Where, when, weather and TV
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, S.C.
When: Saturday, Nov. 2, 7:30 p.m. Eastern time
Weather: Clear, temperatures in the low 70s at kickoff and dropping into the 60s
TV: ABC (Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy and Molly McGrath)
No. 10 Texas A&M (7-1, 5-0 SEC) depth chart
South Carolina (4-3, 2-3) depth chart
Texas A&M statistical leaders
Passing: Weigman, 62-109 (56.9%), 782 yards, 3 TD, 4 INT
Reed, 45-81 (55.6%), 655 yards, 6 TD
Rushing: Moss, 119 carries, 757 yards (6.4 YPC), 10 TD
Daniels, 81 carries, 383 yards (4.7 YPC), 5 TD
Reed, 52 carries, 288 yards (5.5 YPC), 5 TD
Receiving: Thomas, 22 catches, 349 yards (15.6 YPC), 3 TD
Allen, 14 catches, 220 yards (15.7 YPC), 1 TD
Barber, 18 catches, 185 yards (10.3 YPC)
South Carolina statistical leaders
Tackles: Emmanwori, 49
Williams, 40
Knight and Martin-Scott, 36
Tackles for loss: Stewart, 6.5
Knight, 5.5
Martin-Scott, 5.5
Sacks: Kennard, 8.5
Stewart, 4.5
Hemingway, 3
Interceptions: Emmanwori, 4
Kilgore, 3
Fortune, 2
Forced fumbles: Five players with 2
Fumble recoveries: Five players with 1
Head-to-head
What A&M wants to do
Use the RPO game effectively, don't get behind the sticks, protect Reed (or Weigman) and don't turn the ball over.
South Carolina's defense is very good, particularly up front. But their offense is atrocious. The easiest way for them to stick around and steal this game is if A&M helps them do it.
The gameplan has to start with Moss, as it does nearly every week. It is not easy to run on the Gamecocks, but both LSU and Ole Miss did it with reasonable success -- and we know that LSU couldn't run on A&M at all. So Moss has to be the guy carrying the load, with Reed knowing when to pull the ball when they go with the zone read, which they probably will a lot. They ran it far more effectively against LSU than they have earlier in the year, and I don't just mean that LSU couldn't stop it; they were much more efficient in the whole operation.
But if you want that to work and keep the defensive line off of Reed, you've got to mix in some quick passes as well. We started to see more of that last week, but outside of hitting Jabre Barber twice on one drive, Weigman largely misfired when he had guys open and crossing in the middle. That is something Reed should be able to do with some consistency. I'd also work in some rollouts to get Reed more time to look down the field -- and give him the option to take off if he needs it.
This game is probably going to be a slugfest, so the Aggie offensive line has to keep doing what it has in SEC -- physically beat down their opponents. They blew Missouri off the ball from the start, and wore down Arkansas and LSU to the point they broke in the second half. Doing the same this weekend is an absolute must.
How South Carolina may counter
Try to get pressure with their front four and make like difficult for Reed in the running game and throwing the ball.
South Carolina's defensive ends don't play the same style of game as Nic Scourton and Shemar Stewart, but the results are just as good if not better. They're extremely fast, can get around the edge and make life miserable for opposing quarterbacks.
If the Gamecocks can win first down, then A&M is probably in a position where they don't want to be. They want to run the ball, keep the heat off Reed and just wear South Carolina down. You can't do that if you're in 2nd and 9 or 2nd and 8.
South Carolina will likely mix up their looks and bring a few more extra men to confuse Reed, because they're not just looking for negative plays. They're looking for turnovers. In the first quarter against Oklahoma, they picked off the first play from scrimmage to take over at the OU 41, then scored on a fumble return and a pick six. It was 21-0 and the offense hadn't done much of anything. That, of course, is what they would like to repeat.
