South Carolina football wrapped up the university's homecoming weekend with a 44-20 upset win over No. 10 Texas A&M Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium.
With the victory, the Gamecocks now have a 5-3 overall record and are 3-3 in conference play.
South Carolina started off the game with a quick four-minute drive that was punctuated by a 23-yard rushing touchdown by redshirt freshman quarterback LaNorris Sellers that made the score 7-0.
The Aggies' response to that touchdown was short-lived, as it failed to convert on a fourth-and-one play, setting up the Gamecocks with valuable field position at the 30-yard line. South Carolina took advantage of being close to the end zone, scoring in just two plays to double its lead.
Texas A&M would re-gain some momentum late in the first quarter when its defense stripped the ball away from senior running back Raheim Sanders after he made a big play. But the Gamecocks defense stepped up and held the Aggies to a field goal, which brought South Carolina's lead to eight points.
That momentum would eventually lead to scores that helped the Aggies take a 20-17 lead. Texas A&M orchestrated two straight drives that resulted in touchdowns — one on a 56-yard run from junior running back Amari Daniels, and the other on a two-yard pass to senior wide receiver Jabre Barber.
The Gamecocks then responded with a field goal from sixth-year kicker Alex Herrera to knot the game at 20 points apiece before the halftime break.
The Aggies looked to regain the lead once again at the start of the second half but were instead met with some difficulties, eventually punting and giving the ball back to the Gamecocks. South Carolina, fighting for momentum early in the second half, found the end zone in just five plays after a 52-yard rush by Sanders.
Texas A&M, looking to quickly answer after the touchdown, attempted to convert another fourth-and-one play but was unsuccessful. This gave the Gamecocks positive field position, but they could only capitalize with a field goal, which made the game 30-20.
During the fourth quarter, the Aggies turned the ball over early with an interception by redshirt senior defensive back O'Donnell Fortune. The Gamecocks couldn’t capitalize and ended up punting the ball and giving the Aggies the ball back.
South Carolina would eventually add more points to its score, though. A 57-yard pass to sixth-year tight end Joshua Simon and a 7-yard run from Sanders, which came after the Gamecocks' defense recovered a fumble, made the final score 44-20.
Success in the run game
South Carolina's ground attack contributed heavily to its overall offense. Across the game's first two quarters, the Gamecocks averaged seven yards per carry and totaled 169 yards and one touchdown. At that point in the contest, Sellers was the team's leading rusher, with 80 yards in the first half.
Head coach Shane Beamer said he was impressed with Sellers' performance.
"He's special," Beamer said. "He just continues to get better."
Sanders eventually became South Carolina's leading rusher, with 144 yards and two touchdowns to his name. Over the course of the game, he averaged 7.2 yards per carry.
The Gamecocks averaged 6.7 yards per rushing attempt as a team.
Defense adjusts to Aggies' passing game
Texas A&M did have some positive momentum during the first half of the game, and part of that came from the team's passing attack. Freshman quarterback Reed Marcel completed 18 of his 28 pass attempts and generated 206 net passing yards and had 11 first down passes, two more than the Gamecocks. Texas A&M also converted two third downs on pass plays in the opening 30 minutes.
But the Gamecocks' defense adapted and held the Aggies' offense at bay, as it did not score a point in the second half. Fortune's fourth-quarter interception also helped keep Texas A&M from making a comeback.
"I thought Clayton and the defensive staff did a really good job at halftime," Beamer said. "We tweaked a little bit of things coverage-wise. We did some stuff tonight ... we tried to get some bigger people out there."
Few penalty flags flown
South Carolina has been plagued by penalties in previous matchups, but it did not commit many in its win over the Aggies.
The Gamecocks committed just two penalties in the first half, both of which were declined. South Carolina had slightly less discipline in the second half, with two penalties called on offense and one on defense.
"At halftime, I don't think we had any," Beamer said. "We knew that was going to be a key as well to just play winning football."
The Aggies, on the other hand, had seven penalties for 68 total yards. Some of those penalties resulted in a loss of momentum, especially when the team lost 15 yards immediately after recovering a fumble late in the first quarter.
What’s next?
The Gamecocks (5-3, 3-3 SEC) will hit the road to Nashville and take on Vanderbilt (6-3, 3-2 SEC) in its next matchup. The game is set to kick off at 4:15 p.m. on the SEC Network.