By james art 
Coming off their second bye week of the season, the Gamecocks will face a tough group in No. 10 Texas A&M, which is undefeated in the SEC. The homecoming game of the week is set for under the lights at Williams Brice with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m.
#10 Texas A&M (7-1, 5-0 SEC) @ South Carolina (4-3, 2-3 SEC)
When: November 2, 2024 – 7:30 AM ET
where: Columbia, SC – Williams-Brice Stadium (77,559)
Broadcast: ABC (Sean McDonagh, Greg McElroy, Molly McGrath)
Local Radio: Gamecock Sports Network (Todd Ellis, Tommy Suggs, Chet Tucker)
Satellite Radio: Sirius/XM channel 137 or 190
Odds: Texas A&M -3, over/under 44
The weather: 80°, partly cloudy
SEE ALSO: What Dowell Loggains and Clayton White had to say at Texas A&M preview
Other resources from Gamecock Central: News | Appendix | YouTube | Schedule | Future Opponents | Scholarship Breakdown | List | Depth chart | To-do list
South Carolina vs. Texas A&M Table of Contents
How to watch today’s match
Saturday’s action will be televised live on the ABC network at 7:30pm kick-off. The ABC Network is available nationwide from every major cable, satellite and streaming provider.
GC LIVE: Reacting to what Loggains and White said | Pending Texas A&M
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South Carolina Athletics Quick Notes
QUICKLY: It’s homecoming week on the University of South Carolina campus as the South Carolina Gamecocks (4-3, 2-3 SEC) host the SEC-leading and No. 10/11 Texas A&M Aggies (7-1, 5 -0 SEC) in an SEC game on Saturday, Nov. 2. The game is set for 7:30 ET at Williams-Brice Stadium (77,559) in Columbia.
ON AIR: This week’s pageant will be televised nationally on ABC. Sean McDonough will handle the play-by-play and Greg McElroy will provide the color commentary. Molly McGrath will patrol the sideline. This is South Carolina’s fourth national appearance on ABC this year. By comparison, they were on CBS a total of three times from 2018-2023. The Gamecock Sports Radio Network features a pair of Gamecock Great quarterbacks in play-by-play voice Todd Ellis (33rd season) and analyst Tommy Suggs (52nd season) . Chet Tucker returns for his second year as a sideline reporter.
WEEKEND HALL OF FAME: Nine former University of South Carolina student-athletes will be inducted into the USC Chronicle Association Hall of Fame as the Class of 2024 on Friday, Nov. 1, and will be recognized on the field on Saturday, Nov. 2. The nine newest members include Farron Cooper (football), Dana (Fulmer) Garfield (softball), Melvin Ingram (football), Bob Kachka (Men’s Athletics/Cross Country), Tiffany Mitchell (women’s basketball), Tommy Moody (baseball/contribution to athletics department), Jocelyn Penn (women’s basketball), Jason Richardson (men’s athletics) and Shalonda Solomon Nuruddin (athletics women).
HOW YOU GET HERE: The Gamecocks entered November with a 4-3 record overall and a 2-3 mark in SEC play. All three of South Carolina’s losses came against ranked opponents, with two setbacks not decided until the final play of the game. They opened the campaign with a tough 23-19 win over Old Dominion, then dominated Kentucky in the SEC opener, winning 31-6 in Lexington. The Gamecocks couldn’t hold on to a 17-0 first-half lead in a heartbreaking 36-33 setback to No. 16/17 LSU, then bounced back with a convincing 50-7 rout of Akron to improve to 3-1. The Gamecocks dropped their next two contests against top-ranked opponents, coming up on the short end of a 27-3 decision to No. 12/11 Ole Miss in Columbia, then suffered another crushing defeat in a 27-25 loss at No. 7/7 Alabama at Tuscaloosa. They responded with a convincing 35-9 demolition of Oklahoma in Norman before enjoying their second bye week of the season last weekend.
A LITTLE HISTORY: 2024 marks the fourth year of the Shane Beamer era and the 131st season of intercollegiate football at the University of South Carolina dating back to 1892. It is the 118th consecutive year that South Carolina has competed on the gridiron. The university did not field a team in either 1893 or 1906. Carolina owns an all-time record of 638-616-44, a .508 winning percentage. Since the start of the 21st century, the Gamecocks are 172-134, a .562 winning clip. In four seasons under Coach Beamer, the Gamecocks are 24-21, a .533 winning percentage.
