Buy or sell: Texas A&M underrated, South Carolina overrated?
Now that we’ve had time to digest Texas A&M’s 52-28 victory at South Carolina on Thursday, what does it mean and how much value does it hold?
Everyone likes to overreact to lopsided outcomes for whatever reason, but this we know: It’s obvious the Aggies felt disrespected nationally and played with something to prove in Columbia, S.C., while the Gamecocks, the projected Eastern Division champs, seem to have rested on last year’s laurels and preseason love, coming out flat and unprepared.
‘I wish you would step back from that ledge my friend.’
Pardon the Third Eye Blind reference, but Kenny Hill’s not going to average 511 yards passing per game this season and South Carolina’s defense has too many athletes to give up nearly 700 yards a night from scrimmage.
Steve Spurrier talked too much. He doesn’t have as strong a team as he assumed, at least not early. And it appears Johnny Manziel’s exit from the Texas A&M offense may not have as substantial of an impact as we all thought considering Kevin Sumlin’s willingness to prove his system works against anyone.
The guy can coach and Thursday night, he pushed around one of the all-time greats after creating matchup problems all over the field.
BUY or SELL
Texas A&M, leaning toward BUY but don’t go all-in: Fifty-two points, a bunch of first downs and a ton of yards wins the beauty contest going away, but are the Aggies as good as their opening night performance across the board? It starts up front defensively and the Aggies looked much-improved. True freshman Myles Garrett was a terror off the edge against a veteran-laden South Carolina offensive line. Question marks remain in the secondary however, an area of serious weakness last season. Twice the Aggies were burned for lengthy touchdowns, but freshman Armani Watts did make an acrobatic interception for the game’s only takeaway. Texas A&M proved that its offense will pose tremendous challenges this season, but not every game can be won in shootout fashion. Projected as a seven, possibly eight-win team, that number could soar to double digits if the defense improves. Hill’s numbers should be some of the SEC’s best at season’s end regardless of Texas A&M’s play on the other side of the football.
- Projected AP ranking next week: No. 15
South Carolina, push: Nothing went right for the Gamecocks defensively in Lorenzo Ward’s new 3-4 scheme, but he’ll get it fixed. There were several defenders making their first college appearance, a nightmare task against one of the SEC’s most prolific passing attacks. Spurrier panicked when his team fell behind by multiple scores and completely abandoned the run game, a leading element that’s helped the Gamecocks win 33 games since the start of the 2011 season. South Carolina’s offense isn’t built to throw the football every down like the Aggies and it showed. Shaq Roland and Mike Davis, the Gamecocks’ two offensive weapons alongside Dylan Thompson, were non-factors. That can’t happen for this team to be successful as a Top 10 threat. Almost everything that could’ve gone bad did for the home team in one of those once-per-season puzzling games the South Carolina fanbase knows all too well. Season-long goals are still out there and that’s the message the Gamecocks’ coaching staff will preach to the players this week.
- Projected AP ranking next week: No. 19