The Texas A&M Aggies beat the South Carolina Gamecocks 44-13 to extend the Aggies’ winning streak to three games. Now, Texas A&M will have a bye week before playing again in Kyle Field against the Auburn Tigers. The Aggies have consistently improved over each game this season, and they are bound to reach yet another New Year’s Six Bowl. Check out a quarter-by-quarter analysis of Texas A&M’s impressive win over South Carolina.
Quarter 1: Texas A&M Comes Out Rolling
An early defensive penalty by Texas A&M brought South Carolina’s offense out to midfield on the Gamecocks’ first drive. However, quarterback Zeb Noland had an incompletion on third down, and South Carolina was forced to punt. Ainias Smith managed to return the punt for a 95-yard touchdown to put the Aggies up 7-0.
South Carolina’s second drive was a three-and-out due to an offensive holding penalty that pushed the Gamecocks back. On Texas A&M’s first drive, running back Isaiah Spiller managed to get a first down for the Aggies, but Zach Calzada ended the drive by throwing an interception.
South Carolina’s third drive was more of the same. Noland had a good throw to Josh Vann for nearly 20 yards, but an inexplicable decision to run on third-and-long led the Gamecocks to punt again.
Calzada looked a lot better on A&M’s second drive. He threw a pass to Ainias Smith for 15 yards, and Spiller led the Aggies into the red zone. An offensive holding penalty by Kenyon Green pushed Texas A&M back, but Calzada threw a touchdown to Jalen Wydermyer to make the score 14-0.
Texas A&M entered the second quarter up 14-0.
Quarter 2: South Carolina Remains Scoreless
South Carolina’s fourth drive had some interesting play-calls to say the least. Noland had two quarterback runs to start the drive, which were ineffective and put the Gamecocks in a third-and-long situation. But he again failed to convert on third down, and the Gamecocks punted.
On Texas A&M’s third drive, running back Devon Achane got his first touches. A defensive pass interference penalty put the Aggies in the Gamecocks’ territory, and Achane had four rushes for 25 yards to put Texas A&M in the red zone. To no one’s surprise, Calzada threw another fade to Wydermyer to put the Aggies up by three touchdowns.
South Carolina fumbled the ball on its fifth drive, which gave Texas A&M good field position at the Gamecocks’ six-yard line. Spiller rushed the ball in to put the Aggies up 28-0.
South Carolina started their sixth drive with Noland completing a pass to Xavier Legette for two yards. Finally, some positive plays for the Gamecocks. Unfortunately, Noland was then sacked and South Carolina had to punt.
Texas A&M’s fourth drive was rather long, and Achane seemed to get the ball on every play of this drive. Jimbo Fisher probably just wanted to grind out the clock, but he managed to get Texas A&M’s offense down to South Carolina’s 15-yard line. At the end of the half, Seth Small hit a 32-yard field goal.
Texas A&M went into halftime up 31-0 over South Carolina.
Quarter 3: Texas A&M Looks to Close Out
The Aggies started off with the ball in the second half. On their fifth drive, Calzada threw some deep passes to Wydermyer and Jalen Preston to get the Aggies back into the red zone. Inaccuracies by Calzada in the red zone, however, forced Texas A&M to settle for a field goal: 34-0.
The Gamecocks’ seventh drive featured another three-and-out due to a sack by Tyree Johnson and an illegal shift penalty. South Carolina’s offensive line just couldn’t give Noland any time tonight. The Aggies went back to work on their sixth drive, but Calzada was inaccurate again in South Carolina’s territory. The problem with Calzada is that you can never fully depend on him. Seth Small missed the field to give the ball back to the Gamecocks.
Unsurprisingly, Noland was sacked again on South Carolina’s eighth drive to force yet another three-and-out. The Aggies responded with a five-play drive to go up 41-0. Devon Achane was featured in all five plays, and he ran for 75 yards.
South Carolina got a bit desperate on its ninth drive, and head coach Shane Beamer decided to go for it on fourth down. Expectedly, this did not go well for the Gamecocks, and they gave the ball back to Texas A&M’s offense near the red zone.
Running back Amari Daniels got most carries on the Aggies’ eighth drive, but Texas A&M was unable to convert on third down. Small hit another field goal to put the Aggies up 44-0.
Quarter 4: South Carolina Strikes, but Texas A&M Finishes
Running back ZaQuandre White finally got going on the Gamecocks’ 10th drive. Defensive penalties by the Aggies led the Gamecocks into the red zone, and MarShawn Lloyd rushed the ball in to give South Carolina its first points of the game making the score 44-7.
Blake Bost was substituted for Calzada on Texas A&M’s ninth drive, but two negative rushes by LJ Johnson Jr. led the Aggies to their first three-and-out. Jason Brown replaced Noland on the Gamecocks’ 11th drive, but he ended up throwing an interception to give the ball back to Texas A&M.
Texas A&M had another three-and-out on its 10th drive, and the Aggies’ second string never really impressed. Ironically, Brown threw another interception to put Texas A&M’s offense near midfield.
Daniels and Johnson got more touches on the Aggies 11th drive, but Texas A&M’s second-string offensive line just couldn’t hold up. The Aggies ended up turning the ball over on downs, giving possession back to the Gamecocks at their 40-yard line.
Jason Brown’s play, other than the two interceptions, was fondly reminiscent of Will Rogers’ performance against the Aggies just three weeks ago. Brown threw some nice passes to Dakereon Joyner and White, putting the Gamecocks back in the red zone. Brown completed a pass to Traevon Kenion for a touchdown to make the score 44-14. Texas A&M finished the game with the ball.
Concluding Thoughts
Texas A&M continues to impress after a dominating win over South Carolina. Calzada still requires more improvement at the mid-season point, but he has proven to be a capable game-manager and winner. The running back trio of Spiller, Achane, and Smith is the heart of Texas A&M; that talented group can carry the Aggies back to a bowl in January. For now, it’s important that Texas A&M gets rest, and then it’s on to Auburn.
[pickup_prop id=”9206″]
