Shane Beamer Calls South Carolina Defense Soft After Tennessee Rallies From 14-0 Down

South Carolina built a 14-0 lead over Tennessee on Saturday, but that advantage disappeared before halftime as the Volunteers scored 21 points and went into the break ahead 21-17. Heading to the locker room, Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer was blunt about his defense, saying his team had not stopped Tennessee yet and had been pushed around in the running game.

Tennessee's comeback came on sustained drives of 18, 10 and 7 plays, with the Volunteers repeatedly extending possessions on third down. Beamer pointed to a lack of physicality as the central problem and said South Carolina needed to look far tougher defensively in the second half than it had in the first.

The ground game was at the center of that frustration. Running back DeSean Bishop came into the matchup after three straight games of at least 138 rushing yards, a stretch totaling 517 yards and six touchdowns. His production has helped steady Tennessee's offense with backup quarterback George MacIntyre managing the unit.

The stakes were clear for both sides at halftime. South Carolina was trying to avoid dropping to 1-4 in SEC play, while Tennessee needed a win to stay in position in the College Football Playoff race. After letting a two-touchdown lead slip away, the Gamecocks' ability to slow Tennessee on the ground was set to decide whether they could recover.