Go to Yell: South Carolina silences Aggies with statement win
Xavier Legette glanced to his left, dipped up the Texas A&M sideline and hit the gas. With a flick of the wrist, the fourth-year receiver flashed a peace sign as he reached the open field.
Deuces. Gone.
“From the start I knew I was going to get one,” Legette said through a smirk.
Legette’s 100-yard touchdown return on the opening kickoff paced South Carolina to a 59-minute slow burn of heart rate-raising gridlock as USC (5-2, 2-2 SEC) exorcised a decade of ineptitude against Texas A&M in a wild and wacky 30-24 win over the visiting Aggies (3-4, 1-3).
The Gamecocks earned the No. 25 spot in Sunday’s Associated Press poll, the program’s first national ranking since the 2018 season.
“It was a just a little over a month ago, I sat in here after the Georgia (loss) and got asked if I sensed any quit in this football team,” Beamer said. “Did that look like a team that’s quit?”
The first five minutes of Saturday’s slugfest more closely mirrored the whimsical nature of the state fair taking place across the street than a Southeastern Conference football game.
Legette opened the scoring with his touchdown return, matching the second-longest score in program history.
Texas A&M quarterback Haynes King followed, starting A&M’s early offensive ineptitude when he slung his fourth pass of the day into the hands of South Carolina cornerback Darius Rush’s outstretched arms. Stalling from the 5-yard line, the Gamecocks settled for a 23-yard Mitch Jeter chip shot field goal.
The mayhem compounded one possession later when a snap ricocheted off King’s knee and landed in the hands of Gamecocks defensive lineman Tonka Hemingway. South Carolina tailback Christian Beal-Smith emphatically announced his return to the lineup following two games away due to injury with a five-yard touchdown scamper to make use of the short field.
Yet, as it did two weeks ago at Kentucky, South Carolina’s offense slogged through the opening 30 minutes of competition. The Gamecocks churned out just 98 yards of offense — 80 passing and 18 rushing — en route to its second-worst first-half offensive display of the season.
“It was 17-0 in the blink of an eye,” quarterback Spencer Rattler said. “We got in the red zone so quickly we were like, ‘What’s our rhythm here? What’re we going to call?’ We were kind of thrown off guard. I thought we called some plays that they guarded really well — especially those first three plays in the red zone.
“We did a lot of great things in the first half, we just kept shooting ourselves in the foot. Got the first down, then we get a penalty. We had some balls that should’ve went our way. Things like that.”
The Aggies offense took advantage of the lackluster rhythm, marching to a pair of field goals and a highlight-reel touchdown pass from King to tight end Max Wright, entering the half training 17-14.
Trading blows — figuratively and almost literally in a midfield scuffle before the fourth quarter — South Carolina and Texas A&M took turns asking each other to win.
“There’s smoke in the air,” Rush told the offense following the brief and mild skirmish on the 50-yard line that drew both benches onto the field. “Let’s give them some smoke.”
Texas A&M running back Devon Achane pulled the Aggies within a field goal just before the end of the third quarter. But with King sidelined due to injury and freshman Connor Weigman guiding A&M’s offense, head coach Jimbo Fisher’s squad couldn’t find the final counterpunch.
South Carolina running back MarShawn Lloyd supplied that.
Moments after exiting the injury tent following a 24-yard scamper and hard hit, Lloyd blasted through the line and plunged into the end zone untouched for the cherry on top of South Carolina’s first win over their cross-divisional opponents.
“We were able to show people that two weeks ago (beating then-No. 13 Kentucky) wasn’t a fluke,” Lloyd said. “We’re here now. South Carolina is on the rise. We’re here to compete with anyone and we’re just going to just keep getting better and better each week.”
Beamer smiled wide as he nestled into his usual postgame press conference seat. He apologized for being a tad later than normal. The locker room celebrations ran a bit longer than usual, Beamer explained.
South Carolina has had plenty of reason to party of late. It beat Kentucky for just the second time in nine tries two weeks ago. It downed Texas A&M for the first time ever on Saturday.
It was far from perfect. It’s been borderline unwatchable at points. But South Carolina is a win away from bowl eligibility — in October.
If the Gamecocks hurry, they might have enough time to cross the street for a victory fried Oreo or two.
First down
South Carolina will now hold the Bonham Trophy — awarded to the winner between the Gamecocks and Aggies — for the first time since USC and Texas A&M began playing annually since 2014. The Gamecocks previously held an 0-8 mark in the series.
Key stats
10 — South Carolina managed 10 points off two Texas A&M turnovers
48 — Spencer Rattler’s completion percentage (48%) was his lowest of the season
100 — Xavier Legette took the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown
Next USC football game
Who: South Carolina vs Missouri (homecoming)
When: Saturday, Oct. 29, 4 p.m.
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium
TV: SEC Network
This story was originally published October 22, 2022 at 11:10 PM.
