Trends Of The Game: South Carolina at Texas A&M
The story for the South Carolina Gamecocks has largely remained the same throughout the 2023 season: if it's not one thing, it's another. Some may attribute this to things that measure out to luck, but this also can carry over to on-field performance, and we saw this play out again on Saturday afternoon against the Texas A&M Aggies.
Offense
A unit that continues to have bad luck in the injury department had more key losses this afternoon. The old saying "next man up" is easier said than done, but that was the story for the Gamecocks in this game. Spencer Rattler had two different halves in this game, as he made some costly mistakes with intentional grounding penalties in the first 30 minutes but bounced back and made all the plays he could in the second half.
Towards the back end of the game, the Gamecocks had several chances to get fully back in the game, but they just couldn't get it done. There were a couple of bright spots in this offense, as Nyckoles Harbor keeps coming into his own and showing he has a promising future here. Mario Anderson Jr. also kept doing what he does best, and that's run over people and create something out of nothing.
Nyckoles Harbor smiling after a play (28th Oct., 2023)
Dustin Safranek | USA Today Network
Defense
Overall, this was by far the best game this defensive unit has played this season, as outside of the three-stretch drive in the second quarter when they gave up 21 points, they kept the Aggies' offense in check and gave the team a chance. While there were still some head-scratching moments, there's not much fault you can lay at their feet for how this game played out.
They created pressure early, getting to Max Johnson in the pocket and racking up three sacks early on. Outside of a couple of miscues that were costly at times, this Gamecock defense played much better. The front six, in particular, did a better job of making tackles and plugging in gaps.
They weren't always set up for success either, with Texas A&M garnering favorable field position for most of this game due to some lackluster punts and missed 4th down conversion attempts by the offense. It's another game where the Gamecocks had one side of the ball play well enough in key moments and the other not capitalize when they had the chance. There were plenty of opportunities to find their third win of the season, but instead, Shane Beamer's squad falls to 2-6 on the year and now will have to win out in November to make it to a bowl game.
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