"We Need to be Better on Third Down": South Carolina's Shane Beamer Addressing His Third Down Offense

Alex Joyce | 2 Hours Ago

South Carolina Head Coach Shane Beamer watches during the first quarter playing Louisiana State University at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C. Saturday, September 14, 2024. / Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

If South Carolina is going to come away with a road victory over Alabama this weekend, they'll have to be better in one key compenent on offense.

Third down conversion has been an achilles heel for the Gamecocks so far through five games. The offense has struggled mightily to stay on the field ranking 121st in the country, completing just 30 percent of their third down opportunities. Meanwhile, Alabama is one of the nation's best on stopping teams on third down, holding opposing offenses to just 28 percent.

"For us as a team, we need to be better on third down," Coach Beamer said. "We haven't been good enough on third down on offense ourselves, so that's a point of emphasis. We've got to stay on the field, convert on third down."

Getting in third and longs is hard to convert drive after drive. In order to see those conversion numbers get better, the offense from scheme to execution must be better on earlier downs.

"It starts on first down moving the chains on first and second down and then if we do get to a third down, keep it at a manageable situation," Coach Beamer said.

What makes this game in particular unique is Alabama's lack of being able to stop team on fourth down. While one of the nation's best on third down, the Crimson Tide's defense under first year defensive coordinator Kane Wommack has been one of the nation's worst, giving up 73 percent of fourht down conversions.

Most of those numbers come in each of the last two weeks against Georgia and Vanderbilt, however it is something the Gamecocks may be able to exploit to give their offenses more cracks at scoring this Saturday. For a team that is already a massive underdog, throwing caution to the wind could be a beneficial strategy.

"I think every game is different in how your philosophy is going to be on fourth down. We want to be aggressive, but we also know we have a good defense. There's going to be times where we go for it on fourth down and there's going to be times where we're better off punting on fourth down. I think that's a lot of decisions you make during the week, how you're going to coach the game, but then also once you get into the game on Saturday, how the game is going, how your team is playing, and how the other team is playing as well," Cpoach Beamer said.

Starting better on first and second downs can help the team convert third downs more easily and thus not have the need for fourth down plays. However giving an offense all four downs to work with, could elevate your chances of an upset, or get you blown out quickly. It's a matter of when is the right time and when is the wrong time.

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