Texas A&M fans got a weekend off as the Aggies were on a bye, but that doesn't mean there's nothing to take away from the action across the country. The Aggies may have been out of commission this Saturday, but several of their upcoming opponents were taking on other teams— and there is some good news and some bad news for the maroon and white after the results of those games.
The key game that Aggie fans thinking about the rest of the year were watching was South Carolina taking on the Oklahoma Sooners up in Norman, Oklahoma. The Sooners had gotten back on track following a loss to Kentucky by defeating Mississippi State in Starkville— the same Mississippi State that had beaten South Carolina in Columbia earlier this year— and, of course, Venables' squad still is basking in the win over Texas.
All that contributed, no doubt, to the fact that the Sooners were favored over the Gamecocks coming into this one— but the way this played out was far different than those who made the lines might have expected. Shane Beamer's team rolled in this one, absolutely destroying the Sooners to the tune of 42-25.
Texas A&M can feel much more confident in one win— and one loss— after bye week
This is not only the most points that the Sooners have allowed this year in any game— more even than when OU traveled to Georgia to play the Bulldogs— but it shows that this is a completely different South Carolina team than what we were seeing earlier in the season.
That's a scary thought for Texas A&M fans, as the Aggies have to travel to Columbia this upcoming weekend to take on South Carolina. LaNorris Sellers and company are riding a ton of momentum coming into this game, now, and the Aggies are struggling to create some of their own.
At this point, the road trip to Columbia seems almost certainly like it will be a loss. The Gamecocks will probably sneak into the back of the rankings this week after that performance (though, at 5-3, it may take another week or so), and they'll be ready to take out some revenge on the Aggies after last year's events between these two programs in Kyle Field.
On a matchup level, the pass rush for Carolina looks like it might eat Marcel Reed alive in a similar way to what we saw against LSU in Death Valley. Dylan Stewart and freshman Julian Walker are ferocious coming off the edge, and the Aggie tackles have struggled at times in pass protection.
Conversely, though, the Aggies have to feel a lot better about what they might be able to do against Oklahoma. Brent Venables, in the postgame last night, made no bones about calling out what he saw as a lack of effort in this team— and A&M fans know better than anyone that if you don't have a defense that is giving full effort, it can be easily exploited by opposing teams.
It is that defense that would ordinarly strike fear into Aggie hearts, but the way Carolina just sliced and diced it should give A&M fans confidence that they can make some things happen up in Norman. It's set to be an early game between these two, so they won't have the night game factor going either— the Ags should encouraged that they might be able to take down the Sooners when they travel up there in a couple of weeks.
I did a full prediction post for the Aggies' last four games yesterday morning before anything kicked off, and I had a loss in Columbia and a win in Norman on my docket there. I only feel more confident in those predictions now that this has all played out— but we'll have to see. After all, that's why they play the games.
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