USC-Texas A&M: Thumbs up, Thumbs down
THUMBS UP
Brandon Wilds
It was the Wilds of old — running hard, mean and ornery. He posted 128 yards and two touchdowns, the last on an aborted end run where he turned Texas A&M’s defense into cheesecloth.
Sean Kelly
The most underrated member of USC’s team had another banner day punting the ball, with a long of 54 and three touchbacks.
G.A. Mangus
Everything the play-caller dialed up in the first half worked. End runs, reverses, having an afterthought of a QB run for 66 …
Shamier Jeffery
Two big-time catches for the senior, both on plays where USC needed 11 yards to move the sticks.
THUMBS DOWN
Perry Orth
As good as he was at times, his pick-six sealed the game and when given three chances to get that elusive tying touchdown, Orth mustered one first down.
Defense
Wash, rinse, repeat. The Gamecocks can’t rush and can’t cover. When a highlight is not giving up as many as the 680 they gave up last year to A&M, it’s not a highlight.
Decisions
Not being aggressive every time USC touched the ball, knowing it had no defense, took chances from the Gamecocks that really could have come in handy. Wasting a final second-quarter possession with 60 seconds and timeouts, punting on fourth-and-5 in the fourth at midfield while down a score …
Pass-blocking
Orth’s protection broke down when he could least afford it. The Gamecocks knew what was coming and still couldn’t stop it.
David Cloninger
This story was originally published October 31, 2015 at 7:17 PM with the headline "USC-Texas A&M: Thumbs up, Thumbs down."