The 3-2-1: Three key plays, two game balls, and one burning question from South Carolina's big win over Texas A&M
On Saturday, South Carolina and Texas A&M met at Williams-Brice Stadium in front of a sold-out Gamecock crowd. In the end, Shane Beamer moved into second place all-time in Gamecock history in top-10 wins as his team knocked off the Aggies 44-20.
Three Key Plays
- 4th downs on the first drive of the game for each team
After an ill-advised slide from LaNorris Sellers left USC short of the sticks right on the edge of field goal range, Shane Beamer and Dowell Loggains elected to go for it on 4th-and-1. Rocket Sanders converted, and a few plays later, LaNorris Sellers found the end zone from 23 yards out.
On the ensuing drive, Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko also rolled the dice on 4th down. Quarterback Marcel Reed was stuffed on a sneak attempt, giving the Gamecocks the ball at the A&M 32. A few plays later, Sellers found Josh Simon for a 15-yard score on a nice play call from Loggains.
In less than seven minutes of play, South Carolina led 14-0. It was the first time all season the Gamecocks scored touchdowns on their first two offensive possessions. USC needed every bit of that fast start as Texas A&M eventually came back to take a lead. - The pivot point
As things seemed to be teetering on disaster (Texas A&M had taken a 20-17 lead with 1:08 left in the 1st half), the Gamecocks needed something to go right before the intermission. A few nice plays and a couple of A&M penalties got South Carolina down the field. Alex Herrera drilled a 44-yard kick with two seconds remaining to tie the score heading into the halftime break.
The momentum carried over into the second half. The Gamecocks forced a three-and-out on Texas A&M’s first drive of the 3rd quarter. Then, Rocket Sanders had liftoff. After both Sanders and LaNorris Sellers had nice runs, No. 5 found daylight on the right side and scooted 52 yards to paydirt.
After the Aggies took a 20-17 lead, the Gamecocks outscored them 10-0 in about seven minutes of game action. The scoreboard flipped back in South Carolina’s favor, and so did the game’s momentum. - Sacks
Not one play but two in the 4th quarter felt like the nail in Texas A&M’s proverbial coffin. After the Gamecocks had logged zero sacks for about 53 minutes of gameplay, they picked up two in three plays.
Dylan Stewart beat the A&M left tackle with a nice jab step inside before a speed rush outside. He crushed Reed in the process and nearly forced a fumble.
Two snaps later, TJ Sanders split a double team and got to Reed again, forcing a punt that led eventually to Josh Simon’s game-ending touchdown.
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Two Game Balls
- Gamecock Offense
South Carolina needed its best players to have good days to have a chance to beat Texas A&M. On offense, that meant LaNorris Sellers, Rocket Sanders, and Josh Simon had to play well. They did.
Against the SEC’s best defense in conference play, the Gamecocks racked up over 500 yards of offense. Sellers and Sanders both went over 100 yards rushing, something that no other player had done this season. Sellers threw for 244 and 2 touchdowns (and no turnovers), and Sanders had 92 yards receiving. Simon added 132 yards and two receiving touchdowns, as well.
The trio powered the Gamecocks to 44 points. However, they couldn’t have done it without, arguably, the best game of the year for the USC offensive line. Carolina’s big uglies didn’t allow a sack in this one, and the run blocking on the edge (especially on the right side) was as good as it has been all season en route to 286 rushing yards. - Demetrius Knight
He didn’t cause a turnover. He didn’t log a sack. He wasn’t the player who had the big 4th-down stops. However, Demetrius Knight made almost every other play of the day for the South Carolina defense. The veteran linebacker posted an 11-tackle performance in this one. Knight flew around the field all night and helped limit Texas A&M to one of its lowest rushing totals of the season and zero points after halftime.
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One Burning Question
Can the South Carolina offense build off of a strong performance and the Gamecock defense look like it did in the 2nd half?
Saturday’s contest against Texas A&M represented the Gamecocks’ best offensive performance against anyone not named Akron. South Carolina posted over 500 yards of offense and won the turnover battle.
On the other hand, the Gamecock defense had one of its worst overall games. The good news, though, is that the D had its best moments at the most important times, forcing two failed 4th-down conversion attempts, surrendering zero points in the 2nd half, and logging two sacks during A&M’s last gasp effort in the 4th quarter.
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South Carolina has another big test next week as they travel to Nashville to take on the already-bowl-eligible Vanderbilt Commodores.
