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South Carolina was unable to avenge last year’s season-opening loss as Texas A&M eked out a 35-28 win over the pesky Gamecocks during Week 9 action in College Station.
The win moves the Aggies to 6-2 on the season and makes them bowl eligible for the seventh-straight year and fourth time under head coach Kevin Sumlin. South Carolina falls to 3-5 and is now 1-5 in the SEC.
A breakdown of the Aggies’ win over the Gamecocks.
5 TAKEAWAYS
- Hail Murray: Kyle Allen had started 12 straight games under center for Texas A&M but is believed to be dealing with an injury that relegated the quarterback to third string against South Carolina. Kyler Murray filled in for Allen and might not give the job back. The freshman led the Aggies in passing (223 yards, TD) and rushing (156 yards, TD), while accruing a 150.1 QB rating in his starting debut. Murray is now 1-0 as a college starter after going 12-0 during his high school career. Simply put, Murray just knows how to win. Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin downplayed any potential quarterback controversy, but don’t expect to see Allen barking out signals anytime soon after Murray’s performance against the Gamecocks.
- Tackling Issues: Justin Evans (9 tackles) and Armani Watts (6 tackles) were among the Aggies’ top four leading tacklers. That the defensive backs are among the team leaders suggests that opposing offenses are getting past Texas A&M’s front line of defense. The defense gave up 6.6 yards per play en route to coughing up 445 yards to a South Carolina team that entered the game averaging 353.4 yards per game.
- Driving Aggies: The Texas A&M offense was methodical, efficient and put away the Gamecocks with four impressive scoring drives. The Aggies scored on drives of 7, 9, 9 and 11 plays, which ate up 297 yards and 11:49 minutes. Both squads essentially split time of possession (30:59 to 29:01), but Murray capitalized routinely and never turned the ball over.
- O-Line Dancing: The maligned Texas A&M offensive line had a much-needed big game. The Aggies’ front unit gave up just a sack (Darius English) and an assisted tackle-for-loss (Skai Moore, Marquavius Lewis) to South Carolina. That’s a vast improvement for a line that entered the contest yielding an SEC-worst 3.0 sacks-per-game (113th in the FBS) and 6.43 tackles for loss per game. As a result, Texas A&M was able to post 321 rushing yards.
- Name Games: Don’t feel bad if you have trouble keeping up with some of the names. See if you can keep up. Kyler Murray, a native of Allen, Texas, got the start in place of Kyle Allen on Saturday at Texas A&M’s Kyle Field.
REPORT CARD
- Offense — A: The Aggies racked up 544 total yards (321 rushing, 223 passing) and didn’t have their first three-and-out drive until the fourth quarter.
Defense — B: Gave up 445 yards (253 rushing, 192 passing), but came up with 2 big interceptions to seal the win.
Special Teams — B: Taylor Bertolet pushed his only field goal attempt (25 yards) wide right, but the special teams star was punter Drew Kaser, who plunked 2 of his 5 punts inside the South Carolina 20-yard line and boomed 2 of more than 50 yards.
Coaching — B: Kevin Sumlin admitted after the game that his team needs improvement in certain areas, especially defense, but the Aggies stuck to their game plan with Murray and it resulted in a clean, well-earned win.
Overall — B: Texas A&M impressed in the win, fending off a South Carolina team that never gave up.
GAME PLAN
The game plan for Murray, despite making his starting debut with a simplified playbook of about 50 plays, was to control the contest with a fast-paced offense. The quarterback and the Aggies were able to take advantage of South Carolina running empty sets, allowing Murray to victimize the Gamecocks up the middle with his arm and legs. One blemish occurred on the game’s first drive. Texas A&M drove to the South Carolina 2-yard line but decided to go for a field goal, rather than attempting to punch in an early score after their drive stalled on third down. Taylor Bertolet missed the field goal and it appeared the Aggies might have been in for a long afternoon.
GAME BALLS
- Kyler Murray, Fr., QB – 223 passing yards, passing TD, 156 rushing yards, TD
- Donovan Wilson, So., S – 2 interceptions, 60-yard interception return TD, 69 yards, tackle
- Tra Carson, Sr., RB – 122 rushing yards, TD, 18 receiving yards
INJURY UPDATE
Daylon Mack left the game at the 3:14 mark in the second quarter after lying prone on the turf for a few moments. The freshman defensive lineman took a Skai Moore leg to his head and neck area but was able to gingerly walk off the field on his own volition. The Gladewater, Texas, native was able to return to the game and register a tackle for a loss.
Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.
