Gamecocks’ defense finds hope in adjustment vs. Aggies

South Carolina’s defense had success through a simpler approach in the second half Saturday against Texas A&M.

While it wasn’t enough to change the outcome of the game, co-defensive coordinator Jon Hoke said junior linebacker Skai Moore and other USC veterans came to him with a plea.

“It was really the older players saying, ‘We’ve got to go play it the way we know how to play,’ ” Hoke said. “They said, ‘Give us these calls and let’s go play.’ And they did.”

“These calls” for the Gamecocks’ defense included two base alignments in addition to zone pressure on third downs, Moore said.

After an 11-play, 81-yard touchdown drive early in the second half, the USC defense held the Aggies scoreless and to 80 yards the rest of the game.

“I went to coach Hoke and told him what I thought we should do is keep it as basic as possible so we could go out there, execute and have everyone on the same accord so we could make stops,” said Moore, who finished with a career-high 14 tackles. “I just thought it was best for the team to stick with two base calls.”

USC forced five punts, including three in the fourth quarter. One of those stops came with less than two minutes to play and gave the offense one last chance to win the game.

Texas A&M finished with 544 total yards of offense, the third-most allowed by USC this season after LSU (624) and Georgia (576). The Aggies had 383 yards before the half and 161 afterward.

“It was an improvement from a year ago,” USC coach Shawn Elliott said.

The Aggies embarrassed the USC defense in Williams-Brice Stadium in 2014 behind a 680-yard performance that included 511 through the air. On Saturday, it was the ground game that gave USC the most headaches.

Freshman quarterback Kyler Murray, making his first career start, ran for 156 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. He added 223 yard yards and a score in the air. Tailback Tra Carson rushed 21 times for 122 yards.

Texas A&M, which entered the game averaging 147 yards per game rushing, finished with 321 on the ground. It was the team’s first time over 300 yards rushing since the 2013 Cotton Bowl.

“He definitely adds an extra dimension to the game with his run ability,” Moore said of Murray. “You’ve got to keep tabs on him. It makes it more difficult for a defense.”

In addition to Moore’s strong outing, safety Isaiah Johnson added 11 tackles. Defensive end Darius English recorded the team’s lone sack of the day.

The Gamecocks’ defense failed to force a turnover for the third game this season. The team also did not record a fumble recovery or interception in losses to LSU and Missouri.

The second-half opportunities USC created with defensive stops were a positive takeaway, coaches said.

“We’ll keep building off of it,” Hoke said. “We’ve got a lot of football left to play. Obviously, we’ve still got to get better.”

This story was originally published October 31, 2015 at 8:33 PM with the headline "Gamecocks’ defense finds hope in adjustment vs. Aggies."