By james art 
Texas A&M’s (7-2, 5-1 SEC) undefeated streak in SEC play has ended. The Aggies were lifeless in the second half against South Carolina on the road, falling 44-20 after entering halftime tied 20-20 in one of their weakest performances of the year.
After redshirt freshman quarterback Marcell Reed’s fourth start of the season, A&M’s offense suffered a huge blow after starting running back Le’Veon Moss suffered a knee injury. The junior missed the rest of the game, putting a hole in the rushing attack, though he hauled in Amari Daniel’s 55-yard touchdown run shortly afterward.
However, while some may blame Reed’s issues in the passing game for the loss, the Aggies’ defense was terrible, allowing 286 yards on the ground. Tackle issues hindered A&M’s ability to finish with sacks and prevent South Carolina running back Raheem Sanders from working his way into the secondary.
Overall, Texas A&M has been downright bad, but the season is far from over as the Aggies are tied for first place with Georgia at 5-1 in the SEC standings with opportunities against Auburn and Texas to finish strong, but head coach Mike Elko and his team have a lot of issues to iron out during the bye week.
Here are five big takeaways from Texas A&M’s 44-20 loss to South Carolina.
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Texas A&M’s defense, especially the Aggies’ defensive line, is still one of the best units in the SEC, but let’s be honest, tackling issues were an issue before the loss, but they showed utter boredom for four quarters against the Gamecocks.
It’s fair to say that South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers is tough to take down because of his size and dual-threat skill set. Yet, almost every time an Aggie linebacker, linebacker or safety got to the QB, Sellers slipped out and made something out of nothing.
Coping is all about focus, technique and, most importantly, practice. That should be fixed in the bye week. According to Pro Football Focus, Texas A&M missed 25 plays against the Gamecocks, but it felt like a lot more.
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Yes, the photo above shows Jabre Barber recovering what could have been another Aggie turnover. Still, regardless of the small mistake, the senior wide receiver was one of the most reliable playmakers in the passing game, leading the Aggies with 80 receiving yards and one of A&M’s two touchdowns on the night.
Thriving in the slot, quarterback Marcell Reed was able to find Barber for seven receptions and seemed to be the only receiver to find consistent separation, which is an obvious problem overall, but a good sign that Barber could become the team’s No. 1 option through the air .
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Before suffering a knee injury in the first half against South Carolina, running back Le’Veon Moss was playing at an All-SEC level and by far the most trusted option on the conversion opportunities the Aggies faced on nearly every offensive possession after he went down.
While the list of crappy play calls is long, OC Collin Klein’s lack of imagination to go against the Gamecock’s elite defensive units and the linebackers to collapse and stop every play, usually right down the middle, led to the complete shutdown of the Aggie offense in the second half after scoring four goals in the first.
While QB Marcel Reed wasn’t the primary problem, the redshirt freshman couldn’t burn the Gamecock defense with his legs, forcing him to pass and leading to an average day in the pocket.
Depending on the severity of Moss’ injury, adjustments should be made during the bye week.
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All season long, penalties, including pointless personal fouls, have been a problem for the Aggies on both sides of the ball, but over the past two games, Shemar Turner’s defensive tackle has been on the wrong side of the majority of the calls.
Against South Carolina, seven penalties that led to 68 free yards completely changed the trajectory for the home team as the Aggies’ 20-17 first-half lead slowly evaporated after multiple flags gave the Gamecock good field position to tie the game. things and outscored Texas A&M 27-0 after halftime.
Again, it’s fair to say that head coach Mike Elko and his team ran into a frenzy that would have seen almost any SEC team lose in the same game. Yet a lack of discipline continues to prevent both offense and defense from reaching their full potential.
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Marcell Reed’s day in the pocket was average, but not the only reason Texas A&M was blown out on Saturday night. Finishing 18/28 for 206 yards, one touchdown and one interception, Reed also ran for 46 yards, but was unable to threaten South Carolina’s defense on the ground compared to his rushing performance against LSU.
However, Reed is still a young quarterback who needs to improve as a drop passer. While all of that will come in time, the young signal caller will need to learn from his mistakes while OC Collin Klein and the wide receiver corps need to help their quarterback.
Personally, I don’t believe Mike Elko will go back to Conner Weigman as the starter simply because Reed didn’t get a win, mainly because of Reed’s fit in the offense and obvious advantage as a runner.