South Carolina looked to be on its way to potentially firing Shane Beamer a few weeks ago when the Gamecocks lost an overtime game to Kentucky.
Since then? The Gamecocks have looked like a completely different team.
Beamer's squad picked up a signature win on Saturday, Oct. 24, as Malik Orsan hit a 48-yard, walk-off field goal against Tennessee. The party was on once time expired at Williams-Brice Stadium, as South Carolina fans stormed the field to celebrate the top-15-ranked win over the 11th-ranked Volunteers.
The field storming was so immediate that police on the field had to hold back Josh Heupel on the Tennessee sideline from going out to shake hands
with Beamer.
GAMECOCKS WIN pic.twitter.com/3KE5wxUnF1
— South Carolina Football (@GamecockFB) October 24, 2026
With their win, the Gamecocks have picked up back-to-back ranked wins for the first time since 2024. South Carolina beat then-No. 15 Florida on Oct. 10 before its bye week last week. It was star defensive edge rusher Dylan Stewart who helped line up the win on Saturday as he forced the strip-sack fumble on Tennessee quarterback George MacIntyre with 33 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
But since the Gamecocks violated the conference's "access to competition area" policy, South Carolina will have to pay Tennessee for the field storming.
Here’s what to know:
Will South Carolina owe Tennessee after field storming?
Because South Carolina violated the "access to competition area" policy, the Gamecocks will owe Tennessee $500,000 for storming the field.
The SEC updated the policy during the SEC Spring Meetings in May to denote that any field storming will bring a $500,000 fine instead of escalating fees — $100,000 for a first offense, $250,000 for a second offense and $500,000 for three or more offenses — that were set in 2023 by the conference.
However, should a field storm happen after visiting teams and officials exit the field of play, a fine will not be given.
"If you are the one rushed, no matter how problematic the situation is, if it's only the first time on campus, it's $100,000," Sankey said at the SEC Spring Meetings. "It may be a lot more. So the motivation was field rushing is field rushing, the first time or the 18th time. We'll offer an outlet of a delayed field rush where they let the visitors exit, let the officials exit. Then you go. That goes to zero."
That will not be the case in Columbia, South Carolina.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: South Carolina storms field vs Tennessee. How much will Gamecocks be fined?
