No. 23 South Carolina heads back to Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday with Texas A&M coming to town, and the matchup arrives with the Gamecocks on a three-game winning streak after their win over Oklahoma in Norman. Kickoff is set for 3:00 p.m. on ESPN, and South Carolina will do so as roughly a touchdown favorite over an Aggies team that is 4-4 overall and 1-4 in SEC play after a bye week.
The Gamecocks have already handled Texas A&M in Columbia in each of the last two meetings, which stand as their only two victories in the series. This time around, the Aggies bring a different kind of challenge - one defined less by explosive production and more by a unit that has not lived up to last season’s standard.
Texas A&M’s offense was one of the SEC’s better groups during its run to a College Football Playoff berth a year ago, finishing in the top half of the conference in both scoring and total offense. But the offseason brought change, with offensive coordinator Collin Klein leaving to take the head coaching job at Kansas State and Elko promoting Holoman Wiggins into the role. The results have not followed the same script.
In five SEC games, the Aggies are averaging 17.4 points per game, which ranks 14th in the league. They are putting up 303 total yards per game, including 130.2 on the ground and 172.8 through the air.
Four times this season, Texas A&M has finished below 300 total yards. The road numbers have been especially rough: 197 yards at LSU, 216 at Missouri and 278 at Alabama.
Even so, there are pieces South Carolina has to account for. Isaiah Horton and Mario Craver have given the Aggies a pair of reliable targets, with 314 and 286 receiving yards, respectively. In the backfield, freshman KJ Edwards leads the way with 360 rushing yards, followed by Rueben Owens II with 332.
Marcel Reed’s season has also fallen short of expectations. After a 2025 campaign in which he threw for 3,169 yards, 25 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing 62.1 percent of his passes, Reed has been far less consistent this fall.
He has 1,390 passing yards, eight touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing 56.8 percent of his attempts. He has topped 200 passing yards only twice in eight games and has not done it since the Kentucky game in Week 3.
His road performances have been particularly shaky. At LSU, Reed threw for 106 yards, was intercepted once and was sacked five times.
At Missouri, he threw two interceptions, took three sacks and completed just 48.7 percent of his passes. In Tuscaloosa against Alabama, he finished with 163 yards, two interceptions and a touchdown.
Texas A&M’s defense has had its own issues in league play, especially against the run. Opponents are averaging 153.6 rushing yards per game against the Aggies in SEC action, which ranks 13th in the conference. Missouri rolled up 247 on the ground, LSU had 194 and Kentucky added 156, though Alabama was held to 68 in the Aggies’ most recent outing.
Through the air, Arizona State, Kentucky, LSU and Alabama all found success against Texas A&M, posting 242, 252, 312 and 311 passing yards, respectively. The Aggies have picked off six passes this season, and they have been much sharper on third down, where opponents are converting only 31 percent of the time, good for 19th nationally.
Getting after the quarterback has also been an issue. Texas A&M has only five sacks in five SEC games.
The Aggies recorded two sacks against Kenny Minchey and two against Keelon Russell, with the other coming against Arkansas. They did not register a sack against Missouri or LSU.
There is also a familiar face coming back to Williams-Brice Stadium. Trovon Baugh, who spent three years at South Carolina, transferred to Texas A&M this offseason and has settled into the Aggies’ offensive line.
He started at right guard in the first three games, then moved to left guard early against LSU and has started there in each of the last four games. In seven games played, Pro Football Focus has given him a 54.4 grade, and he is coming off his best pass blocking performance against Alabama, where he earned an 83.7.
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