By james art 
Disturbing is the only way to describe the product Texas A&M ran on the field at William-Brice Stadium Saturday night. The Aggies’ winning streak was snapped when they lost their first SEC game of the season 44-20, falling to 7-1 and 5-1 in SEC play.
It’s not the end of the world, and if they win, there’s a good chance Texas A&M could be in the SEC title game and into the College Football Playoff.
However, the key attribute of Mike Elko’s team staying at the hotel was that A&M did not look like the tougher team at any point in the game. Some of it was that the coaches didn’t put the players in the best positions, but there were too many mistakes by the players. The tackle was fierce and they continued to rack up costly drive-extending penalties throughout the game.
Also, it might make sense for Klein to switch to a two-quarterback system at this point. Both Marcell Reed and Connor Wigman were hit or miss, with Reed’s dual-threat ability giving him the start on Saturday.
He didn’t play terribly, but in the second quarter we had two turnovers that held A&M to zero points at halftime. Losing Le’Veon Moss to start the game hurt the power play, and offensive coordinator Collen Klein didn’t have the adjustments needed to overcome South Carolina’s defense.
Below are the players who shined and disappointed in Saturday night’s loss.
Herd: WR Jabre Barber
\Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images.
Overall, the offense was weak and still needed refinement. With that side of the ball still finding its way, it’s good to see Jabre Barber score his first touchdown of the season in a prime-time game. It’s a concern that 10 weeks into the passing game they’re still struggling, but if Barber can continue to be a reliable target, hopefully that could open the book for Klein.
Stats: 7 catches / 80 yards / 1 touchdown
Dud: – DL Shemar Turner
Jeff Blake-Imagn Images
Senior DL Shemar Turner should not be on this list. However, he has had more strikeouts than strikeouts recently and has a few too many drive-extension penalties. After another game in which he took multiple personal foul penalties, I’m willing to bet his area of improvement will be his discipline on the field.
Stats: 2 tackles
Stud: K Randy Bond
Jeff Blake-Imagn Images
Aggies kicker Randy Bond has been on fire the past few weeks and Saturday night was no different. He was perfect on both field goals and extra points. He also punted for a career-high 55 yards after punting 52 yards earlier.
Stats: 2/2 field goals / 2/2 extra points / 2 – 50+ field goals
Dud: Defense
Jeff Blake-Imagn Images
If you watched the game, you’ll know exactly what puts the defense on this list, and you’d be right. The obvious problem was poor tackling from all three levels of the defence. They never forced South Carolina to become a passing team because they couldn’t stop the run at any time of the night. The Gamecocks averaged over 6.5 yards per carry and scored three touchdowns. They were beaten in an old fashioned game of hit football.
Stats: 530 total yards / 286 rushing yards / 244 passing yards / 44 scores
Dud: Coaches
Jeff Blake-Imagn Images
So far the coaching decisions have been pretty standard and nothing to complain about. Saturday night was a different story. They failed two fourth attempts, one of which was deep in their own territory.
Both failed conversions led to points for South Carolina, and halftime adjustments didn’t work for the Aggies. They were outscored 24-0 in the final two quarters.
Statistics: 44-20 final score