South Carolina comes up short against Texas A&M, drops fourth straight

For a moment, everything was going right. South Carolina was playing well all around.

But as the saying goes, “Don’t poke the bear.” And the Gamecocks did.

After a sluggish first quarter, Texas A&M came to life and pulled away to a 30-17 win over the Gamecocks.

Saturday marked South Carolina’s fourth straight loss. It’s been a tough year for the Gamecocks, who are now 2-6 (1-5 SEC). One more loss will make them ineligible for a bowl game.

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Both teams traded three-and-outs on their first possessions. Then, the Gamecock defense sacked Max Johnson three times on the Aggies’ second drive of the game.

In response to strong defensive play, the offense put together a 13-play, 65-yard drive to take the game’s first lead. Dakereon Joyner capped it off with a one-yard sneak into the end zone on fourth and goal.

The defense continued to play well, making Johnson uncomfortable in the pocket. But a big point of emphasis was getting off the field on third down, which it did. Texas A&M went 0-for-5 on third down in the first quarter.

But that would only last so long. In the second quarter, the Aggies got their first third down conversion. On that same play, Jordan Strachan was called for a personal foul, which gave them the juice they needed.

Three plays later, set up in another third down spot, Rueben Owens broke out for a 14-yard touchdown run to tie the game.

While things started to go right for Texas A&M, the same couldn’t be said for South Carolina. After scoring on the second drive, the Gamecocks couldn’t move the ball much at all on their next four possessions. Three of those drives were over in under a minute.

Penalties proved to be important in the second quarter downfall. Spencer Rattler was flagged for intentional grounding three times in the quarter alone. It killed any momentum the offense had built.

Meanwhile, the Aggies were back on track and in control. They made it into the end zone on their next two drives to go into halftime on a 21-0 run.

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South Carolina didn’t go away quietly, though. With the ball to start the second half, the Gamecocks drove into Aggie territory but couldn’t convert on a third and seven deep ball to extend the drive.

Instead, they had to settle for a 49-yard field goal from Mitch Jeter to cut the deficit.

The Gamecock defense forced a three-and-out on the next possession, giving the offense a shot to get back in it. However, Rattler would go three-and-out himself with three straight incompletions.

It wasn’t a good day for Rattler, who finished 20-33 with 174 yards and a touchdown.

After the defense held Texas A&M to a field goal inside the red zone, South Carolina went 77 yards down the field and scored on a two-yard touchdown grab by Joshua Simon. Just like that, things got interesting and it became a one-score game in the fourth quarter.

The Aggies continued to move down the field and got back on to the other side of the field on their next drive. A 29-yard run by Amari Daniels put them inside the 15 with a chance to possibly put the game out of reach.

However, they couldn’t do so as the Gamecocks held them to another short field goal to make it a 10-point game.

With a chance to respond, South Carolina had a critical fourth down and short play at its own 35. All it needed was one short run to keep the drive going. But a low snap by Nick Gargiulo forced Rattler to fall on the ball short of the line and turn it over on downs.

Texas A&M proceeded to settle for a 52-yard field goal by Randy Bond on the ensuing drive to make it a 13-point lead.

With one more shot to put together something on offense, Joyner fumbled to give the Aggies the ball back.

Up next: South Carolina will have a chance to get back in the win column against Jacksonville State next Saturday. Kickoff is at noon on ESPNU.

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