Texas A&M got off to a slow start against South Carolina, as the Aggies gave up 3 early sacks, and mustered just 17 combined yards on the first 2 drives.

But the Aggies recovered and, at least briefly, calmed a frustrated fan base. The Aggies sealed a 30-17 win on Saturday with a late forced fumble against Dakereon Joyner with 2:45 remaining. The Aggies defense collected 4 sacks and held the Gamecocks to just 33 rushing yards as they recovered from an early deficit.

Texas A&M improved to 5-3 on the season, while South Carolina fell to 2-6.

Here are our 3 takeaways from the game:

South Carolina offensive line struggles continue

The Gamecocks and Spencer Rattler have struggled with protection amid consistent pressure all season. It continued early in the game.

The season-long injury situation continued for the Gamecocks on the offensive line as Trai Jones was carted off early in the second half. He’s the 11th offensive lineman hurt this season out of 20 on the roster.

The Gamecocks scored early in the 4th quarter to make things interesting with a 24-17 score. But the Gamecocks at the 9:43 mark botched a snap on 4th down and the comeback hopes quickly fizzled.

Aggies recover after slow start

Fans were frustrated early, and took out their irritation on Jimbo Fisher and Steve Addazio. Then the Aggies appeared to get back on track, at least before halftime. Texas A&M scored a pair of touchdowns in less than a minute to build a wide margin at halftime. Amari Daniels and Ainias Smith each scored to swell the lead to 21-7.

The Aggies did not score a touchdown on offense in the second half of their last 3 games, as they had 3 field goals in that span. That drought continued in this game.

The one frustration for the Aggies was a possible Max Wright touchdown in the 2nd half was reviewed and ruled incomplete on a play at the edge of the end zone.

Aggies keep stronghold in series

Texas A&M 9 of the last 10 games in the series since it joined the SEC. South Carolina got its first victory, 30-24, last season. But this continued the overall trend of the series as the Gamecocks have not won a game in Texas since they beat the Longhorns, 27-21, in 1957.