LaNorris Sellers rushed for 106 yards and passed for 244 more as South Carolina finally defeated a playoff contender in the Southeastern Conference, winning 44-20 against No. 10 Texas A&M on Saturday night.
The Gamecocks (5-3, 3-3) had tough games against LSU and Alabama this season but were able to pull off the victory this time. Freshman quarterback Sellers and senior transfer Raheim Sanders ran effectively against the Aggies (7-2, 5-1), who had previously allowed only 104.5 rushing yards per game.
Sanders, who transferred from Arkansas, rushed for 144 yards and scored two touchdowns. Sellers contributed two touchdown passes and ran for another score.
“He’s special. He’s just going to get better,” said Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer about Sellers, who was playing in only his fourth full game in college. “When he had those two losses against LSU and Alabama, he was inexperienced.”
Beamer mentioned that he had heard a lot about Texas A&M’s strength in both lines before the game and was proud that his team rushed for 286 yards and held the Aggies scoreless in the second half.
“We’re a pretty freaking physical team around here too,” Beamer said, speaking with a raspy voice while wearing a thick black chain with a Gamecock logo given to him by a student after the game.
The Aggies had been the last undefeated team in the SEC and fought back to take the lead before halftime after trailing 14-0 just six minutes into the game.
But South Carolina’s unpredictable defense stepped up when it was needed most. They stopped Texas A&M twice on fourth-and-1, intercepted a pass from Marcel Reed as he threw while off balance early in the fourth quarter, and recovered Reed’s fumble to end the Aggies’ final chance.
Reed completed 18 of 28 passes for 206 yards and rushed for 46 yards as the starting quarterback since Conner Weigman was out. Texas A&M coach Mike Elko stated that Reed is the current starter, but that could change at any time.
The Aggies’ leading rusher, Le’Veon Moss, left the game early and did not return. Elko mentioned that Moss’s injury didn’t seem as serious as initially thought, but he was waiting for more details.
Texas A&M’s defense repeatedly seemed like they would sack Sellers or stop Sanders for a short gain, but they always managed to get away. Elko noted that his team needs to learn how to tackle bigger players effectively.
“Obviously I did a poor job getting our defense to understand how you tackle a 240-pound kid. We kept trying to get up high,” Aggies coach Mike Elko said at his postgame press conference, struggling to be heard over fans still cheering “Game” and “Cocks.”
