Yahoo Sports FINAL: USC scores 44-20 upset win over No. 10 Texas A&M
The South Carolina Gamecocks are back at home and under the lights at Williams-Brice Stadium for the team’s only SEC night game of the season.
No. 10 Texas A&M is in Columbia and presents the latest ranked challenge for Shane Beamer’s squad.
Q4: South Carolina 44, Texas A&M 20
Aggies QB Marcel Reed fumbled the ball while being sacked by Tonka Hemingway. Kyle Kennard recovered it at the Texas A&M 13-yard line. That set the stage for RB Raheim “Rocket” Sanders to finish it off with a seven-yard rushing touchdown, his second score of the night. The drive covered 13 yards in two plays and took 53 seconds.
Sanders now has 20 rushes for 144 yards and two scores, along with five catches for 92 yards.
Q4: South Carolina 37, Texas A&M 20
Joshua Simon, with his second touchdown of the night, catches a pass from QB LaNorris Sellers and runs it back for a 57-yard score -- their ninth play of 20 or more yards. He has four catches for 132 yards, along with those two scores. He’s now leading the team with four receiving touchdowns this season. The drive covered 85 yards in five plays and took one minute and 48 seconds.
Q3: South Carolina 30, Texas A&M 20
The Gamecocks’ second fourth-down stop sets them up at the Aggie 31-yard line. USC took advantage with a Herrera 43-yard field goal, his third of the evening. The drive went four plays, six yards, lasting 0:50. The drive covered 83 yards in five plays and took two minutes and 16 seconds.
Q3: South Carolina 27, Texas A&M 20
Running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders took off for a 52-yard touchdown up the right side of the field. He was nearly untouched before breaking a tackle at the goal-line. He has 123 yards on 12 rushes tonight. The drive covered 83 yards in five plays and took two minutes and 16 seconds.
FIRST-HALF STATS AT A GLANCE
Net total offensive yards: South Carolina leads 255-222; Net total passing yards: Texas A&M leads 103-86; Net total rushing yards: South Carolina leads 169-119.
Self-inflicted mistakes: Penalties have been deadly for Texas A&M, as it has six for 58 yards. A fumble by USC QB Sellers resulted in a Texas A&M field goal shortly after.
Fourth down stops have led to touchdowns for both teams. In the first quarter, the Gamecocks scored after stopping the Aggies on their own 35-yard line. The Aggies responded with one of their own in the second quarter, which led them to taking their first lead of the game late in the half.
LaNorris Sellers has completed 8-of-15 passes (53%) for 86 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 80 yards and another score on 11 attempts. Raheim “Rocket” Sanders has 56 yards on nine carries.
Q2: South Carolina 20, Texas A&M 20
A roughing-the-passer penalty against the Aggies got the Gamecocks’ offense going on their drive of the first half. After that, QB LaNorris Sellers found Mazeo Bennett for two receptions of 10 and nine yards on the drive. Bennett went to the locker room shortly after after a hard tackle.
A holding penalty against Texas A&M, its sixth penalty of the evening, set USC up in field goal range. Kicker Alex Herrera made a 44-yard field goal to tie the game, just before half. The drive spanned 1:06 and went 49 yards on six plays.
Q2: Texas A&M 20, South Carolina 17
Texas A&M came away with a fourth-down stop on USC, which set the Aggies up on their own 40-yard line. After a loss of three on first down, Reed connected with Jabre Barber and Tre Watson for passes of 11 and 14 yards, respectively. Reed followed that up with a 20-yard scramble to set Texas A&M in the red zone.
Daniels gained a couple yards on a run to convert on fourth down to set up first-and-goal for the Aggies. They took advantage of that with a two-yard touchdown pass from Reed to Barber. The drive went 60 yards on 10 plays and spanned 4:20.
Q2: South Carolina 17, Texas A&M 13
Aggies RB Amari Daniels ran 56 yards untouched into the end zone after finding a crease in the defense. It’s the longest play of the game for either team and Texas A&M’s third run of 50+ yards this season. The scoring drive took three plays to go 65 yards and took 1:16 of game time.
Q2: South Carolina 17, Texas A&M 6
To start the drive, Sanders took off and made a defender miss, leading to a 28-yard gain. That run ignited the Gamecocks offense. Sellers followed that up with two big runs, the first of which converted on third-and-8 after he ran over an Aggies defender. The second run went for 15 yards and added eight more yards after a late hit penalty on Texas A&M.
Kicker Alex Herrera capped off the drive with a 25-yard field goal. The drive spanned 4:27 and went 68 yards on 10 plays.
Q2: South Carolina 14, Texas A&M 6
Texas A&M forced a fumble from Sanders after DB Will Lee III punched the ball out of Sanders’ hands and BJ Mayes recovered it. The Gamecocks, then, forced a 55-yard field goal from Bond, a career-long kick and his second from over 50 yards tonight. The scoring drive took eight plays for 42 yards and spanned 2:46.
Q1: South Carolina 14, Texas A&M 3
The Aggies got on the board after taking their biggest deficit of the season. Kicker Randy Bond made a 52-yard field goal, matching his career long. The scoring drive went seven plays for 41 yards, taking 3:09 of game time.
QB Marcel Reed found RB Le’Veon Moss for a 20-yard game to start the drive. Moss subsequently went to the locker room with an injury.
Q1: South Carolina 14, Texas A&M 0
USC took over possession after a fourth down stop at the Aggies’ 35-yard line. Sellers took advantage of the favorable field position when he found tight end Joshua Simon wide open in the endzone for a 15-yard touchdown. The drive went two plays for 34 yards and took 47 seconds off the clock.
Q1: South Carolina 7, Texas A&M 0
QB LaNorris Sellers capped off one of the Gamecocks’ most efficient drives of the season with a 23-yard run for a touchdown. The drive went 11 plays, 75 yards and took 4:14 of game time. Sellers and running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders had all of the offense on the drive. Sellers threw a 20-yard pass to Sanders early on the drive, while Sanders also used his legs for 23 yards on four rushes.
Final availability report
Jakai Moore (OL) and DeAndre Jules (DT) will not play versus Texas A&M, according to South Carolina’s game day injury report at SECSports.com.
Uniform report
South Carolina will wear its all-black uniforms for the first time this season.
Point spread
Texas A&M is a 3-point favorite against South Carolina, according to the VegasInsider consensus line that factors in multiple sportsbooks.
How to watch South Carolina game
Who: South Carolina (4-3, 2-3 SEC) vs. No. 10 Texas A&M (7-1, 5-0 SEC)
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, SC
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
TV: ABC
Stream: ESPN.com and the ESPN app
Radio: 107.5 FM in the Columbia area (Todd Ellis, play-by-play; Tommy Suggs, analyst; Chet Tucker, sideline) … See all the radio affiliates around South Carolina here.
