Sluggish begin dooms Texas A&M in loss to South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina opened robust with 17 factors within the first six minutes after which held on to defeat Texas A&M 30-24 on Saturday evening.

The Gamecocks (5-2, 2-2 SEC) returned the opening kickoff for a landing and turned a fumble and interception deep in Aggies territory into 10 extra factors and a 17-0 gap for Texas A&M (3-4, 1-3) simply over 5 minutes in.

It is the primary time the Gamecocks have overwhelmed the Aggies for the reason that SEC made them their Western Division rival in 2014.

“We will not begin off on the street like that, like we did,” Aggies coach Jimbo Fisher mentioned.

MarShawn Lloyd ran 18 instances for 92 yards and had each of South Carolina’s touchdowns within the second half to maintain Texas A&M from climbing again in it.

Spencer Rattler was 12-of-25 passing for 168 yards for South Carolina, which has received 4 video games in a row for the primary time since successful six in a row to complete the 2013 season.

“A month in the past, I used to be requested if this staff stop,” Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer mentioned. “That seem like this staff’s stop? We have received 4 straight.”

Devon Achane ran 20 instances for 99 yards for the Aggies. Hayes King was 17-of-32 passing for 178 yards, with a landing and an interception earlier than leaving with an harm within the fourth quarter.

Freshman Conner Weigman stuffed in and went 8 of 15 by the air for 91 yards however neither of his two last Hail Mary tries made it to the tip zone after Texas A&M recovered an onside kick at midfield with 9 seconds left.

The loss places much more strain on Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, whose staff began the season ranked No. 6, With a contract by 2031 paying him $9 million a yr, his job seemingly is not in jeopardy.

Nevertheless, dropping to South Carolina has been dangerous for a number of SEC coaches. Phillip Fulmer for Tennessee in 2008, Will Muschamp in 2014 and Dan Mullen in 2021 all misplaced their jobs shortly after dropping to the Gamecocks.

“We battled again, we performed actually good, we had some consistency,” Fisher mentioned. “We had some good drives, we moved the soccer properly. … However we simply could not make that yet another play, that yet another drive to get us there.”

Increasingly more, it is trying just like the Aggies are in for a wrestle simply to get to 6 wins and bowl eligibility. A win over UMass is possible. After that, the Aggies want two victories out of 4 video games — Ole Miss, Florida, at Auburn and at LSU.

“We simply should preserve our poise and go play,” Fisher mentioned. “Get your confidence again. … We simply should be extra in line with what we’re making an attempt to do.”

The Related Press contributed to this report.