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Here are some quick thoughts on Texas A&M’s 35-28 win over South Carolina.
What it means: Texas A&M moves to 6-2 and keeps pace in the SEC West with a 3-2 conference record. At the very least, the Aggies are bowl eligible for the seventh-straight year, including all four years under head coach Kevin Sumlin.
For South Carolina, the loss drops the Gamecocks to 3-5 (1-5 SEC).
What I liked: Texas A&M was able to control the game and the tempo with 4 touchdown-scoring drives of 7, 9, 9 and 11 plays that ate up 297 yards and 11:49 off the clock. All told, the Aggies offense racked up 544 yards of total offense, including 321 on the ground for a rushing unit that entered the game ranked No. 95 in the nation.
What I liked: There’s no questioning South Carolina’s interim hire of Shawn Elliott. The Gamecocks hit a home run with the former offensive line coach, adopting his fiery personality. It would be real easy for South Carolina to pack it up this season and simply play out the streak on a lost year. But Elliott has the pesky Gamecocks competing for all 60 minutes. What they lack in talent, they make up for in moxie, and that’s reason for hope in Columbia. Whether it’s enough to earn Elliott the permanent role is unlikely, but at least South Carolina is going to show up every Saturday.
What I didn’t like: The Texas A&M defense is loaded with talent but gets pushed around too much to be considered an elite unit — particularly against the run. The Aggies surrendered 445 total yards, including 253 on the ground. Kevin Sumlin’s squad kept allowing South Carolina to stay in the game, despite the offense.
What I didn’t like: South Carolina put up 28 points, the second-highest total of the season, but the Gamecocks struggled to get the ball to All-SEC wide receiver Pharoh Cooper. The junior and team leader in receiving finished the afternoon with 22 yards on just 4 catches.
Who is the man: Kyler Murray got the first start of his career, spelling Kyle Allen, who was demoted to third string and is believed to be dealing with an injury. The freshman played almost flawlessly and was poised when he needed to be, connecting on 20 of 28 passes for 223 yards and a touchdown. He rushed for 156 yards to lead the team and scored the first rushing touchdown of his career to put the Aggies up 28-21. A slight uniform malfunction (pants tear) wasn’t enough to slow the Allen, Texas, native in his debut. Murray won every game of his high school career and is now 1-0 as a college starter.
Key Play: Donovan Wilson broke up a close game with a pick-six at the 4:08 mark in the third quarter. The sophomore from Shreveport, La., read Perry Orth’s eyes and stepped in front of Gamecocks wideout Pharoh Cooper to take the pick 60 yards to the house to put the Aggies up 35-21. Wilson sealed the game with another interception late in the fourth quarter, the eighth for an A&M secondary this season that only picked off 5 passes all of last year. It’s the 13th consecutive game for the Aggies with a turnover.
What’s next: Texas A&M stays in College Station to host the second of three straight home games. Up next is Auburn, followed by Western Carolina before trips to Vanderbilt and LSU to round out the regular season. South Carolina travels to Knoxville to face Tennessee in the Gamecocks’ final road contest of the year. Shawn Elliott wraps up his interim term with home tilts versus Florida, The Citadel and Clemson.
Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.
