Shane Beamer updates South Carolina injuries after Mississippi State

South Carolina is banged up and getting closer to healthy, but Shane Beamer updated the Gamecocks’ injury status after beating Mississippi State 37-30.

Brown did a little bit all week and was limited Thursday. The Gamecocks were hoping to get him in the game but he didn’t feel great. The hope is he’ll be ready to go next weekend for Tennessee.

O’Donnell Fortune hurt his knee in practice on Thursday. It’s nothing serious and got hit on his knee during the game. He felt fine Friday after hitting that knee and just re-aggravated it during the game.

In his stead, Judge Collier saw more snaps and came up with a big fumble recovery to set up the game-icing score.

JT Geer, who had missed the last three games, got his first action of the season despite tweaking his injury again pregame and was re-taped. Tyreek Johnson also got a chance to play Saturday after being banged up.

[Become a GamecockCentral member for $1]

South Carolina finds more balance offensively in win over Mississippi State

by Jack Veltri

Coming into Saturday, South Carolina knew it had to be better running the football. It couldn’t keep banking on the passing game to win games. It had to be more balanced.

Through three games, the Gamecocks ranked 128th out of 130 FBS schools in rushing yards per game. Head coach Shane Beamer made it clear all week, they had to be better. Find holes, break tackles and move the chains.

It seems Beamer’s words might have worked. With a more balanced offensive game plan, South Carolina was able to defeat Mississippi State, 37-30.

[Win a framed print of the 2022 A&M game]

The Gamecocks (2-2, 1-1 SEC) finished with 150 rushing yards on 45 carries. They had only ran for 157 yards before Saturday night.

In the early going, it would be the passing game that got things started. On the fifth offensive play, Spencer Rattler hooked up with Xavier Legette on a slant route for a 76-yard touchdown.

With his defender beat, Legette was able to find nothing but open grass and use his speed to take it to the house. It capped off a 98-yard drive, the longest of the Beamer era.

After forcing a second straight punt, the Gamecocks went right back to work on offense. This time, the focus would be on the run game. They’d run the ball 13 times for 42 yards on what would be a 16-play drive, ending with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Rattler to Trey Knox.

[Get breaking news from GamecockCentral]

It would be a 99-yard touchdown drive that quickly broke the previous record that was set one drive earlier.

Down in a 14-0 hole, Mississippi State was in need of a response. And it did so in the nick of the time. On the second play of the ensuing drive, Will Rogers found a wide-open Lideatrick Griffin for a 65-yard touchdown.

Discuss South Carolina football on The Insiders Forum!

The post Shane Beamer updates South Carolina injuries after Mississippi State appeared first on On3.