South Carolina’s first-half domination of Texas A&M calls CFP worthiness into question
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It was a splattering in College Station throughout the first 30 minutes on Saturday.
The third-ranked Texas A&M Aggies did quite literally everything they could do to dig themselves into a seemingly insurmountable hole at home against a 3-6 South Carolina team that has 1 win in 7 prior conference games.
Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed threw 2 interceptions, 1 of them in the endzone. He also lost a fumble that was picked up by South Carolina and returned for a score. A&M missed a field goal and kicked another off the upright. And an A&M receiver dropped a touchdown in the endzone.
South Carolina had 312 yards of offense to A&M’s 132 in the first half. It kicked a field goal with 2 seconds remaining to go up 30-3 at the break. After which, ESPN play-by-play announcer Dave Pasch asked what everyone at home was thinking.
“It is 30-3, South Carolina,” Pasch said. “If this continues, and it’s a blowout, where does the committee put them?”
The Aggies entered Saturday’s matchup unbeaten on the season. They were viewed as a near lock to make the College Football Playoff.
After the opening half against the Gamecocks, many on social media suggested that, should little change in the second half, A&M should find itself on the outside looking in when the next batch of rankings are released on Tuesday.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
