By james art 
By Grace Rayner, Sam Hahn Jr. and Justin Williams
No. 10 Texas A&M entered Saturday’s game all alone in first place in the SEC and has won nine of its last 10 games with South Carolina. But the Gamecocks proved to be the more dominant side in Columbia, defeating the Aggies 44-20 in emphatic fashion as the home fans stormed the field.
South Carolina outscored Texas A&M 24-0 in the second half after a 20-20 halftime tie. It’s the program’s first win over a ranked opponent since beating top-10 Clemson in 2022.
The Gamecocks brought a top-10 defense into the weekend, but the offense outgained A&M 530 total yards to 350. South Carolina (5-3, 3-3 SEC) did most of its damage on the ground, rushing for 298 yards on 6, 7 yards per carry, including 144 yards and two touchdowns from running back Raheem Sanders and a career-high 106 yards and one touchdown from quarterback LaNorris Sellers, who added another 244 passing yards and two touchdowns through the air. The Gamecocks had 12 plays of 15-plus yards: seven passing and five rushing.
A&M, coming off a comeback win over LSU last week, stuck with redshirt freshman Marcell Reed at quarterback after he was brought off the bench in place of Connor Wiegman last week. Reed completed 18 of 28 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown and ran for 46 yards, but committed both of the Aggies’ turnovers, an interception and a fumble.
Texas A&M (7-2, 5-1 SEC) is now one of five one-loss teams in SEC play. The Aggies are off next week and host New Mexico State on Nov. 16. South Carolina visits Vanderbilt next Saturday. — Williams
What this loss means for Texas A&M
It’s a significant blow to the Aggies’ College Football Playoff hopes. Texas A&M entered the weekend as the only SEC team without a conference loss, but suffering its second loss overall reduced the Aggies’ margin for error the rest of the way. They are now one of five SEC teams with one conference loss and two conference games: at Auburn and a Nov. 30 matchup at Kyle Field with No. 6 Texas.
The regular season finale will be their toughest test, as Texas is the most talented team the Aggies have seen. Could this game now be the SEC Championship Game? That’s very much in the cards, but either way, the Aggies probably need to win out in the regular season to be considered safe in the bracket.
In the bigger picture, it’s a tough lesson for A&M to learn in Year 1 under Mike Elko. The program rebounded from its season-opening loss to Notre Dame with seven straight wins and was riding high after beating then-Top 10 LSU by double digits last week. While it didn’t derail the season, getting pummeled by the Gamecocks qualifies as a major upset. — Khan
What went wrong for the Aggies
They were overwhelmed early by South Carolina’s hot start. Williams-Bryce Stadium was buzzing at kickoff and the Gamecocks fed off that energy for a quick 14-0 lead.
A&M showed its resiliency by coming back to take a three-point lead late in the second quarter and was completely outmatched at halftime. But the Aggies made too many mistakes. They turned the ball over twice, leading to seven South Carolina points. They went 4-for-15 on third down. They failed to convert two fourth-and-1 attempts and committed seven penalties. Losing running back LeVeon Moss to injury in the first half didn’t help either.
Defensively, they struggled to get Sellers to the ground and didn’t sack him once. And the defensive defense was porous. A&M gave up a season-high 286 yards on the ground, including 144 to Rocket Sanders and 106 to Sellers. — Khan
The Gamecocks win their statement
After losing to LSU by three points and Alabama by two points earlier this year, the Gamecocks pulled off their landmark victory Saturday as coach Shane Beamer grinned on the sideline and fired up the crowd in the final minutes of the game. South Carolina jumped out to an early lead and didn’t panic even when the Aggies came back to tie the game at halftime. Beamer’s offense scored 24 unanswered points in the second half on a night when South Carolina finished with 530 yards of offense and 7.6 yards per play. Sellers was sensational, completing 13-of-27 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns, in addition to rushing for 106 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. The Gamecocks defense sacked Reed three times and held the Aggies to four of 15 on third down and one of three on fourth down.
With the win, it’s clear that South Carolina, despite some inconsistencies this season, can compete with anyone when everything clicks for the Gamecocks. South Carolina beat Oklahoma by 26 points earlier this month and should enter the final stretch with plenty of momentum. The Gamecocks should have a legitimate chance against each of their remaining opponents in Vanderbilt, Missouri, Wofford and Clemson. Chalk it up as one of the biggest wins of Beamer’s career, which he absorbed while his father looked on from the sidelines. — Rainer
(Photo: Jeff Blake / Imagn Images)