Texas A&M vs. South Carolina Prediction, Game Preview


Can Texas A&M (5-2) revive its season? Everything was rolling right along before a two-game losing streak all but ended any hope of taking the West. Can South Carolina (3-4) survive its season? It won its first game in the post-Spurrier era, but it needs to get on a roll. Check out the Texas A&M vs. South Carolina prediction and game preview.

South Carolina vs. Texas A&M Game Preview

Broadcast

Date: Saturday, Oct. 31
Game Time: 12:00 pm
Venue: Kyle Field, College Station, TX

Network: SEC Network

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Why You Need To Care

Last year’s opener was the first time the two schools ever played, and after, Kenny Hill was given the Heisman, Texas A&M was on its way to the national title, and South Carolina football was about to go into the tank. It was a wee bit of a sign of future problems for the Gamecocks, but nothing as bad as this year. Beating Vanderbilt last week was a nice moment for interim head coach Shawn Elliott, but this is a program in a holding pattern. Can it come up with something special to get three wins in the final five games to go bowling? This week’s trip to College Station and next week’s date at Tennessee is it for the road games, but Florida and Clemson are coming up quickly.

Texas A&M was humming right along with a solid 5-0 start, and then came Alabama. Follow that up by a total clunker against Ole Miss, and now the Aggies are reeling. Fortunately, the schedule is nice and squishy for a while with three straight winnable home games before going to Vanderbilt. There should be a nice base of wins – it’s 9-2 or bust – before closing out at LSU. First, the Aggies have to pull up out of the nosedive and beat the Gamecocks.

Why South Carolina Will Win

Is Texas A&M suddenly a hot mess? The Aggie offense had to go against Alabama and Ole Miss, and everyone’s wondering why the running game doesn’t work anymore. Throw in woeful all-around play from the offense, and now the quarterback situation is up in the air and there’s concern that the attack just doesn’t quite work. There were some major issues against Georgia and LSU, but the South Carolina defense has been just good enough at times that it might be able to take advantage of the struggling A&M attack. The Texas A&M run defense has been torn up lately, allowing 196 yards or more in every SEC game – USC has to commit to the ground game and stick with it.

Why Texas A&M Will Win

Yeah, the South Carolina defense has been okay at times, but it helps that it went against Vanderbilt, Missouri and UCF. The Texas A&M offense is just fine. As Aaron Rodgers would say … RELAX. Alabama might have the best defense in the country when it’s fully focused, and Ole Miss was on a post-Memphis mission. Get into an early groove, put a couple of points on the board, and it’ll be over. However, first …

Player Who Matters

Will the Aggies bail on Kyle Allen? Yup. Terrific over the first five games of the season with 13 touchdown passes and just two picks, he then ran head first into Alabama and Ole Miss, and now Kyler Murray is taking over the starting gig. Allen threw three picks against the Crimson Tide, and last week completed 12-of-34 passes for 88 yards and a pick in the loss to Ole Miss. It’s one thing to potentially try something different, and it’s another to bail on the starting quarterback after two mediocre outings against elite defenses. This is a key moment in the A&M season – Murray has to shine.

What’s Going To Happen?

Texas A&M will be back to being Texas A&M. South Carolina got its win against Vanderbilt, but after the drama and problems of the last two weeks, the Aggies are going to come back roaring. The Gamecocks are about to run into a buzzsaw.

South Carolina vs. Texas A&M Prediction

Final Score: Texas A&M 38, South Carolina 17, Line: Texas A&M -16.5, o/u: 57

Must See Rating: 5: Jimi Hendrix: Electric Church – 1: The Peanuts Movie … 2.5