By james art 
By JEFFREY COLLINS
Associated Press
COLUMBIA — LaNorris Sellers ran for 106 yards and threw for 244 more and South Carolina finally knocked off one of the Southeastern Conference playoff contenders, beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 on Saturday night.
The Gamecocks (5-3, 3-3) swept LSU and Alabama this season before losing. But this time, their freshman quarterback and senior transfer Raheem Sanders handled the Aggies (7-2, 5-1), who entered Saturday allowing just 104.5 yards per game.
Sanders, the all-SEC transfer from Arkansas, rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns.
Sellers threw for two touchdowns and ran for another score. His primary target was Sumter native Josh Simon, who caught four passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns.
“He is special. He’s just going to get better,” Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer said of the quarterback, who played in just his fourth full college game. “When he had those two losses against LSU and Alabama, he was inexperienced.”
Beamer said he felt like all he heard before the game was how powerful Texas A&M was on both lines. He was proud that they gained 286 yards on the ground and shut out the Aggies in the second half.
“We’re a pretty nasty physical team here, too,” Beamer said in a husky voice, wearing a thick black Gamecock logo chain around his neck that was given to him by a student who stormed the field.
The Aggies clawed their way through the SEC to be the last undefeated team in the league and clawed their way back into the lead before halftime after trailing 14-0 less than six minutes into the game.
But South Carolina’s chaotic defense came through when it needed to. That stopped the Aggies twice on fourth-and-1, former Sumter High star O’Donnell Fortune picked off Marcell Reed’s pass as the freshman threw off his back foot as Texas A&M drove early in the fourth quarter, then picked off Reed’s fumble, for to crush their last hope.
Reed was 18 of 28 for 206 yards and ran for 46 yards as Aggies starter Conner Weigman did not play. Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said Reed is the starter right now, but that could always change.
Texas A&M’s leading man, Le’Veon Moss, left the game early and did not return. Elko said his injury does not appear to be as serious as first thought, but he is waiting for more information.
Big boys
Time and time again, Texas A&M’s defense looked sacked by Sellers or Sanders stopped for a short gain and they rebounded. Elko said his team needs to realize it takes good form to take down big men.
“Obviously I did a bad job of making our defense understand how you handle a 240-pound kid. We kept trying to come up high,” Aggies coach Mike Elko said in his postgame press conference, his comments barely audible over fans still in the stands and on the field chanting “Game” and “Roosters.”
EXECUTION
Texas A&M: The loss is a blow to the Aggies’ SEC title hopes, but not fatal. They join four other teams – LSU, Georgia, Tennessee and Texas – with one loss in the conference. Texas A&M is at lowly Auburn, then ends the regular season by hosting the Longhorns. They have never made it to Atlanta to play in the championship game in 13 years in the SEC.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks are one of the SEC’s most volatile teams. On Saturday, they showed they can beat just about anyone in the league and are just one win away from the cup, with Wofford still a lower-division fixture.
Consequences of the survey
No. 10 Texas A&M will fall some spots in the AP top 25, but with losses to both teams tied for No. 11 Iowa State and Clemson, the Aggies may not fall too far.
NEXT
Texas A&M: Hosts New Mexico State on Nov. 16.
South Carolina: At Vanderbilt next Saturday.