Texas A&M football is facing off with the South Carolina Gamecocks this year in a game chock-full of storylines thanks to the recent history between these teams. A win in this game would move the Aggies to a ten-win regular season for the first time since 2012, quite the achievement in Mike Elko's second year.
Here are three reasons to believe that the Aggies get that done this Saturday in Kyle Field.
Three reasons Texas A&M defeats South Carolina: Biggest line of scrimmage mismatch this year
Texas A&M football comes into this game with one of the most physical and effective fronts in the nation— something that's true of both sides of the ball. The Aggies have dominated opponents with their offensive line in particular, but their defensive line has been highly successful this year as well.
South Carolina's designed run game has been absolutely awful this year, with most of their really effective running coming from LaNorris Sellers's scrambles. Rahsul Faison, the running back transfer from Utah State, has struggled mightily to pick up yardage behind a sieve-like offensive line, and defenses more often than not have feasted.
The Aggies should be able to easily dictate the terms of this game with the rushing attack. There's some talent up front for the Gamecocks, but this Aggie OL— recently named a finalist for the Joe Moore award, and for good reason— is going to overmatch them.
On the other side of the ball, I'm not sure how Carolina will avoid third and longs against this Aggie defense. A&M has given up some explosive rushes this year, but opponents have not gotten anything consistent on the ground. This is a huge mismatch in favor of the Aggies.