Texas A&M Football: 3 takeaways from blowout win vs. South Carolina

Takeaway No. 2: The Texas A&M football team might have one of the best defenses in the country

I don’t want to overreact too much to this performance — the Gamecocks had one of the worst offenses at the Power Five level and were missing their starting quarterback. It was hard to see a world where they put up any points on Texas A&M.

That said, the Aggies had a more dominant defensive performance than anybody could have anticipated. It was a 41-0 game through three quarters, so I’m excluding garbage time statistics to give you an idea of A&M’s performance during the meat of this game.

Through three quarters, Texas A&M held South Carolina to 15 total yards, including -15 rushing yards, and zero points. The Aggies had this type of defensive performance while only forcing a single turnover.

This is no small feat — South Carolina has Kevin Harris, one of the best runningbacks in the entire country.

The Gamecocks had just two first towns through three quarters and couldn’t move the ball. Even if their starting quarterback in Luke Doty was around, I’m not sure that they’d be able to do much. Pass coverage was easy for Texas A&M because their defensive line was extremely dominant.

Though the Gamecocks finished the game with inflated stats, it was their worst offensive performance of the season and the Aggies’ best defensive performance of the season.

It’s also worth noting that if you include garbage time stats, A&M forced three turnovers on the night.

Texas A&M’s defense is the real deal.