South Carolina football: Gamecocks find their identity in victory over Texas A&M

In the opening minutes of its 30-24 home victory over Texas A&M on Saturday night, South Carolina and its fans discovered what a difference a bye week can make.

On this night, though, the Gamecocks discovered their identity and established their presence among the SEC elite. Beating A&M for the 1st time in their past 9 tries helped solidify their case.

In Shane Beamer’s 2 years as head coach, South Carolina has come a long way and certainly has turned the corner toward respectability with consecutive wins over credible teams like Kentucky and Texas A&M. Building and exhibiting character are pillars for any good team.

Character surfaced when the Gamecocks (5-2 overall, 2-2 SEC) withstood an onside-kick recovery by A&M in the final 9 seconds. The football gods seem to finally be in their corner after some tumultuous situations in the opening weeks.

In just 15 or so seconds on Saturday night, the Gamecocks’ Xavier Leggette set the tone when he took the opening kickoff on his own goal line and somehow broke free from a scrum of players along the sidelines, found open field and outraced the Texas A&M coverage down the sidelines for a 100-yard return.

It sent the 70,000-plus faithful at Williams-Brice Stadium into a frenzy and ignited the Gamecocks to play with an intensity level they have exhibited on only a few occasions this season. From there, South Carolina rode the wave and built a 17-0 lead over Texas A&M (3-4, 1-3).

The crowd never really lost its fervor all night, as it played a role in causing 7 procedure-type penalties against the Aggies offense, which had a makeshift offensive line.

The Gamecocks again showed the type of dominant play that had been their forte during their 3-game winning streak heading into Saturday night’s contest. All indications had the Gamecocks headed for a big evening.

Even defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway — who has developed into a consistent contributor — got into the act with a short ramble after a fumble recovery. Hemingway nearly scored on a 2-point conversion, another sign of special teams coach Pete Lembo working his magic.

The right recipe of offense, defense and special teams has elevated the Gamecocks to another level with a 4-game winning streak for the 1st time in 9 years.

South Carolina engineered a possible season-defining drive with 3 minutes left in the game, converting the 8-play, 80-yard march when MarShawn Lloyd scooted in from 4 yards out.

Before that, quarterback Spencer Rattler, whose profile has diminished over the past 4 weeks, rolled out of the pocket and drilled a ball downfield to Josh Vann for a 21-yard pickup. Then Lloyd followed a wall of blockers for a 24-yard jaunt. Jalen Brooks had a key 16-yard scamper.

For the record, Rattler had another workmanlike effort, completing 12 of 25 passes for 168 yards without an interception or a touchdown. His more-controlled passing game has worked and elevated the running game.

Lloyd, who ran for 92 yards and added 24 yards receiving, could sense the team’s current state from a distance.

“We all knew we could get here,” said Lloyd, moments after the game in a TV interview. “We got a good thing going now, and we can keep it going.”

But take heart, Gamecock fans. USC didn’t make it that easy. There was still plenty of football left on a refreshing October night in the South.

Unfortunately, the Gamecocks also experienced how a team coming off a bye week can lose its sizzle.

Texas A&M got its running game and play-action passing game in gear and began to exploit the Gamecocks defense. The Aggies also showed why their defense is among the nation’s best by shutting down the South Carolina offense.

An impressive 11-play, 94-yard A&M drive just before the half raised a level of uneasiness through the crowd and along the sidelines. Would all of the anticipation and hysteria to extend their win streak to 4 games and heighten their chances of a Top-25 bid be suddenly deflated like a pin to a balloon?

In the end, the Gamecocks stymied the Aggies. South Carolina has taken its game up a notch, but there is still plenty of work to be done. Texas A&M’s Devon Achane ran for 99 yards, and quarterback Haynes King started to find his rhythm before he left the game with an arm injury.

Beamer could see it coming.

“We were finding ways to give it away,” he said afterwards. “But these guys played their hearts out. We began to execute better in the second half. You can’t find a better crowd than this one, and they helped us with this one.

“We have a lot of things that have to get better.”

But on this night, the Gamecocks found another way to put it all together and put a foundation in place for the final 5 games.

Jeff Moeller