
Shula was tapped to replace Dowell Loggains as the offensive coordinator at South Carolina after the latter accepted the job as the head coach at Appalachian State at the end of last season, and things have not gone well on that front since he took the reins.
The Gamecocks are currently ranked 127th in the country when it comes to average yards per game at 297.7 (they are just one of eight teams that have failed to crack the 300-yard mark), tied for 113th on first-down offense, and occupy the same spot when it comes to offensive points per game (they’re also 102nd when it comes to passing offense and 120th on the rushing front).
That is not exactly a great look for Shula, the former Alabama head coach who spent more than 15 years bouncing around the NFL while serving as an assistant in various capacities before returning to the college level when he linked up with Beamer and South Carolina last season.
It does not seem like a stretch to suggest he will not be the offensive coordinator next year, but some fans are hoping he’ll be kicked to the curb even earlier and are throwing their support behind that cause with the “Fire Mike Shula Protest” that will take place on Tuesday.
USC Students have planned a protest against OC Mike Shula tomorrow at 3 PM. pic.twitter.com/R2xAaihfwv
— Famously Garnet Sports (@FamouslyGarnet) October 20, 2025
The organizer shared a list of specific grievances on the flyer announcing the protest, calling out Shula’s “awful and predictable playcalling” and blaming him for wasting the talents of QB LaNorris Sellers while accusing him of “not knowing how to run an offense.”
Based on how he’s fared so far, I don’t think those are unreasonable accusations.