First look at South Carolina vs. Texas A&M: How will Gamecocks look after bye week?
South Carolina’s football team is coming off its second bye of the season, looking to build on a win at Oklahoma. The final score in Norman was lopsided — USC won 35-9 — but the offense still has room for improvement.
Up next, the Gamecocks play host to a Texas A&M team that has become a contender in the SEC. Under first-year coach Mike Elko, the Aggies are suddenly a solid, well-rounded outfit.
SOUTH CAROLINA VS. TEXAS A&M GAME, TV INFO
Who: South Carolina (4-3, 2-3 SEC) vs. No. 10 Texas A&M (7-1, 5-0 SEC)
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, S.C.
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
TV: ABC
VEGAS BETTING ODDS
The Gamecocks are 4-point underdogs against the Aggies, according to Circa Sports. The over/under is 46.5 points.
LAST MEETING, TRENDS
The Gamecocks lost last season’s game at College Station, falling behind early and not being able to rally late in a 30-17 loss. South Carolina is 1-9 all time against Texas A&M, with the lone win coming in 2022.
STATE OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS
The Gamecocks are coming off an open week that followed a successful win against Oklahoma. The defense staked South Carolina to an early 21-0 lead, and Shane Beamer’s team basically smothered a bad Sooners offense from there for a key win.
The big question coming out of the off week is whether the offense can find more sync and a next gear. Despite beating Oklahoma, the Dowell Loggains-directed offense could only produce 3.7 yards per play. The biggest issue was an inability to play offense from ahead, as the team got a single first down in its final four true drives.
This week represents another chance for the Gamecocks to knock off a well-resourced SEC program. They still need one more Power Five victory to all but guarantee a bowl, but the smaller spread against a Top 10 team shows an opportunity for a high-quality win
State of the Texas A&M Aggies
Mike Elko’s team is riding high after ripping off a 31-6 stretch to run away from LSU and push their SEC record to 5-0.
They’ve been good but not great on both offense and defense, which suddenly has them as a contender for the conference title game. (The resumption of the rivalry with Texas promises to be a barnburner.)
The biggest question for the offense is who starts out behind center. The team had its third quarterback change of the year against LSU. Conner Weigman started the season and got hurt. Backup Marcel Reed played well in relief, then performed poorly. Weigman returned, was good against Missouri, passable against Mississippi State and then struggled against LSU. He was benched, and Reed delivered an excellent rushing day to torch LSU.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers: The redshirt freshman didn’t have the best day against a decidedly stout Sooners defense. He still has some moments that show a high level of potential, but mixes them with impatient moments that remind you he’s only in the second year. For the season, he’s thrown for 968 yards with four touchdowns and five interceptions, while rushing for 437 yards (discounting sacks).
South Carolina running back Rocket Sanders: It has become a bit of a tired trope, but Sanders is really a key spark plug for this offense. When he is pounding on folks, the run game gets a much better rhythm and flow, opening things up, but when he’s not, it often becomes a slog. For the year he has 426 rushing yards and six scores.
South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori: No matter which quarterback starts, Texas A&M is going to create some misdirection and also just try to lean on the Gamecocks defense. Emmanwori is a player whose combination of size and speed allows him to clean things up and also deliver some hits right back against a pretty physical offense. For the season, he’s posted 49 tackles, along with some acrobatic plays among his four interceptions.
Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed (OR Conner Weigman): The uncertainty makes it even more of a position to watch and more of a headache for the Gamecocks defense. Reed is a young dual-threat player who can make life hell on the ground, but he’s inconsistent through the air, with 329 total rushing yards and an average of 171.3 passing yards per game in three starts. Weigman is a more consistent thrower and can scramble a little, having thrown for 782 yards in five games, but he is not as dynamic and struggled badly in the LSU game (6 for 18 passing for 64 yards)
Texas A&M edge Nic Scourton: South Carolina’s offensive tackle play has left a lot to be desired across the first seven games, and the Aggies have a strong set of talented defensive ends. A 6-foot-4, 285-point Purdue transfer, Scourton is the most productive among them with five sacks and plenty of quarterback pressures in seven games. He led the Big Ten in sacks last season.