South Carolina ran into a buzz saw in College Station on Saturday night, falling 44-14 to Texas A&M. The Aggies racked up over 2.5 times the total yards that SC did in the game. A&M outgained them 477 to 185 in total yards and rolled up nearly 300 on the ground. South Carolina was unable to establish its running game gaining just 71 rushing yards. A&M averaged over 5 yards per carry to South Carolina's 2.3 per tote.
The game got away from South Carolina early on as A&M was up as much as 31 in the first half. They led by over 40 going into the 4th quarter. Three South Carolina turnovers hurt, as A&M was plus two in total turnover margin. It's not overly common in today's college football to have two 100 yard rushers, but A&M had just that as they dominated the ground game.
Texas A&M struck first with a big play on special teams. Ainas Smith took a punt back 95 yards to the house to give A&M the lead 7-0. QB Zach Calzada would connect on two TD passes to Jalen Wydermyer later in the 1st half to go up 21-0. The Aggies got a TD run from RB Isaiah Spiller and then got a field goal at the 1st half buzzer to lead 31-0 at half.
The Aggies continued to pour it on in the 3rd quarter. They would get a FG drive early in the 3rd, then got a Devon Achane TD run to lead 41-0 after three. The A&M O-line looked more like IHOP on Saturday night, as they served pancakes late into the night opening up running lanes. A&M would add a FG early in the 4th, the 3rd of the night for Kicker Seth Small. South Carolina would score twice in mop up duty to make it a 44-14 final.
Zeb Nolan started at QB for the Gamecocks again, Luke Doty has been hampered by injury and didn't play for SC. Noland was 7 for 12 for just 30 yards. Back up QB Jason Brown saw time , he went 8 of 14 for 84 yards, a TD and two picks. Other than RB ZaQuandre White's 4 catches, no SC receiver caught more than two passes on the night. The ground game for A&M was dominant as Devon Achane went for 154 yards on 20 carries and a TD. RB Isaiah Spiller had 102 yards on 18 carries and a score. Those two backs averaged a combined 6.7 yards per tote.
After the loss, South Carolina is 4-4 overall and 1-4 in SEC play. The bye week for South Carolina comes at a good time. The Gamecocks can use the extra week to get healthier, specifically at QB. It'll be interesting to see if Doty is back to play against Florida on Nov. 6th. The Gamecocks need to win two of their last four to finish at .500.
