Three takeaways from Texas A&M football's ugly & disheartening loss to South Carolina

Three takeaways from Texas A&M football's streak-breaking loss to South Carolina

Well, that was not a fun game for Texas A&M football fans.

After getting down early to the Gamecocks, A&M mounted a quick comeback to take the lead, looking as though they would walk into the locker room at halftime with a 3-point margin in their favor. However, with the assistance of some flags, Carolina made it far enough down the field in the remaining time to kick a field goal, tying the game at 20.

From there, just about nothing went right for the Aggies. Fans, who have come to expect strong second halves from the Ags, were dismayed as it was the Gamecocks who rallied for a big final 30 minutes. In the fourth quarter, especially, A&M folded, allowing big play after big play and continually turning the ball over.

So, what can we learn from this game? Let's talk about it.

Texas A&M football still learning to play to the standard

Elko has talked a lot this season about how this is a program that needs to learn how to play to the standard. You're always facing the same nameless, faceless opponent every week, and you therefore need to play to the same level no matter who it is you're actually lining up against.

This did not look like an Aggie team who was playing to that standard. They looked lackadasical on defense for pretty much the entire game (except for a few drives late in the first half), and appeared too much to be waiting around for someone else to get things rolling. No one ever stepped up, though.

This isn't a change in program culture that takes place in one season, so it's a painful object lesson. But hopefully this can spur this team on to greater focus throughout the end of the regular season.