No. 10 Texas A&M (7-2, 5-1 SEC) was handled by South Carolina (5-3, 3-3 SEC) 44-20 on the road, the Aggies’ first SEC loss of the season.
The SEC is an extremely competitive week-to-week league. There are no trap games in this league. You line up, and the better team each week wins. On Saturday, the Gamecocks punched A&M in the mouth and ran away from the Aggies in a statement win.
Coach Mike Elko’s style of defense was absent. The Aggies were plagued by untimely penalties and a lack of toughness. However, the most unforgivable thing had to be the poor tackling. The defense was called perfectly several times, but the defender missed the sack or there was a defensive penalty.
Offensively, they looked like the team that stepped onto the field against Notre Dame to start the season. Redshirt quarterback Marcel Reed started; however, the spark from his three-touchdown comeback win over LSU was missing. They couldn’t push the ball downfield, the running game stagnated with the loss of running back Le’Veon Moss in the first half and Reed had two costly turnovers.
It was not a good night in the office for the coaching staff or the players, who dropped a tough game before the second bye week of the season. This loss is not season-ending, but the Aggies will need to win out to have a chance at the SEC title game and a college football playoff spot.
Going into their second bye week, the Aggies’ next game is at home against New Mexico State on Nov. 16 at Kyle Field in Bryan-College Station, Texas.
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