Game Recap: Texas A&M Football Trounces Gamecocks

Texas A&M Football Defeats Gamecocks, 30-17

Texas A&M football began the day on offense after losing the toss. The first play was an incompletion by Max, and Owens took a short handoff on second down. Pressure up the gut on third down caused Max to sail a pass into no-man’s-land, where it fell incomplete. The Aggie offense was looking much less than sharp early on, and gave the Gamecocks good field position for their first drive.

A short pass out of the backfield went for a few yards on first down for Carolina, and a stretch run went for even fewer on second. Facing a third and five, the Gamecocks found an open receiver, but the ball bounced right off of his hands, bringing up fourth down around midfield. What should have been a perfect punt was misread by the South Carolina coverage team, and it bounced into the end zone for a touchback.

Texas A&M football took back over, and handed the ball off on the first play to Ainias Smith—his first carry in quite some time. Second down was a straight up drop back, where a missed block by the back led to a sack and loss of 8. A great catch by Evan Stewart was sadly just short, but a QB sneak (!!!) got the required yardage for the first. The Aggies kept the momentum up with a toss play to Amari Daniels, gaining another first down. A rollout on the following play was well-read by the Gamecock defense, and Max went down for a short loss. More pressure on second down led to a hurried throw, and Max barely missed Noah Thomas who was breaking open downfield. Pressure yet again on third down led to another sack, as Bisontis was beaten outside, and Texas A&M football was forced to punt. Constantinou got the ball down to the Carolina 35, where they would take over.

Two plays to RB Mario Anderson were both blown up by the Aggie front, including an emphatic hit by Edgerrin Cooper on second down. Rattler found a receiver on a third down rollout to convert, however. A screen on first down picked up about 15, and the Gamecocks were into Aggie territory. JuJu McDowell was dropped in the backfield for a loss of three on the ensuing play, however. A draw to Anderson drew the same result, bringing up 3rd and 13. Yet another third down rollout was successful for Rattler, however, converting on a pass to Harbor once again. Another first down run was unsuccessful, but a pass under pressure from Rattler to Anderson got the Gamecocks within the ten. A short run and short pass got about 4 yards all together, bringing up third and goal from the five yard line. A wildcat carry by Dakereon Joyner was just short of the end zone on third, but the same play on fourth down brought success, marking the first rushing touchdown given up by Texas A&M football since week one.

Reuben Owens got about 8 yards on the first play for Texas A&M football on their ensuing drive. A lateral handoff was read well by the Carolina defense, dropping Owens for a loss on second, and bringing up 3rd and 6. A short pass to Ainias Smith was a bit behind the sticks, but another fourth down attempt was converted by the Aggies. This brought the first quarter to an end, with the Gamecocks leading 7-0.