Shane Beamer pushes back on 2022 Tennessee theories after South Carolina's walk-off win

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer used part of his postgame press conference on Saturday night to revisit an old argument. After his Gamecocks beat No. 11 Tennessee 27-24 at home on a 48-yard field goal by Malik Orsan with no time left, Beamer said he hopes the long-running conspiracy theories about the teams' 2022 meeting can finally be put to rest.

The theory centers on South Carolina's 63-38 win over a Tennessee team ranked No. 5 that season. Rumors have circulated for years that former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions shared Tennessee's sideline signals with the South Carolina staff before that game, though nothing has ever been confirmed. Beamer called the claims ridiculous and said repeating them disrespects the fans who were in the stadium that night and the players and coaches who scored 63 points and held Tennessee to 38.

Beamer joked that critics might invent a new explanation this year, perhaps blaming the lights from the state fair, but he insisted both results came down to the same thing: South Carolina won in 2022 because it was the better team, and it won again on Saturday night for the same reason. The victory was the Gamecocks' second straight in SEC play against a ranked opponent after they opened conference play with three consecutive losses.