The South Carolina football team defeated No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 on Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium on the back of a strong rushing performance.
The Gamecocks' backfield carried much of the team's offensive load to help it outscore the Aggies by 24 points in the second half.
"(I'm) just so happy for our players, especially our seniors," head coach Shane Beamer said. "The guys that after last season and the disappointing of finishing 5-7, easily could've bounced and gone somewhere else."
The Gamecocks committed to running the ball early in the contest, rushing for 70 yards on 11 attempts in the first quarter. The biggest play came from a 23-yard touchdown run from redshirt freshman quarterback LaNorris Sellers, which gave South Carolina a 7-0 lead.
In the first half, the Gamecocks began to rely on its senior running back duo of Raheim "Rocket" Sanders and Oscar Adaway III. Sanders rushed for 34 yards, including a 28-yard run, in the second quarter. Adaway III gave the Gamecocks a boost in the second quarter when he added a 27-yard rush.
"(Sanders is) another guy that just continues to work," Beamer said. "(He's a) great young man. We made him a captain this game. I'm glad he's a Gamecock. He's just a great kid."
Despite his strong start, Sanders was a part of a negative play late in the first quarter. He fumbled after catching a 17-yard screen pass from Sellers, a play that swung momentum in favor of the Aggies. Texas A&M was trailing 14-3 at the time.
"I didn't say a word to him about it," Beamer said. "He's an older guy and he's been really good. You think about him carrying the ball 20 times tonight. That's a physical defense that we played – really physical. There were plenty of opportunities for that ball to come out."
Sellers, who recorded 86 passing yards in the first half, also extended plays with his legs. He totaled 106 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries. Texas A&M's defensive players placed pressure on South Carolina's offensive line, but failed to sack Sellers, as he frequently escaped them.
"We knew they had a good defensive line coming into it," Sellers said. "Just step up into the pocket, find a lane and then go."
Early in the third quarter, South Carolina's defense forced the Aggies to punt. Following a defensive stand on fourth-and-one, Sanders unleashed his biggest run of the night when he ran for a 52-yard touchdown. The trio of Sellers, Sanders and Adaway III combined for 99 rushing yards in the third quarter.
"It's an amazing feeling, man," sixth-year tight end Joshua Simon said. "For us to finally come together and play complimentary football in all three phases and get a big win against a big team in this league. We came close multiple times this year, and to finally do it, it's great."
Sanders capped his night with a seven-yard touchdown run that gave the Gamecocks a 44-20 lead, which was the final score. He finished the game with 20 rushes for 144 yards and two touchdowns, and Adaway III rushed 8 times for 36 yards.
"We had our ups and downs, but I feel like this bye week helped us out a lot," Sanders said.
South Carolina put together its best performance of the season on the ground, finishing with 43 rushes for 286 yards. The Gamecocks averaged 6.7 yards on a per-carry basis.
South Carolina's running game helped the team defeat an Aggies squad that entered the day first place in the SEC.
"We've got a lot of work to do," Beamer said. "We've got four games left now, five straight to finish the year, so I would hope that we continue to get better each week as a team. Like I said, we've got a big challenge in Nashville next Saturday up there against a really good team."
South Carolina (5-3, 3-3 SEC) will continue its season on Saturday when it travels to face Vanderbilt (6-2, 3-2 SEC). Kickoff is set for 4:15 p.m., and the game will be televised on the SEC Network.