Texas A&M Hosts South Carolina

The South Carolina Gamecocks (2-5, 1-4 SEC) travel to College Station to take on the Texas A&M Aggies (4-3, 2-2 SEC) Saturday at noon. South Carolina lost to Missouri 34-12 in Week 8, and the Aggies are coming off of a bye week. Before the bye week, Texas A&M fell 20-13 to the now 21st-ranked Tennessee Volunteers.

🤙🤙🤙 pic.twitter.com/49TjFFRqvW

— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) October 16, 2023

Aggies’ Stout Defense

To win this game, the Aggies will have to rely on their defense, ranking ninth nationally. They are only giving up 277.9 yards per game. Outside of a 48-33 loss to Miami, their highest total points allowed in a game was 26 to Alabama.

Junior linebacker Edgerrin Cooper leads the pass rush for Texas A&M with six sacks, and he leads the team in total tackles with 45. Sophomore defensive lineman Walter Nolen is second on the team in sacks with four. Freshman linebacker Taurean York is standing out on the defense, with 41 total tackles and one sack.

🗣️ DEFENSE pic.twitter.com/GjB9qlSCm7

— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) October 14, 2023

Gamecock Offense Drives the Team

Despite having a strong start to the season, South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler is coming off of an off game against Missouri. Rattler went 23/40 with 217 yards and an interception. South Carolina’s 12 points came from four fields goals kicked by senior kicker Mitch Jeter, and it won’t get any easier facing the A&M defense.

Rattler’s play will need to improve for them to win at Kyle Field.

The quarterback will need to connect with senior wide receiver Xavier Legette, who only had one catch for 20 yards against Missouri. Legette is listed as questionable for the game on Saturday.

Went airborne 🤙 https://t.co/gW9Gk9nr16 pic.twitter.com/MsnjEGc9Xg

— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) October 14, 2023

South Carolina’s Injury Bug Continues

Head coach Shane Beamer listed three starting offensive linemen as questionable for their matchup Saturday, and two players as out. South Carolina will definitely be without wide receivers Antwane Wells and Ahmarean Brown. The three starting offensive linemen who may not play Saturday are Tree Babalade, Trovon Baugh and Vershon Lee.

As a result of the injuries, South Carolina has given up 31 sacks in seven games.

Aggies Quarterback Play

Conner Weigman was the team’s starter heading into the season. However, he suffered a foot injury in Week 4 against Auburn which has sidelined him for the rest of the season. Weigman threw for 979 yards with eight touchdowns and two interceptions before getting injured.

Since the injury, redshirt sophomore quarterback Max Johnson has taken over the job. He has thrown for seven touchdowns and four interceptions, along with 898 yards. Similar to Rattler, Johnson is coming off of an off game against Tennessee. He went 16/34 with 223 yards and two interceptions. Johnson did have a rushing touchdown, which was his first of the season.

1️⃣4️⃣ to the pylon!

First rushing TD of the year by @MaxJohnson14 puts the Ags in the lead.

📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/abTuXxBGXc

— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) October 14, 2023

Kickoff is set for noon Saturday at Kyle Field.