Greg McElroy predicts outcome of South Carolina vs. Texas A&M game

On Saturday, South Carolina will square off against No. 3 Texas A&M inside Kyle Field. Ahead of the showdown, ESPN’s Greg McElroy revealed his expectations.

“[South Carolina] better hope the home crowd’s a little underwhelming at 11 a.m. local time. Just having been to Kyle Field, I don’t expect that to be the case,” McElroy said. “You’ve got to somehow figure out a way to stop the run.

“The Aggies are a top-20 run defense, and they have a powerful, powerful offensive line that could overwhelm South Carolina’s rush defense, which has not been great. … If they can’t stop the run, then A&M will be able to grind the clock and eventually wear down a Gamecock defense that doesn’t have the depth that they had last year.”

South Carolina is in a tailspin. The Gamecocks have lost four consecutive games, most recently falling 30-14 to Ole Miss.

South Carolina had a bye last week after its Week 10 loss to the Rebels. During their time off, the Gamecocks fired head coach Mike Shula. Gamecocks wide receivers coach Mike Furrey will debut as South Carolina’s interim offensive coordinator on Saturday.

He’ll have a massive challenge in front of him. Texas A&M’s defense only allows 317.3 yards of offense per game. Moreover, the Aggies know how to put up points in a hurry.

The Aggies are averaging 37.8 points per outing. For reference, South Carolina is barely averaging half that number. While Greg McElroy believes Furrey could cause the game to be closer than expected, he ultimately believes the Aggies will secure a convincing victory.

“South Carolina’s only hope, I think, is with the new offensive coordinator, Mike Furrey,” McElroy said. “He’s got to create some positive chaos. It needs to be some change ups, because A&M, they might be preparing for a bit of an unknown.

“… I also think they need some short fields if they’re going to manufacture points against the Aggies. I think A&M is just way too complete and good on defense to get beat. The only way they get beat is if they beat themselves. Give me the Aggies by 21 points or more.”

In fairness, the Aggies are 9-0 and coming off a dominant 38-17 win over Missouri. On Saturday, Texas A&M will look to collect another win as it squares off against South Carolina at 11 a.m. CT. The game will air live on ESPN.