Saturday, 3-4 South Carolina clashes with a skidding Texas A&M team. Two weeks ago, the Aggies were 5-0 and ranked ninth in the country. Two blowout losses later, the Aggies are unranked and facing a quarterback controversy no one expected.
The Aggies possess unmatched offensive talent, with former 5-star prospects littering the field, especially at the skills positions. Despite giving up 64 combined points in losses to Alabama and Ole Miss, Texas A&M has the defensive personnel to stifle the Gamecock offense if Perry Orth and company are not careful.
There’s no doubt the Aggies are the more talented team. The Gamecocks will have to play a near-perfect game if they hope to pull off the upset and get revenge for last year’s 52-28 rout. If they hope to win, the Gamecocks must play well in all three phases of the game.
1. Stay ahead of the chains
South Carolina’s offense is not suited for third-and-long situations. If the Gamecocks hope to get the Aggie defense on its heels, they’ll have to stay ahead of the chains. That means running backs Brandon Wilds, Shon Carson and David Williams will need to get good yardage on first down and Orth will have to avoid negative plays.
The Gamecocks are converting on just 34.4 percent of their third down plays and have yet to have a single game with a 50 percent conversion rate.
To keep up with a high-octane Aggie offense, South Carolina must control the clock and move the ball down the field methodically — being careful to avoid quick, unsuccessful drives.
2. Be physical on the outside
Texas A&M has more talented receivers than nearly any team in the country. Among those are speedsters Speedy Noil and Christian Kirk and physical specimens Ricky Seals-Jones and Josh Reynolds.
Reynolds and Seals-Jones are perfect red zone targets at 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-5, respectively. Both have a knack for finding the soft spots in coverages and, regardless of who starts at quarterback for the Aggies, the two will be targeted against a much smaller Gamecock secondary.
Noil and Kirk are two of the SEC’s top playmakers and the Gamecocks cannot allow them to get free releases. The Gamecock corners will be tasked with stopping an offense that tallied 511 passing yards against them last season.
If the South Carolina secondary plays timidly and allows the receivers free releases, this game could look a lot like last year.
3. Win on special teams
Punter Sean Kelly has been nothing short of magical this year, but Kirk has all but wrapped up First Team All-SEC returner honors. The freshman is averaging 22.7 yards per punt return and has already taken two punts to the house.
Solid kick coverage and a dynamic punter have given the Gamecocks the edge in the field position game. Kelly has put 14 of his 29 punts inside the 20-yard line and has only allowed six returns for 32 yards.
The Gamecocks can offset A&M’s potent offense if they control the field position battle, and if this game is close, a big special teams play late in the second half could tilt the contest in favor of the Gamecocks.