Tennessee football's loss at South Carolina in 2022 sparked a wave of conspiracy theories that notorious Michigan sign-stealer Connor Stalions helped the Gamecocks spring an upset.
But after authoring another stunning win over the No. 11 Vols, 27-24 on a last second field goal at Williams-Brice Stadium on Oct. 24, South Carolina coach Shane Beamer wants to put the conspiracies to rest.
"I'm sorry for saying this," Beamer said postgame. "But all the bullcrap conspiracy theories from the last four years, hopefully, we can put that crap to bed now because I don't even want to give credence to it and give oxygen to it because it's so ridiculous. But it's disrespectful."
Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina has become a house of horrors for the Vols, who haven't won there since Sept. 26, 2020, a victory that was eventually vacated by the NCAA.
Some fans allege that Stalions gave Tennessee's offensive signals to South Carolina defensive coordinator Clayton White, who worked for former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh at Stanford from 2007-09. Some believe Stalions shared the signals so the Gamecocks could knock the then-No. 5 Vols and their explosive offense from the College Football Playoff race in order to create an easier path for Michigan.
Stalions has since denied the allegations. Beamer said they are insulting to the South Carolina fans and players who have now beat Tennessee in two of their last three meetings.
"All these conspiracy theories about the 2022 game, it's disrespectful to our fans that were in this stadium that night. It's disrespectful to our players and coaches that scored 63 points against them that night and held them to 38," Beamer said. "So I don't know what conspiracy theories they're going to come up with this year. Maybe it's the lights from the state fair or something affected their ability to play."
Beamer didn't want to convey any disrespect towards the Vols, and wants credit for being the better team when taking them down in two straight home games.
"I got a lot of respect for Tennessee. I got a master's degree from Tennessee, and I got a lot of great friends in Knoxville, a lot of great friends on that staff, but that's embarrassing," Beamer said. "All this credence that we're still talking about this stuff four years later. So hopefully we're not talking about that anymore after tonight."
Stephen Thompson covers Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball. Email him at stephen.thompson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @stephenethom.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Shane Beamer rips Connor Stalions, Tennessee football conspiracies as 'disrespectful'