South Carolina is a bad football team in many facets this year, but none more-so than their offense. It really comes through when you watch the team struggle on film. They can't run the ball because defenses have zero respect for their passing game so they crowd the box. They can't pass the ball because they don't have any idea who should be playing QB (both Perry Orth and Brandon McIlwain aren't very talented). As a result, they have the lowest points per game in the SEC, and the 126th scoring offense in the nation. Only one team is worse, and that's Georgia State (sorry Georgia State people).
With that in mind, Texas A&M should have absolutely murdered the Gamecocks. They didn't. They only won the game by 11 points, and they only beat them by that many because of some 4th quarter sloppiness by South Carolina. It easily could have been in doubt because South Carolina's special teams was awful. They missed 2 FGs costing themselves 6 points, and they fumbled the ball on a late punt when they had a chance to at least tie the game.
Texas A&M Offense:
When you watch the Aggie offense on tape with Trevor Knight at QB you notice some very similar formations. They love to run shotgun spread style for most of their plays. They love to open up the lanes for the possibility of a QB run, which Knight is pretty adept at doing. In fact, he had 84 yards on 12 carries with a TD. So if you think that Knight is just another boring pocket style QB, think again. He's mobile and he's dangerous with his feet. But he's also dangerous turning the ball over as he fumbled once off his own knee and gave the ball back to South Carolina.
Trevor can also throw the ball, but I don't get the sense that he's awesome at it, and that's what caused some issues for them in this game. He's a good down the field passer if you're open, and decent in the short game, but like most college QBs he's had issues in the intermediate level or throwing consistently into tighter windows. That's not abnormal anymore because most QBs by comparative standards to several years ago focus more on running around and less on actual passing footwork. But I digress. He does have one major asset in #19 Jeremy Tabuyo who made some fantastic catches including a 1-handed variety over the top of defender. He's got some talent and really shines on down the field.
The running game for A&M looks strong led by #5 Trayveon Williams who ran for almost 100 yards in the game. One of the plays was his 49 yards TD run where he shook loose up the middle and scampered down the right sideline before hurdling a falling player into the end zone. That play was sprung by #76 Colton Prater who is just a freshman. If he's making down the field blocks like that this early in his career, he's got a bright future.
Texas A&M Defense:
The defense really kept A&M in the game, because their pass rush gave South Carolina fits all day. #33 Shaan Washington had a sack and a forced fumble in the game, while #10 Daeshon Hall had 2 sacks off the edge. Hall looks like a beast out there at 6-6 and 270 pounds. If he's not on several people's draft boards I'd be shocked, because he's got the size and speed to really make an impact at the next level. This all happened while other NFL prospect Miles Garrett was on the bench with an injury.
The secondary also had a good day with #23 Armani Watts getting an interception off a tip that he created. The play was going over the middle and Watts stuck his hand in long enough to tip the ball high in the air, then located it moving backwards and made the catch. It was a spectacular athletic play that not many defensive backs could make. Yet Watts made it look rather easy, and it was one of the turning points in the game as it shut down a 7 play drive that could have given South Carolina the lead.
South Carolina:
I'll cover the team all at once because there's not much that's good here, but here's what I do like on this team. The first play of the game was a 75 yard TD run by #25 AJ Turner, who looked pretty good out there for that one play. He managed to hold the sideline and juke A&M's safety #14 Justin Evans out of his shoes, then take off for paydirt. The play was sprung by a down the field block by #70 Alan Knott, a junior who buried a linebacker trying to make the stop for a simple 7 yard gain. That block and Turner's footwork turned it into a scoring play, the only TD that South Carolina had on the day.
That's the bad part. Outside of the first minute of the game, South Carolina never really threatened the end zone. In fact the furthest they ever made it down the field for the rest of the game was the Texas A&M 25 yard line. That means that for the entire game, South Carolina ran exactly 0 plays in the red zone. That's impossible. And yet it happened. South Carolina's offense is so bad, they can't even get to a TD area unless it's a wide open running play from the other side of the field.
What makes it worse is that the defense was honestly pretty good. They did a great job of holding A&M to just 14 points until 12 minutes left in the 4th quarter. You do that for almost any other SEC team out there, and they are very likely to win the whole game. But not South Carolina, because I don't think they have a true identity. They want to be a running team, but they don't have the talent on the lines to make it happen, so outside the huge play, the average carry per rush was about 2.6 yards. That won't get it done. They also want to be a high percentage passing team, but if you don't have a deep threat (they connected on one deep pass late) then what's to stop a team from stacking the 10 yard box and waiting for you to throw short passes? Also, their QBs have no idea how to deal with the blitz, and I would blitz constantly if I'm an opposing DC.
All in all, South Carolina will be lucky to get bowl eligible this year, as most of us expected. A&M if they play the way against SC with the SEC West? They'll lose 3 games minimum. They need to get their offense going in the right direction, because their defense is the strongest part of their team right now, and that's atypical for a Kevin Sumlin squad.
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