AggieYell.com's look at the matchup between Texas A&M (4-3, 2-2 SEC) and South Carolina (2-5, 1-3 SEC) begins with a breakdown of the Aggie offense against the Gamecocks defense.
Where, when, TV and weather
Where: Kyle Field, College Station, Texas
When: 11 a.m. central time Saturday, Oct. 28
TV: ESPN
Weather: Cloudy, with a high of 84
Texas A&M two-deep
QB: #14, Max Johnson; 6-6, 230; RS-So.
#16, Jaylen Henderson; 6-3, 220; RS-So.-TR.
RB: #8, Le’Veon Moss; 6, 210; So.
#4, Amari Daniels; 5-9, 205; Jr. OR #2, Rueben Owens; 6, 200; Fr.
FB: #24, Earnest Crownover; 6-3, 235; Gr.
#32, Jerry Johnson III; 6-1, 235; Gr.
TE: #19, Jake Johnson; 6-6, 240; So.
#42, Max Wright; 6-4, 240; Gr. OR #17, Theo Ohrstrom; 6-6, 250; RS-Fr.
WR (X): #1, Evan Stewart; 6, 185; So.
#0, Ainias Smith; 5-10, 200; Gr.
WR (SLOT): #0, Ainias Smith; 5-10, 200; Gr.
#7, Moose Muhammad; 6-1, 205, RS-Jr.
WR (Z): #3, Noah Thomas; 6-6, 200; So.
#9, Jahdae Walker; 6-4, 210; Jr.-TR.
LT: #60, Trey Zuhn; 6-7, 315; RS-So.
#76, Deuce Fatheree; 6-8, 315; Jr.;
LG: #54, Mark Nabou; 6-4, 325; RS-Fr.
#75, Kam Dewberry; 6-4, 330; So.
C: #61, Bryce Foster; 6-5, 330; RS-So.
#54, Mark Nabou; 6-4, 325; RS-Fr.
RG: #64, Layden Robinson; 6-4, 315; Gr.
#74, Aki Ogunbiyi; 6-4, 315; RS-Jr.
RT: #71, Chase Bisontis; 6-6, 320; Fr.
#78, Dametrious Crownover; 6-7, 315; RS-So.
South Carolina two-deep
DE: #11, Elijah Davis; 6-3, 289; Jr.-TR. OR #12, Jatius Greer; 6-6, 243; RS-So.-TR.
DT: #91, Tonka Hemingway; 6-3, 285; Sr.
#90, T.J. Sanders; 6-5, 298; RS-So.
DT: #95, Alex Huntley; 6-4, 298; RS-Jr.
#93, Nick Barrett; 6-3, 327; RS-So.
OLB: #7, Jordan Strachan; 6-5, 243; RS-Sr. OR #46, Bryan Thomas Jr.; 6-3, 235; So.
MLB: #52, Stone Blanton; 6-2, 232; So.
#5, Grayson Howard; 6-4, 241; Fr.
WLB: #0, Deebo Williams; 6-1, 232; RS-Jr.
#22, Bam Martin-Scott; 6-2, 226; RS-Sr.
NICKEL: #21, Nick Emmanwori; 6-3, 220; So.
#29, David Spaulding; 6-1, 198; RS-Sr.
CB: #3, O’Donnell Fortune; 6-1, 185; RS-Jr.
#20, Judge Collier; 6-1, 193; Fr.
SS: #24, Jalon Kilgore; 6-1, 204; Fr.
#27, King-Demerion Ford; 6-2, 209; RS-Jr.
FS: #1, DQ Smith; 6-1, 214; So.
#18, Keenan Nelson Jr.; 6-1, 195; RS-Fr.
CB: #6, Marcellas Dial; 6, 195; RS-Sr.
#8, Emory Floyd; 6-1, 181; RS-Fr.
Injury update
Texas A&M: QB Conner Weigman (ankle/foot) and TE Donovan Green (ACL) are out for the year.
South Carolina: LB Stone Blanton (undisclosed) is questionable; LB Mohamed Kaba (ACL) is out for the year.
Texas A&M statistical leaders
Rushing: Moss, 77 carries, 393 yards (5 YPC), 3 TD
Daniels, 53 carries, 287 yards (5.4 YPC), 2 TD
Owens, 37 carries, 130 yards (3.5 YPC), 1 TD
Passing: Weigman, 82-119 (68.9%), 979 yards, 8 TD, 2 INT
Johnson, 67-118 (56.8%), 898 yards, 7 TD, 4 INT
Receiving: Stewart, 31 catches, 451 yards (14.6 YPC), 4 TD
Smith, 27 catches, 451 yards (16.7 YPC)
Thomas, 14 catches, 193 yards (13.8 YPC), 4 TD
South Carolina statistical leaders
Tackles: Kilgore, 61
Williams, 59
Smith, 53
Tackles for loss: Sanders, 7.5
Williams, 7
Strachan, 4
Sacks: Sanders, 4.5
Strachan and Huntley, 2
Interceptions: Six players with 1
Forced fumbles: Smith, Blanton and Strachan, 1
Fumble recoveries: Collier, 1
Head-to-head
What A&M may want to do
If Bobby Petrino is going to live up to his reputation for attacking weak points, as he did earlier this year, this is simple: come out and throw the ball. The Gamecocks are absolutely terrible against the pass, with only six teams in FBS worse. In the past, that usually meant A&M would come out and try to run, but let's see if they're going to feed the studs against a really bad secondary.
Even though South Carolina's pass rush isn't exactly Tennessee's, A&M definitely needs to work on getting the ball out of Max Johnson's hands faster. That could mean some quick hits outside, slants and drag patterns. The Aggies could also try rolling the pocket to get Johnson some more time. They don't have to do this every play, but it's something they should get in the habit of doing as the season goes on.
Instead of running to set up the pass, the Aggies should pass to set up the run. If A&M has success throwing the ball early and gets out to a lead, then they can start pounding away and killing clock. But the most important thing is to find offensive success quickly, get into a rhythm and keep pressure off of Johnson.
What South Carolina may do to counter
South Carolina has not faced a better receiving corps than the one A&M has. It has, however, faced better offensive lines. In order to slow down the Aggie offense, they need to do something they haven't done well, and that's come after the quarterback.
The Gamecocks run a base 3-3-5, but they frequently have a four-man front as one of the linebackers serves as a standup rush end. They blitz their linebackers frequently, as evidenced by the tackles for loss by Deebo Williams. They'll bring the safeties at times too, but they just don't get home very often. In spite of that, blitzing will likely be their best option against A&M if they can hold up against the run.
South Carolina plays a lot of man coverage because of the blitzing, and they've been repeatedly gutted over the deep middle of the field. They may need to mix up their coverages and hope that pressure can create turnovers.
