South Carolina's surge meets Texas A&M's slide

South Carolina breaks even, Texas A&M trails

Against Power 4 opponents, South Carolina has a point margin of 0, 33rd nationally and ninth in the SEC. Texas A&M is -16 in the same games, 38th nationally and 10th in the SEC. Neither team has pulled away from good opponents, but the Gamecocks have held level and the Aggies have not.

Against Power 4 opponents, South Carolina gains 428 yards a game, 18th nationally, and allows 390, 41st. Texas A&M gains 295 and allows 379, ranking 71st and 33rd. The two defenses give up similar yardage, so the real gap between these teams is on offense.

Both teams give the ball away more than they take it against Power 4 opponents. Texas A&M is -2 in turnover margin, 59th nationally, and South Carolina is -5, 78th nationally and 14th in the SEC.

Against Power 4 opponents, Texas A&M allows 2.0 yards a punt return on 8 returns, sixth nationally. South Carolina allows 17.8 yards a kick return on 10 returns, 16th nationally, and 5.0 yards a punt return on 5 returns, 14th.

Where it's decided

When South Carolina has the ball, it brings a scoring offense that averages 32.2 points a game against Power 4 opponents, 15th nationally. The Gamecocks run for 176 yards a game, 12th nationally and third in the SEC, against the Texas A&M defense that allows 148, 40th nationally. The Aggies look better by success rate, holding opponents to 38.4% successful runs, 19th nationally.

Third down is the other pressure point against Power 4 opponents. South Carolina converts 44.0%, 19th nationally, and Texas A&M allows 33.8%, 14th nationally and fourth in the SEC.

LaNorris Sellers leads South Carolina in passing yards with 1,849 and in rushing yards with 603. Sellers has thrown 16 touchdown passes and 7 interceptions and completes 62.6% of his throws. Matt Fuller is second on the Gamecocks in rushing yards with 530 and has 5 touchdowns. Bennett leads South Carolina in catches with 35 and receiving yards with 431, and Nyck Harbor is second in receiving yards with 334 on 20 catches.

Texas A&M's Ray Coney leads the Aggies in tackles with 41, and Marco Jones leads them in sacks with 2.5.

When Texas A&M has the ball, the passing game is the problem. The Aggies throw for 171 yards a game against Power 4 opponents, 74th nationally and 15th in the SEC, and 35.3% of their passes are successful, 16th in the SEC. The Texas A&M offense succeeds on 37.3% of snaps in those games, down from 45.4% last season.

Against Power 4 opponents, the South Carolina defense allows 257 passing yards a game, 60th nationally and 14th in the SEC. The Gamecocks also allow 46.2% successful runs, 64th nationally, while Texas A&M runs for 124 yards a game, 46th.

Marcel Reed leads Texas A&M in passing yards with 1,388, with 8 touchdowns, 8 interceptions and a 56.8 completion percentage, and he has run for 198 yards. KJ Edwards leads the Aggies in rushing yards with 360 on 55 carries, and Rueben Owens II is second with 332 on 78. Isaiah Horton leads Texas A&M in receiving yards with 314, and Mario Craver leads in catches with 30, for 286 yards.

South Carolina's Justin Okoronkwo leads the Gamecocks in tackles with 62, and Tomiwa Durojaiye, a transfer from Illinois, leads them in sacks with 4.

South Carolina's red zone against the best in the SEC

Against Power 4 opponents, South Carolina scores on 95.7% of its red zone trips, 12th nationally and third in the SEC. Texas A&M holds those opponents to a 68.4% red zone scoring rate, second nationally and first in the SEC.

Texas A&M's offense away from home

Texas A&M has scored 32 points in three road games this season, against 38.8 a game at home. The Aggies' road total for the season is less than their average for a single home game, and Williams-Brice Stadium is the next stop.

Two quarterbacks one touchdown pass from 50

Sellers and Reed each need 1 touchdown pass to reach 50 for their careers. Sellers ranks third in the SEC with 22 total touchdowns and leads the SEC in yards per carry at 6.2 among players with 10 or more carries a game.

David Olano has not missed

Texas A&M's David Olano is tied for the SEC lead with 13 field goals and tied for the FBS lead in field goal percentage at 100% among kickers with at least one attempt a game. Olano has 4 field goals of 50-plus yards, second in the SEC. South Carolina's Malik Orsan has 2 from that range, tied for third.

Old teams, new rosters

Shane Beamer is 2-3 against Texas A&M.

Two players face programs they left. South Carolina defensive lineman Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy played at Texas A&M in 2022-24, making 4 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks. Texas A&M offensive lineman Trovon Baugh was on South Carolina's roster in 2023-25 and faces the Gamecocks for the first time since leaving.

Horton came to Texas A&M from Alabama as a 4-star transfer, and his 511 receiving yards in 2025 were the most of any receiver the Aggies added. Texas A&M returns 96% of its 2025 passing yards but only 56% of its receiving yards.

Texas A&M had 10 players drafted, including 4 offensive linemen, 2 defensive tackles and an edge rusher, with 4 in the first two rounds. Receiver KC Concepcion went 24th overall to Cleveland, and edge rusher Cashius Howell went 41st to Cincinnati. South Carolina had 3 players drafted, a cornerback, a defensive tackle and a safety, and cornerback Brandon Cisse went highest, 52nd overall to Green Bay.

Edwards' leg, and two Gamecocks expected back

Elko said Oct. 24 that Edwards got a deep contusion from a leg whip against Alabama and played sparingly in the second half, according to On3 (Aggie Yell). Elko gave no game status or return date for Edwards.

Beamer said Nov. 1 that running back Jawarn Howell's health is good, that Howell could have played last week and that he fully expects him back this week, according to On3 (GamecockCentral). Beamer also said test results for defensive back Quay'sheed Scott were what the team wanted and that he hopes to get Scott back this week. Howell was listed Out on the SEC availability report for South Carolina's last 2 games, and Scott for its last 3.

South Carolina receiver Jayden Sellers was listed Out on the SEC report for the last 6 games and defensive end Kobby Sakyi-Prah for the last 4. Texas A&M receiver Terry Bussey was listed Out for the Aggies' last 4 games, and receiver Kelshaun Johnson was listed Out against Alabama. The SEC report for this game is not out yet.

Texas A&M owns the series, the home side owns the streak

Texas A&M leads the series 10-2 in 12 meetings since 2014. The home team has won the last 5 meetings.

Texas A&M won the last meeting 31-30 at home in 2025, when Reed threw for 439 yards. That Aggie team went 11-2, with Cashius Howell a unanimous All-American on the defensive line and Concepcion an AP All-American, while South Carolina went 4-8.

The home streak dates to 2021, when Texas A&M went 8-4 with All-Americans DeMarvin Leal on the defensive line and Kenyon Green on the offensive line, and South Carolina went 7-6.

South Carolina is 2-4 at home against Texas A&M, and the Aggies last won in Columbia in 2020. That Texas A&M team went 9-1 with Green an All-American, and South Carolina went 2-8.

Three things to watch

Texas A&M's patience: against Power 4 opponents, the Aggies hold the ball 31:41 a game, 17th nationally, to South Carolina's 29:51, and are penalized 42 yards a game, third in the SEC, against 73 for the Gamecocks, 15th.

Two-point tries: South Carolina has converted a 2-point try in three games this season, tied for the most in FBS, and is 1-2 in one-score games.

South Carolina's drives against Texas A&M's stops: against Power 4 opponents, the Gamecocks score on 47.1% of drives, 18th nationally, and the Aggies end 63.6% of drives without a score, 29th.