Five takeaways from Texas A&M’s 30-17 bounce back win over South Carolina
For at least one more week, all is well in Aggieland after Texas A&M (5-3, 3-2 SEC) picked up a much-needed win against South Carolina (2-6, 1-5 SEC) in Week 9.
The Aggies trounced the Gamecocks to the tune of 30-17, with much of their victory coming off the heels of a 21-0 second-quarter offensive surge. While there remain clear areas of improvement, namely on offense, A&M improved just enough to put them in a comfortable position to win on Saturday.
Of course, their goal was much much easier thanks to another elite performance from the Aggies’ defense, which forced three intentional groundings on Spencer Rattler while allowing just two offensive scoring drives from South Carolina all afternoon.
There’s little time to relish in the victory, however, as A&M prepares to go back on the road for a significant matchup against Ole Miss. Of course, it’s always worth looking back at the takeaways in order to build off of what worked, and to address what needs fixing.
Here are five takeaways from Texas A&M’s much-needed bounce-back win against South Carolina.
Improvement from the O-line was wishful thinking
I suppose we shouldn’t expect a dramatic turnaround overnight, but then again, Steve Addazio’s unit had the entire bye week to clean things up. In their Week 7 loss to Tennessee, the Maroon Goons allowed 22 total pressures, comprised of nine hurries, 11 hits, and two sacks. How did they fare on Saturday?
12 pressures allowed, comprised of five hurries, five hits, and two sacks. Marginal improvement, at best? But of course, by no means is the level at which this group should be playing, nor what is needed to succeed in the SEC.
The level of hits and pressures Max Johnson is taking is nowhere near sustainable, which means Addazio and this unit have plenty of work ahead of them until we see a change.
Texas A&M's sluggish second half tendencies continue
After a scoreless first quarter, the Aggies found a spark with a 21-0 second-quarter run to give them a 21-7 lead at halftime. After that, it was mostly crickets, as A&M mustered just nine points total in the final two quarters combined. In reality, it continues a concerning trend of the last few weeks.
As GigEm 247 beat writer Carter Karels noted, in their last four games Texas A&M has not scored a single offensive touchdown in the second half. A&M’s offense has generated 18 points in those four-second halves combined, courtesy of six field goals.
One has to wonder if they could have generated any type of offense in those second halves, could they have possibly fended off Alabama or the Vols? Regardless, that inconsistency simply won’t cut it when you have the likes of Ole Miss and LSU still on the calendar.
Edgerrin Cooper is sure to get paid in the NFL
Death, taxes, and Edgerrin Cooper playing like the best linebacker in the country. These are all certainties in life, and the latter was on full display in Saturday’s win against the Gamecocks. Spoiler alert: Cooper finished with the highest defensive grade (93.3) in the win, according to Pro Football Focus.
Cooper logged a strong 82.5 pass-rush grade and a stellar 93.3 coverage grade, courtesy of seven total tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, and a pass deflection. The timing could not be better as Cooper continues to rack up the accolades in Aggieland.
After being a nightmare for opposing offenses on Saturday afternoons, fans can’t wait to see him do the same soon enough on NFL Sundays. For now, let’s relish what he’s doing while donning the Maroon and White.
As the kids say, Ainias Smith is HIM
While Cooper shined on defense, it was just another day at the office for Ainias Smith, aka “Agent Zero.” Smith had six receptions for 118 yards and one touchdown, with the latter coming off a beautiful 42-yard connection from Max Johnson. In the process, Smith entered the top 10 in all-purpose yards in Texas A&M history.
Smith’s achievements on the field speak for themselves, but it couldn’t come at a more opportune time as he remains eligible for the 2024 NFL Draft. It was also appropriate that Smith balled out on the same day in which notable prospects of the 2024 recruiting class, such as receivers Cameron Coleman and Drelon Miller, were in attendance.
For Drelon, could he potentially be rethinking that decommitment decision, after seeing how Smith has been leveraged as a swiss-army knife in A&M’s offense?
Jimbo Fisher being aggressive? We love to see it
Was Saturday opposite day? Perhaps for Jimbo Fisher it was, as we witnessed an entirely different “CEO” of Texas A&M football in the first half. Make no mistake, it was in a good way, and much-needed given how badly the Aggies had to get back into the win column.
Fisher was aggressive toward the end of the first half, went for it on fourth-down multiple times (A&M ended up being perfect on fourth-down conversions), and went with the QB sneak on multiple short-yardage situations.
While Bobby Petrino is helming the offense, it’s up to Jimbo to be aggressive when the time calls for it. Play to win, as opposed to playing not to lose. It’s the only way to remain competitive, and arguably survive in the gauntlet that is the SEC.
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