USC vs. Texas A&M: 16 things you might have missed

Sixteen things you might have missed from USC vs. Texas A&M game:

1. South Carolina slipped to 3-2 and 1-2 in the SEC with a loss to Texas A&M, an accidental rival of sorts that has commanded the brief series. The teams were paired as annual cross-division foes, part of the SEC's effort to preserve other, historic rivalries. The Aggies have won all four meetings, and the margin of victory has been closer of late, starting at 24 to seven to nine to seven in the 24-17 contest Saturday night.

2. Jake Bentley had a volatile day that ended up producing a final pedestrian line. His 17-for-30 performance for 256 yards, and two touchdowns seems almost ho-hum. But six of those catches accounted for more than 170 of those yards and he got taken down seven times for 56 yards.

3. South Carolina managed three drives longer than 63 yards, which accounted for two touchdowns and a red zone turnover. The Gamecocks also failed to convert a muffed punt into points, missing a field goal and couldn't get more than three points after starting a drive at midfield. USC also had seven possessions (of 14) fail to gain 10 yards, three of which lost yards.

4. True freshman receiver OrTre Smith, receiver Shi Smith, defensive back Jam Williams, defensive end Brad Johnson, defensive end Aaron Sterling, linebacker Sherrod Greene and wide receiver Chad Terrell played. Both Smiths and Williams started, as did roster newcomers Dennis Daley (offensive tackle) and Javon Kinlaw (defensive tackle).

5. Brad Johnson saw his role on defense increase a little, after his first couple snaps a week earlier. He had one quarterback hurry when he came up the middle and was shaken off by Kellen Mond.

6. Junior college defensive back Keisean Nixon, who is now working as a reserve corner, recovered a fumble on special team, his first as a Gamecock.

7. Williams led the Gamecocks in tackles and had two for loss. Texas A&M's scheme often put him in conflict, reading him on run-pass option plays and forcing him to cover ground and get out on screen passes.

8. Ty'Son Williams' 34-yard run that helped spark a touchdown drive was USC's second-longest run of the year.

9. Shi Smith's 45-yard touchdown catch was USC's third play longer than 40 yards this season. The Gamecocks had five 20-plus yard passes in the first half, after 13 in the first four games.

10. The Gamecocks continued a trend by winning the toss and receiving every game. They scored on a kick return in the season opener. USC scored an opening-drive touchdown against Kentucky, but came up empty against Louisiana Tech, Texas A&M and Missouri.

11. South Carolina's offensive line saw more shuffling as right tackle Malik Young went out with an ankle injury. D.J. Park became the team's third right tackle of the season. Last year he was benched for Young.

12. The Gamecocks defense posted one of its better halves of the year, holding the Aggies to 4.1 yards per play in the opening two quarters. That number jumped to 6 after the break.

13. USC faced a scary moment when wide receiver Terry Googer was bounced hard on the turf covering a punt and was down for eight or so minutes before being taken off on a stretcher and strapped onto a backboard. Will Muschamp said after the game Googer was fine and that all the efforts had been precautionary.

14. South Carolina allowed a first down on nine of 12 Texas A&M possessions, excluding the end of the second half. Despite that, USC only allowed 10 points on those first nine drive, with both scores requiring the Aggies to work for their yards. Things came apart late as USC's defense tired around four consecutive three-and-outs.

15. South Carolina posted a dismal day on third downs, 2-for-13, matching the worst day for a USC team since 2014. The cause wasn't short-yardage failures, but negative plays that had USC trying to make up swaths of space. Seven of those third downs had at least 12 yards to go. Exactly one had less than 6 (and USC was stuffed there too).

16. A week after staging a 13-point comeback, the Gamecocks couldn't hold a double-digit lead. They'll turn forward to a decent but not great Arkansas team, a game that suddenly seems vital to bowl hopes, with Florida, Tennessee, Georgia and Clemson on the back half of the slate (plus a feisty Vandy squad).

This story was originally published October 2, 2017 at 2:14 PM with the headline "USC vs. Texas A&M: 16 things you might have missed."