IT JUST MEANS MORE: The 2024 season is South Carolina’s 33rd year in the Southeastern Conference. South Carolina and Arkansas joined the SEC prior to the 1992 campaign. The Gamecocks won the SEC East Division title in the 2010 season. The Gamecocks are 111-151-1 (.424) all-time in SEC regular season play, but posted 42-38 (.525) record in conference action from 2010-19. Under Coach Beamer, the Gamecocks are 12-17 in SEC play, hitting at a .414 clip.
THE SERIES: This is the 11th meeting between South Carolina and Texas A&M. The Aggies lead the all-time series 9-1, including a 4-1 advantage when they played in Columbia in a series that began in 2014, but the Gamecocks are looking for their second straight home win over A&M. Four of the 10 games in the series were decided by seven points or less, and four were dropped by 24 points or more.
TROPHY HUNTING: Amateur historian Richard Peterson, a USC Broadcasting Journalism graduate and former resident of Alamo Heights in San Antonio, Texas, recommended that the Governor’s Trophy be named after James Butler Bonham, an Alamo Hero and himself a graduate of South Carolina University. Peterson and Katon Dawson took the idea to then-Texas Governor Rick Perry and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, and a new tradition was born. The “Bonham Trophy” is exchanged between the governors of South Carolina and Texas, with the winner holding the Bonham Trophy for “Work of Art of the West,” created by noted Texas sculptor Jeff Gottfried and displayed in the winning state’s capitol, university, or other location the governor can choose. Two weeks after the game, The Bonham Trophy returns for “permanent display” at The Alamo until the next South Carolina-Texas A&M football game, although during a site visit this past summer, no one at The Alamo could identify its current whereabouts .
THE LAST TIME THEY MET: A battered Carolina team fought but fell short in a 30-17 setback at Texas A&M in College Station on Oct. 28, 2023. After spotting the Gamecocks’ 7-0 start, the Aggies scored 21 second-quarter points and never looked back. Carolina cut the deficit to 24-17 early in the fourth quarter, but could get no closer. A&M had a 354-209 advantage in total yards and had 13 more minutes of possession than Carolina.
CAROLINA’S LONELY WIN: South Carolina extended its winning streak to four and won the Bonham Trophy for the first time in nine tries with a 30-24 victory over Texas A&M at a sold-out Williams-Brice Stadium on Oct. 22, 2022. The Gamecocks exploded for 17 points in the first 5:09 of the game using a Xavier Leget kickoff for a touchdown and cashing in on turnovers on each of the Aggies’ first two possessions to build an insurmountable cushion. A&M cut the lead to 24-21 early in the final period, but the Gamecocks put together an eight-play, 80-yard drive with 5:13 left on the clock to seal the victory. Darius Rush registered a game-high eight tackles, returned an interception 59 yards for a score and forced a fumble, earning SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS: Carolina is 4-13 all-time against teams from the Lone Star State, going 1-0 against Texas, 1-2 against Baylor and Houston and 1-9 against Texas A&M.
WARNING FOR OLD FRIENDS: Running backs coach at South Carolina Markel Blackwell held a similar position on Jimbo Fisher’s staff at Texas A&M in 2023.
TEXAS CONNECTIONS: The Gamecocks have four players from the state of Texas. Wide receiver Davelon Campbell is from Missouri City (Fort Bend Marshall), a defender Jimmy Francis is from Dallas (St. Mark’s School of Texas), tight end Reed Mikeska is from Cypress (Bridgeland) and a defensive back Peyton Williams is from Heath (Rockwall-Heath).
ALL MY EXS: Christian Ellsworth is an offensive analyst for the Aggies. He was on Carolina’s staff in 2022 as a graduate assistant on offense. His brother Preston works in the Gamecock football offices. Kyle Hawk is a defensive analyst for TAMU. Kyle spent two seasons with Carolina as the GM. His father, John, was the Gamecocks’ defensive coordinator in 2015. Gavin Spurrier is an offensive GA for Texas A&M. He is the son of Steve Spurrier Jr. and the grandson of HBC, Steve Spurrier. The two older Spurriers coached at Columbia from 2005-15.