Paul Finebaum Names College Football Program Whose Season Is 'On The Brink'

In the 2024 college football season, many teams and coaches needed bounce-back seasons to alleviate the pressure on them. South Carolina Gamecocks and head coach Shane Beamer were among those in need of a turnaround.

Beamer took over in 2021 and led South Carolina to back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2017-2018. The eight wins in 2022 were the most since 2017. The Gamecocks also had a lot of momentum heading into the 2023 season after beating the No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers and the No. 7 Clemson Tigers in back-to-back weeks to end the regular season. The win against Clemson was the first win over the Tigers since 2013.

In 2023, the Gamecocks had a 5-7 record, which added to the pressure in 2024. Early in the season, it seemed like Beamer would distance himself from any hot seat talk. South Carolina started 2-0 and dominated the Old Dominion Monarchs and the Kentucky Wildcats. However, they then took a 17-0 lead against the LSU Tigers at home before losing 36-33.

The Gamecocks then defeated Akron but were dominated by the Ole Miss Rebels last weekend. On the "Paul Finebaum Show," the SEC Network analyst expressed concern that South Carolina's season is "on the brink" after the loss, especially with the upcoming game against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

"They better bring something more than they had last week because that was about as disappointing of a performance as I've seen," Finebaum said. "I think some of it; Ole Miss figured out a plan defensively. They looked really good. But, the season feels like it's on the brink right here."

South Carolina's schedule is about to get tough. In their last seven games, the Gamecocks will be facing five currently ranked teams, with three of those games happening in a row starting this weekend. If you include the game against Ole Miss last weekend, that makes it four straight games against ranked teams and six out of their last eight.

The Gamecocks will face the Crimson Tide on the road on Saturday at noon ET on ABC.

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