Gamecocks Hiring of Shane Beamer Should Breathe Life Into Stale Palmetto Bowl
The gap between Clemson and South Carolina is as wide as its ever been, and it appears to still be growing.
With Shane Beamer officially being announced as the Gamecocks' new head coach over the weekend, there is no question that he has his work cut out for him.
South Carolina is reeling. The Gamecocks just finished up a 2-8 season in which they lost their final six games. They've had six players decommit since the firing of Will Muschamp. They currently have one of the worst recruiting classes in the country with less than two weeks before the early signing period begins.
Making it even more difficult is the fact that just up the road in Clemson, their in-state rival is on the best run in the history of the program and shows no signs of slowing down. Not only have the Tigers made five consecutive appearances in the College Football Playoff, which includes two national titles in the past four years, Clemson has also won six straight over the Gamecocks.
Despite never having been a coordinator or head coach, Beamer has spent the bulk of his career learning under some of the best head coaches in the sport. Since 2018 he has been the assistant head coach on Lincoln Riley's staff at Oklahoma. Before that he spent two years on Kirby Smart's staff at Georgia, as well as spending time coaching under his father, Frank Beamer, at Virginia Tech.
However, it is the time he spent at South Carolina under legendary head coach Steve Spurrier that Gamecock fans remember him most for. Beamer was the teams recruiting coordinator up until 2010 and helped put together the classes that led to the most successful stretch in program history. Fans are hopeful that he can work some of that magic again, particularly when it comes to the rivalry with Clemson.
Under Muschamp, the Palmetto Bowl lost some of its luster. It is a series the Tigers have dominated of late. Clemson has won by margins of 35, 21, 24, and 49 in the last four meetings.
Whether Beamer can make this Gamecock program competitive again remains to be seen. While he does lack experience, he is young, energetic, and brimming with enthusiasm. At the very least Beamer's hiring adds a new dimension and should breathe some fresh air into the rivalry.
Let's face it, the series has become rather dull of late, and it deserves better. That tends to happen when one team has been so dominant over the other for an extended period.
Before this season the Palmetto Bowl was the second longest-running rivalry series in the country. It deserves the same recognition that Auburn-Alabama and Ohio State-Michigan get. However, the only way that happens is for it to once again actually become a rivalry and now it's up to Beamer to make that happen.
