Eight games into the 2025 season, South Carolina football has shown a consistent, glaring struggle to put points on the board. Pressure has been placed on the Gamecocks to find answers on the offensive end from the fanbase in the midst of a hostile SEC schedule.
The Gamecocks are ranked last in the SEC in total offense, putting up 20.38 points per game on average after eight games. South Carolina has gotten into the end zone just 20 times as a team, with only 14 of them coming from the offensive unit. South Carolina also ranks last in the SEC in total yards of offense per game at 302.1, while ranking second-to-last in both passing yards and rushing yards per game.
"I understand there's noise out there, and there should be," head coach Shane Beamer said. "I'm not happy with where we are right now."
South Carolina is coming off a 29-22 loss against No. 4 Alabama, one of its better offensive outings this season. The team put together 333 total yards during the contest, a slight above-average output in an impressive battle against an AP Poll top-five-ranked opponent.
Still, the Gamecocks punted four times while allowing a first-quarter pick-six and suffering a late-game fumble from redshirt sophomore LaNorris Sellers. Sellers was sacked twice in the game, while the offensive line suffered three penalties for a total of 25 yards.
Offensive line struggles have been a consistent knife in the back for the South Carolina attack. South Carolina has been penalized 64 times this season, good for second-to-last in the SEC. Likewise, Sellers has been sacked 28 times, 3.5 sacks per game, which is also second-to-last in the conference.
Beamer and his staff addressed the offensive line problem on Oct. 12, when the team parted ways with offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley. In the preceding game against No. 14 Oklahoma, the pass protection looked at its worst, as Sellers was sacked six times and the Gamecocks put up just 170 total yards of offense.
After the game, Beamer expressed his frustration after already making a change to his coaching staff.
"I made a change last week," Beamer said. "Every week we're continuing to look at how to be better."
Offensive coordinator Mike Shula assumed play-calling duties at the beginning of the season after former offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains accepted the head coach position at Appalachian State. Shula holds a decorated coaching resume primarily in the NFL, highlighted by his four-year stint with the Carolina Panthers from 2013-2017, which included an appearance in Super Bowl 50. Shula was also the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide from 2003-2006.
Shula, the son of the NFL's winningest coach of all time, Don Shula, has faced heavy scrutiny in his first year as the shot caller for the Gamecocks. In the first half of the Oklahoma game, chants of "Fire Shula" rang out through Williams-Brice Stadium as the team struggled to put points on the board. Shula said that despite the heat, he remains confident in his play-calling responsibilities.
"What do we ask our players to do?" Shula said. "We ask our players to have confidence, believe in themselves ... If we do that as coaches, if we ask our players to do that, we have to do the same."
Shula is the third offensive coordinator under Shane Beamer at South Carolina, a position that has not had the same continuity as the defensive coordinator position during that time. Defensive coordinator Clayton White has held the position since 2021, when Beamer was hired. In his time with the Gamecocks, White has been nominated twice for the Frank Broyles Award for the nation's top assistant coach.
Beamer's first offensive coordinator hire was Marcus Satterfield in 2021, who was in Columbia for just two seasons before resigning and becoming the offensive coordinator at Nebraska under Matt Rhule. Satterfield has been affiliated with Rhule for much of his coaching career, having coached nine seasons together with five different teams.
Despite going 7-6 in 2021, the Gamecocks were an underwhelming offense with a brand new coaching staff, scoring 22.62 points per game, which was second-worst in the SEC. In 2022, the Gamecocks went 8-5 in year two with Satterfield calling plays. The team finished with the third-most passing yards in school history after former quarterback Spencer Rattler joined the team via the transfer portal.
After Satterfield went to Nebraska, Beamer brought in the aforementioned Loggains, a decorated offensive coordinator in the NFL, spending time with the Tennessee Titans, Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins and New York Jets. Loggains spent several of those years as an associate of former NFL head coach Adam Gase.
In 2023, Loggains and the Gamecocks struggled to a 5-7 record, the worst record in Beamer's tenure up until this season. South Carolina averaged the fourth-most passing yards in the SEC with 278 per game, but only rushed for an SEC-worst 85.08 yards per game. The unbalanced attack resulted in South Carolina scoring just 26 points per game, which was 12th in the SEC.
Last season, however, the Gamecocks turned it around on the offensive end with Loggains calling the shots in Sellers' first year under center. South Carolina scored over 30 points per game, and the rushing attack was revitalized with the portal addition of former running back Rocket Sanders. The Gamecocks finished 9-3 in the regular season, the best season under Beamer so far, and enough for Loggains to land the job at Appalachian State.
Lack of continuity seems to be the trend with the offensive coordinators in Columbia. Year two under both Satterfield and Loggains looked more convincing than year one, but the trend has continued in 2025 with Shula. With new offensive coordinators come different philosophies and styles, something that can take time to adapt to.
While the offense has struggled as a whole for much of 2025, the team is still coming off one of the better performances of the season in the loss to Alabama. Sellers said the team is still focusing on fixing the offensive attack week after week.
"Whatever is best for the team, really," Sellers said. "Just keeping a simple, small game plan, and if that's what works, we will keep doing it."
With four games left in the season, the Gamecocks have room to make strides on the offensive end and win some games along the way. While the pressure to win in Columbia is still steep, the question remains if the offense is repairable with Shula at the helm.