COLUMBIA — South Carolina football's game Saturday was layered; many dynamics flooded the week.

Facing No. 17 LSU, the Gamecocks were coming off a statement 31-6 win over SEC rival Kentucky on the road and were awarded the national spotlight of ESPN's "College GameDay" show because of it.

South Carolina also picked up its first SEC win this season against Kentucky and quieted the voices that said the Wildcats would prevail. Those factors, combined with the talk around edge rusher Dylan Stewart, and that South Carolina hadn't beaten LSU in 30 years, fueled expectations.

"We have to handle success the right way," Beamer said Tuesday, four days before kickoff. "There's a lot going on this week that we didn't get to deal with last week. We have to make sure we are handling distractions the right way."

As the Tigers clawed back at a 17-point deficit on the way to their 36-33 victory, it became evident that the Gamecocks didn't necessarily handle success the right way.

The difference between a win and a loss factually came in the last two minutes, when the Tigers scored to go ahead 36-33, but perhaps the most impactful two minutes occurred at start the third quarter.

LSU only had seven total yards in the first quarter but quickly dropped 162 yards and 16 points on the Gamecocks in the second. Holding a 24-16 lead at the half, South Carolina lost starting quarterback LaNorris Sellers, who already had two touchdowns, one that was a 75-yard run.

Coming out of the locker room, it felt like the team knew something changed, and sloppy play on defense ensued.

After South Carolina's three-and-out drive in the first 90 seconds, the Tigers ran 19 yards. Then, Garrett Nussmeier, who had seemed frazzled at times in the first half — like after getting sacked for the first time this season — completed a 46-yard pass despite pass interference.

On fourth-and-one, the defense forced Nussmeier to throw a shaky pass that was incomplete. That could have been the final warning for South Carolina that LSU has talent and, despite a slow start, will battle.

Instead, it was the start of a negative cycle for the Gamecocks and a lack of discipline that ultimately cost them the game.

OVERREACTIONS FROM SATURDAY: South Carolina football has a penalty problem, more overreactions from loss to LSU

Of the Gamecocks' 13 penalties, seven came in the final quarter, when LSU found its momentum. After Rocket Sanders ran 66 yards for a touchdown to regain the lead at 30-29, the Gamecocks were called for an illegible man on the two-point conversion. On the second chance, backup quarterback Robby Ashford threw an interception.

Will Campbell, one of LSU's best offensive tackles, matched up on the left with Stewart, who was a topic of pregame conversation for ESPN's Rece Davis pregame, and evaporated his success. Stewart didn't get a sack or even a tackle.

On Saturday, the Gamecocks scored first, they led at halftime and going into the fourth quarter. There will be times again when South Carolina leads at halftime, when its defense has another nationally ranked team frazzled.

The essence of the loss to LSU was the Gamecocks' apparent inability to recognize the momentum shift working against them. When South Carolina's attention to detail should have heightened, it worsened. Clock management, execution, and penalties were physical factors to the mental puzzle of Saturday, and the fourth quarter showed the Gamecocks couldn't find the final piece to finish.

South Carolina may find similar success while playing No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Ole Miss, and No. 13 Oklahoma in the coming weeks. The Gamecocks must learn from their mistakes against LSU so they don't repeat them.

Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: What South Carolina football lacked vs LSU, what it means going forward