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The passion was there for South Carolina. For long stretches, the execution was there as well. But an all-too-familiar inability to stop the run was too much to overcome for the Gamecocks as Texas A&M piled up 321 yards on the ground en route to a 35-28 win at Kyle Field on Saturday.
5 TAKEAWAYS
Kyler Murray impressed in his debut: Murray, in his first career start, looked every bit like the highly touted prospect he was coming out of high school. The true freshman was outstanding, running for 156 yards and a score while throwing for another 223 yards and a touchdown.
Red zone creativity: South Carolina entered the game ranked last nationally in scoring touchdowns inside the 20, but some imagination bucked that trend on Saturday. When the Gamecocks cracked the 20-yard line in the first quarter, G.A. Mangus dialed up a reverse to backup quarterback Lorenzo Nunez, and he scampered into the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown. On the day, all three South Carolina trips inside the Aggies’ 20 resulted in touchdowns.
One bad throw: Perry Orth was decent, but one third-quarter pass severely hampered his team’s chances on Saturday. On third-and-5 from the A&M 43, Orth took a shotgun snap and stared down Pharoh Cooper on an inside slant route. Donovan Wilson read it perfectly, stepped in front of the pass and took it back for a 60-yard score — and a 35-21 lead from which the visitors would not rally.
Grinding it out: Brandon Wilds sparked a very effective running attack for the Gamecocks, who tallied 253 yards and all 4 touchdowns on the ground. Even Orth got in on the act with 64 yards and a touchdown.
Change it up a little: The Cover 2 look (zone defense) is not a good defense against mobile quarterbacks, since the linebackers are called upon to vacate the box and retreat down the middle of the field. Murray had acres of space on quarterback draws and read-option keepers, and defensive coordinator Jon Hoke couldn’t find the right adjustments to slow down the Aggies.
REPORT CARD
Offense — B: Orth’s third-quarter pick was devastating, but other than that, the Gamecocks did a lot of good things on offense. As I mentioned earlier, the running game was solid. Orth put up 192 yards through the air but did not find the end zone while tossing a pair of interceptions. The offensive line played very well, and the red zone scoring success was a welcome change, too.
Defense — C: The best thing you can say about the Carolina defense on Saturday is that it limited big plays. But Murray ripped them apart with his speed, and aside from the last few drives, the defense did little to slow down any of his teammates, either. In addition, there was only 1 sack and no forced turnovers on the day.
Special Teams — A: South Carolina did a nice job limiting the Aggies return game and didn’t make any errors in its own kicking game.
Coaching — B: I liked the offensive plan, which was to neutralize the formidable Texas A&M pass rush by running the ball and mixing in some screen passes. The defensive plan, on the other hand, was less effective.
Overall — B: I think Shawn Elliott’s passion and energy have made a real difference for this team. If moral victories were a thing, this would certainly be one. But it was always going to take a perfect game (and some help from Texas A&M) for the Gamecocks to win this game, and neither of those things happened.
GAME PLAN
- I would have liked to see Hoke’s defense force Murray to throw the football more. It’s always easier for youthful quarterbacks to run rather than throw against college defenses, and he was never forced outside of his comfort zone.
- I’m not sure why Nunez played only 1 snap. It seems like he would have been a nice fit with the run-first plan that was in place.
- Cooper has to touch the ball more. Jet sweeps, Wildcat looks — whatever it takes.
GAME BALLS
RB Brandon Wilds: He fought through some cramping issues to tally 17 carries for 128 yards and his first 2 touchdowns of the season.
RB David Williams: His stats aren’t eye-popping (70 total yards), but he did a bit of everything. He had 10 carries, 3 catches and did a good job chipping Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett on passing downs.
LB Skai Moore: Moore was also cramping and seemed to be favoring his wrist a bit in the second half. His stats don’t reflect that as he ended up with 14 tackles.
INJURY UPDATE
WR Deebo Samuel (hamstring), QB Connor Mitch (shoulder) and DB Chaz Elder (hamstring) did not play.
Randy Capps is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, South Carolina and Georgia.
