South Carolina lost to Texas A&M by a score of 30-17 on Saturday (only one point off of our prediction of 31-17). From the outside, many fans counted this game as a loss before the opening kick. The measure of progress in this one was Carolina’s ability to battle. The team appeared to maintain focus in the midst of a tough matchup within an even tougher season. Coach Shane Beamer said in his post-game press conference that his players “Played their guts out,” and there is not another team in America that he would want to coach. The Gamecocks will try to learn and look ahead as every game now holds more weight. With one more loss, South Carolina will no longer be bowl eligible and the season will be counted as a major failure in the eyes of many.
Fast Start
The Gamecocks got off to a quick start in College Station, forcing two three-and-outs for the Max Johnson-led Aggies and finding the end zone themselves on their second possession of the game. Carolina held that 7-0 lead after the first quarter of play. Clayton White used some personnel changes and overall alignment changes to throw A&M off as they looked to fill gaps to stop the run and put pressure on Johnson. To sum it up, it worked. Contrary to Beamer’s insisting that the defense would stick to its guns in his mid-week press conference a couple of weeks ago, the recognition of deficiencies finally won out. The Gamecocks played some soft zone, went with some three man fronts, and played with more linebackers.
These changes gave players like Jaron Willis and Bam Martin-Scott opportunities that they had not gotten for most of the season. In the case of Willis, specifically, coaches had mentioned him as a reserve earlier in the year. However, the understanding was that he was not ready to play. His lack of readiness may be blamed for why the Gamecocks did not look to make scheme changes earlier in the year. However, if he can play like he did on Saturday, particularly as a pass rusher, the Gamecocks can learn and look ahead to bigger opportunities in the future. South Carolina needs to continue using creativity to generate penetration and get defenders into opposing backfields.
Missed Opportunities
The biggest negative for South Carolina, aside from the continued injuries in key positions like the offensive line, was the missed opportunities in critical moments. In an uncharacteristic move, Spencer Rattler had three intentional grounding penalties in the first half. One of the Gamecocks’ biggest problems all year has been negative yardage plays in early downs. This has led to many third and long situations which are incredibly difficult for Carolina to convert. After Rattler’s grounding plays, the Gamecocks found themselves in second and 24, fourth and 21, and third and 22, respectively. All of these situations were insurmountable.
South Carolina’s receivers didn’t help their quarterback either as they had a tough time squeezing the ball. A key third-down drop from Nyck Harbor on the opening drive led to a punt. Xavier Legette, who is clearly banged up and exited the game early again (this time with an ankle injury), also had a big third-down drop. Finally, O’Mega Blake couldn’t coral a contested fourth-down pass that hit him in the hands late in the game. That turnover on downs officially sealed the loss.
A notable bad snap on a fourth and one also halted a drive for the Gamecocks. Mario Anderson had a seam to get the first down and move Carolina forward, down ten in the fourth quarter. Center Nick Gargiulo nearly rolled the ball back to Rattler. Finally, penalties were once again an issue. The Gamecocks need to learn from an eight-penalty outing and look to play cleaner football in November.
Set Up For the Save
The Gamecocks’ season has not gone according to plan, even for the most realistic evaluators. There have been five “swing” games already and Carolina is 1-5 in those games. The schedule in the first eight games was brutal and injuries mounted week after week. Now, South Carolina is looking at four straight home games. The Gamecocks have been a different team at home, averaging 25 points more than when they are away from Williams-Brice.
To add to the positivity, the Gamecocks will likely be favored in two of the final four games, with a possibility of being favored in all four. To save bowl eligibility, the Gamecocks will need to win each of their remaining four games. With a battle of Gamecocks looming next week against Jacksonville State and the Vanderbilt Commodores heading to Columbia the following week, Carolina looks to pick up steam before playing Kentucky and arch-rival Clemson.
Carolina fans don’t want to hear about moral victories. Beamer is the ultimate competitor and certainly doesn’t play for moral wins either. However, that is the first thing the head man mentioned when he sat in front of the media post-game. The fight of this team pushes on. The coaches will need to harness that fight and learn from successes and failures as the Gamecocks look ahead to a promising stretch. 2-6 is a difficult place to find hope, but people wearing garnet and black are grasping for something. The hope lies within the leadership and the persistence of this team.
Texas A&M had more talent than South Carolina. More injuries made matters worse. The Gamecocks shot themselves in the foot repeatedly. Yet, they battled and made this a fourth-quarter ball game. From here through the rest of the season, it is about learn and look ahead.
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