What College GameDay said about South Carolina-Texas A&M
Every Saturday, College GameDay breaks down the top matchups across the country. As usual, Kirk Herbstreit, Pat McAfee, Desmond Howard, Nick Saban, Rece Davis, and Lee Corso made up the College GameDay team. Comedian Keegan-Michael Key later joined the show as the celebrity guest picker. Though GameDay was in Happy Valley for Penn State’s meeting with the rival Ohio State Buckeyes, there was plenty of conversation about South Carolina-Texas A&M.
Once again, the Pat McAfee Kicking Contest did not feature anyone worse than the South Carolina student from week 3. A Penn State student missed his tries, but the kicks were much better than the backward Gamecock field goal attempt. Then, future Pro Football Hall of Fame center Jason Kelce (wearing Timberlands) missed two additional kicks wide left.
[See the Gamecock discussion on The Insiders Forum!]
Early in the show, while speaking about College Football Playoff hopefuls, the GameDay crew acknowledged that South Carolina was not on the list but that they could become a factor with a winning streak. Rece Davis also called tonight’s matchup between the Gamecocks and Aggies a “tough” test for A&M. The whole panel agreed, and Pat McAfee added, “especially at night” to Davis’ analysis.
Kirk Herbstreit and Nick Saban did an entire segment on Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed and the Aggies’ ground attack. Most in the college football world believe that the athletic dual-threat will start tonight’s contest at QB. The Aggies’ ability to pull their offensive linemen will be a major factor in the run game against Carolina’s defense. Thanks to the bye week, Saban thinks Shane Beamer’s team will do well against Reed and the A&M offense. Both analysts reiterated the point that the Williams-Brice Stadium environment and the pass-rush duo of Kyle Kennard and Dylan Stewart will make things difficult for the freshman when it is time to drop back to pass the football. Rece Davis chimed in after the segment that USC’s ability to force turnovers means that Reed “better be careful.”
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[Win two tickets to the South Carolina-Missouri football game]
When it came time for the College GameDay picks, South Carolina-Texas A&M was one of the games featured. The Gamecocks have been a popular upset pick this week, but GameDay didn’t really follow that trend. Desmond Howard picked Texas A&M in “a close game.” Nick Saban followed him with another pick for the Aggies. Pat McAfee, Lee Corso, and Kirk Herbstreit also picked A&M. Celebrity guest picker Keegan-Michael Key was the only panelist who picked South Carolina.
South Carolina and Texas A&M will kick off at 7:30 p.m. on ABC, ESPN+, and the ESPN app. The sold-out crowd also will see nine former Gamecock greats honored as South Carolina Letterman’s Hall of Famers.
