Texas A&M football opponent preview: South Carolina game promises defensive dominance and high-variance outcome
Texas A&M football, now sitting pretty at 7-1 and undefeated in the SEC, have what their head coach called their biggest test to date directly ahead of them. This Saturday, the Aggies will travel to the dreaded and feared Williams Brice Stadium to take on the 4-3 South Carolina Gamecocks.
Of course, Williams Brice has not been that unkind to the Aggies in their five visits there so far. A&M has a 4-1 record against the Gamecocks in Columbia, but that one loss was their most recent trip out east in the ignominious 2022 season.
This is, without a doubt, the best South Carolina defense that the Aggies will have played, however. With apologies to supposed defensive guru Will Muschamp, Carolina is far better on that side of the ball than they have been at any point during their series with the Aggies.
The strength of their team lies in their stellar pass rush. Georgia Tech transfer Kyle Kennard and freshman phenomenon Dylan Stewart are menaces at defensive end, and interior players Alex Huntley and Tonka Hemingway (maybe the best DT name I've ever heard) can make some noise there as well.
Debo Williams and Bam Martin-Scott are a tandem at linebacker that stack up with any duo the Aggies have yet played. The DBs all play physically for this South Carolina squad, but maybe none more than safety Nick Emmanwori, a hometown kid with some impressive measurables that no doubt have NFL scouts salivating.
All that said, the Gamecocks are at their best teeing off against dropback passers, and have been liable to give up some success on the ground. What's more, turning teams over has been the lifeblood of their defense—more than half of their points against OU came directly from turnovers.
The offense for Carolina is a different story. LaNorris Sellers is a huge and mobile quarterback, not unlike Riley Leonard, but can struggle with accuracy. Unlike Leonard, he is standing behind an eminently porous line—which is a terrible matchup for this defensive line they are about to face.
South Carolina has had their greatest success when they are able to run the ball consistently. Sellers has a high ceiling as a passer, but has struggled with reading coverage and delivering accurately, especially under pressure. USC leans a lot on Arkansas transfer Rocket Sanders to help buoy their offense, as well as the legs of Sellers himself.
Of course, the Ags have their own worries about the pass game against pressure, given what we saw this past week and what we know about Marcel Reed. It could be a tough ask for this Aggie team to put up a big number on offense—and the same goes for the Gamecocks.
If my suspicion is right on that front, that means a high-variance outcome. One or two key explosive plays could shape the way the final score looks when you're talking about a 17-14 type of game.
Given Beamer's penchant for trickery, especially on special teams, the Aggies will have to have their heads on a swivel. They must do what they failed to against Mississippi State and begin emphatically, taking the crowd out of the equation, as well as be on guard against any kind of fake in the third phase.
I have greater faith in Klein finding purchase in the run game against the Gamecocks than I do USC getting much going offensively against A&M. That said, it is absolutely paramount that the Aggies play a clean game with regard to turnovers. This environment will be an absolute hornet's nest, and a big swing play like that could get things snowballing quickly.
I'm going to stick with my pick of the Aggies winning pretty decisively, however. I said 31-6 before, and I'm not that far off from that number right now; I think A&M will get some short fields, as the Gamecock offense is turnover-prone themselves, and be able to capitalize with Reed's option package.