The regular-season finale with arch-rival Texas is still four weeks away, but Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said Saturday night’s Southeastern Conference game against South Carolina will be his team’s “most challenging game to date.”
“This is going to be an enormous challenge for our program,” Elko said of the game in Columbia, S.C. “It’s back to work.”
Work that the 10th-ranked Aggies (7-1, 5-0) have performed as well as anyone in the country since a season-opening loss to then-No. 7 Notre Dame.
Texas A&M has won seven straight games, including last week’s come-from-behind, 38-23 victory over visiting LSU that vaulted the Aggies to the top of the SEC.
Texas A&M’s willingness to make bold moves in the middle of a game when its original plan isn’t working paid full dividends in its latest win.
Backup quarterback Marcel Reed entered in the third quarter and promptly led five straight scoring drives, rushing for three touchdowns and hitting a crucial pass to set up a fourth touchdown.
However, Elko said that doesn’t mean Reed has beaten out Conner Weigman for the starting job. But whoever takes the snaps must offer more of a passing threat than the team has had at times this year. The duo combined to complete just 8 of 20 passes last week.
“We’re looking for some consistency in the throw game,” Elko said. “We have to get our passing game working in a rhythm in a way it can be productive and efficient for us to get down the road where we want to.”
That destination would be the College Football Playoff, a place the Aggies are all but guaranteed to reach if they finish the regular season 11-1. That would guarantee them the SEC regular-season title, and it’s unlikely the selection committee could keep them out of the 12-team playoff field, even if they lost the SEC championship game.
Meanwhile, the Gamecocks (4-3, 2-3) have had two weeks to prepare for Texas A&M after pasting host Oklahoma 35-9 on Oct. 19. South Carolina’s defense accounted for two touchdowns in the game’s first 5:20 and notched nine sacks in an overpowering performance.
That overshadowed another mediocre effort by the offense, which managed only 254 total yards — 74 on the ground. The line also gave up six sacks, although that mattered little because of how well the defense played.
Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer knows his offense needs to be more dynamic against the league’s top team. No longer will he accept alibis such as starting a redshirt freshman quarterback, a true freshman at left tackle, or playing multiple freshman receivers.
“We’re not gonna use the excuse any more that we’re young,” Beamer said.
South Carolina’s running game has been deceptively poor. While its average of 160.9 yards per game is middle of the pack nationally, its 3.7 yards per carry is in the bottom 10 in FBS.
“I think any time you struggle like that, you look at everything,” Beamer said.
Texas A&M owns a 9-1 lead in the all-time series with the Gamecocks, including a 30-17 victory last year in College Station, Texas. The only South Carolina win came on the Aggies’ most recent trip to Columbia, in 2022.
