COLUMBIA, SC — Another November and another late surge for South Carolina and coach Shane Beamer.

The Gamecocks (5-3, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) have made a habit of finishing strong in most of Beamer’s four seasons.

In Beamer’s freshman year 2021, the overmatched Gamecocks beat SEC powers Florida and Auburn throughout the regular season and finished with a victory over North Carolina in Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

A season later, South Carolina got even bigger by outscoring two Top 10 teams in consecutive weeks at No. 5 Tennessee and No. 8 Clemson, ultimately ruining both teams’ chances of making the playoffs. College Football Playoffs.

The Gamecocks look like they’re at it again. They followed a historic win at Oklahoma with another decisive loss to then-10th-ranked Texas A&M, 44-20.

“I tell the players every year it would be a shame if we were the same team in September as we were in November,” Beamer said.

Apparently the Gamecocks are listening and hope to convey that to No. 24 Vanderbilt on Saturday.

South Carolina was inconsistent and badly beaten at home in a 27-3 loss to then-12th-ranked Ole Miss in early October. But he came back to win two straight in the SEC, including a 44-20 takedown of the Aggies who became the last undefeated team in SEC play.

“I think we were just rolling in this game,” South Carolina offensive lineman Cason Henry said. “We were blowing them up as the game went on.”

Heady stuff for a team picked 13th in the oversized 16-team SEC over the summer.

South Carolina ranks fifth in fewest yards allowed in the SEC this season, while edge rushers Kyle Kennard and Dylan Stewart have combined for 14 sacks this season. Kennard leads the SEC with 8.5 sacks, Stewart tied for sixth with 4.5.

Sophomore LaNorris Sellers, in his first season as starting quarterback, is ninth in total offense in the SEC with 223 yards per game. He totaled 350 yards and three touchdowns in the blowout of Texas A&M.

Players and coaches highlight the consistent way the team approaches each week of preparation. The weight training sessions have the same intensity in July as in November and the coaches do not slow down, whether the opponent is No. 1 in the country or from the football championship subdivision.

“As the season goes on, we don’t lighten up or relax at all. We’re continuing on the same path,” defensive tackle Alex Huntley said.

The Gamecocks have had many tipping points this season, going from the high of a September victory at Kentucky (31-6) to the disappointment of close last-minute losses to LSU and Alabama.

LSU, then No. 16, trailed 17-0 but rallied for a 36-33 victory as Josh Williams scored a 2-yard touchdown with 1:12 left. A month later, South Carolina led No. 7 Alabama 19-14 early in the final quarter before losing 27-25 on a Crimson Tide interception as time expired.

It’s hard to escape this truth: Finish these two games and it’s South Carolina fighting for a spot in the SEC title game and the College Football Playoff.

Linebacker Debo Williams tries not to think about it too much “because you don’t want to dwell on the past,” he said. “But I’m human, right? You think about it and wonder where we would be. But it made us even hungrier.

Henry, a sophomore, takes a more philosophical view on the losses, insisting that they were essential to the team achieving what it currently is.

“I think we needed those losses, I say I like it,” Henry said. “But I think it was healthy for us to lose like that early in the season so we could put it all together in the second half.”