Game preview: South Carolina's offense vs. Texas A&M's defense
AggieYell.com begins its look at the matchup between No. 3 Texas A&M (9-0, 6-0 SEC) and South Carolina (3-6, 1-6 SEC) continues with a breakdown of the Gamecocks offense against the Aggie defense.
Where, when, weather and TV
Where: Kyle Field, College Station, Texas
When: 11 a.m. central time, Saturday, Nov. 15
Weather: Partly cloudy with temperatures in the low 80s
TV: ESPN (Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Dusty Dvoracek (analyst), and Taylor McGregor (sideline reporter))
South Carolina offensive depth chart
QB: #16, LaNorris Sellers (6-3, 240, RS-So.)
#9, Luke Doty (6-2, 215, Gr.)
RB: #27, Oscar Adaway III (5-11, 219, Gr.) OR #1, Rashul Faison (6, 218, Gr.-TR.) OR #28, Matt Fuller (5-11, 220, RS-Fr.)
TE: #5, Jordan Dingle (6-4, 243, RS-Sr.)
#44, Maurice Brown II (6-4, 240, Jr.)
TE: #87, Brady Hunt (6-5, 248, RS-Sr.)
#44, Maurice Brown II (6-4, 240, Jr.)
WR: #8, Nyck Harbor (6-5, 235, Jr.)
#13, Malik Clark (6-2, 190, Fr.)
WR: #6, Donovan Murph (6-2, 195, Fr.) Or #14, Jared Brown (6, 195, RS-Sr.) OR #4, Vandrevius Jacobs (6, 182, RS-So.)
WR: #3, Mazeo Bennett Jr. (5-10, 185, So.) OR #18, Brian Rowe Jr. (6, 170, Fr.) OR #17 Jayden Sellers (5-11, 175, Fr.)
LT: #74, Josiah Thompson (6-7, 300, So.)
#77, Jatavius Shivers (6-6, 325, RS-So.)
LG: #72, Shedrick Sarratt Jr. (6-4, 336, Fr.)
#65, Rodney Newsom Jr. (6-3, 310, Sr.-TR.)
C: #50, Boaz Stanley (6-3, 325, RS-Jr.-TR.) OR #62, Nolan Hay (6-3, 309, Sr.)
RG: #78, Trovon Baugh (6-3, 335, Jr.)
#58, Markee Anderson (6-4, 326, RS-So.)
RT: Tree Babalade (6-5, 330, RS-So.)
#55, Damola Ajidahun (6-6, 325, Fr.)
South Carolina offensive statistical leaders
Passing: Sellers, 124-201 (61.6%), 1,536 yards, 7 TD, 5 INT
Doty, 18-28, 148 yards, 1 TD
Rushing: Faison, 81 carries, 350 yards (4.3 YPC), 3 TD
Fuller, 54 carries, 181 yards (3.4 YPC), 1 TD
Sellers, 117 carries, 158 yards (1.4 YPC), 3 TD
Receiving: Harbor, 21 catches, 401 yards (19.1 YPC), 2 TD
Jacobs, 21 catches, 343 yards (16.3 YPC), 2 TD
Hunt, 16 catches, 144 yards (9 YPC)
Texas A&M defensive depth chart
DE: #50, Dayon Hayes (6-3, 264, Gr.) OR #18, TJ Searcy (6-5, 255, Jr.)
#30 Solomon Williams (6-1, 250, RS-Fr.) OR #92 Sam M’Pemba (6-3, 252, RS-So.)
DT: #5, DJ Hicks (6-3, 295, Jr.) OR #11, Tyler Onyedim (6-3, 295, Gr.) OR #17, Albert Regis (6-1, 317, Gr.)
#55, Dealyn Evans (6-4, 314, RS-Fr.) OR #99, Landon Rink (6-2, 294, Fr.)
NT: #17, Albert Regis (6-1, 317, Gr.) OR #5, DJ Hicks (6-3, 295, Jr.) OR #11, Tyler Onyedim (6-3, 295, Gr.)
#88, DJ Sanders (6-3, 315, Fr.) OR #99, Landon Rink (6-2, 294, Fr.)
DT: #11, Tyler Onyedim (6-3, 295, Gr.) OR #17 Albert Regis (6-1, 317, Gr.) OR #5, DJ Hicks (6-3, 295, Jr.)
#59, Chace Sims (6-3, 294, Fr.) OR #99 Landon Rink, (6-2, 294, Fr.)
JACK: #9, Cashius Howell (6-2, 248, R-Sr.)
#15, Rylan Kennedy (6-3, 239, RS-So.) OR #10, Marco Jones (6-5, 258, Fr.) OR #92, Sam M’Pemba (6-3, 252, RS-So.)
LB: #21, Taurean York (5-10, 227, Jr.)
#54, Jordan Lockhart (6-1, 229, So.) OR #27 Daymion Sanford (6-2, 222, Jr.)
LB: #0, Scooby Williams (6-2, 230, Sr.)
#27, Daymion Sanford (6-2, 222, Jr.) OR #23, Noah Mikhail (6-2, 223, Fr.)
NICKEL: #7 Tyreek Chappell (5-11, 180, RS-Sr.)
#19, Bravion Rogers (5-11, 188, Jr.) OR #8, Jordan Shaw (5-11, 182, RS-So.) OR #14, Jayvon Thomas (5-11, 196, Jr.)
CB: #4, Will Lee III (6-1, 189, Sr.)
#6, Julio Humphrey (6-1, 195, R-Jr.)
#14, Jayvon Thomas (5-11, 196, Jr.)
CB: #2, Dezz Ricks (6-1, 188, R-So.)
#6, Julio Humphrey (6-1, 195, R-Jr.)
#20, Adonyss Currie (6-0, 174, Fr.)
S: #1, Bryce Anderson (5-10, 186, Sr.)
#29, Myles Davis (6-1, 196, So.) OR #13, Rashad “Tom Tom” Johnson Jr. (6-1, 198, Fr.)
S: #25, Dalton Brooks (6-0, 193, Jr.) OR #3 Marcus Ratcliffe (6-2, 209, Jr.)
#33, Jarred Kerr (5-11, 190, Sr.)
#13, Rashad “Tom Tom” Johnson Jr. (6-1, 198, Fr.)
Texas A&M defensive statistical leaders
Tackles: Ratcliffe, 50
York, 47
Brooks and Sanford, 38
Tackles for loss: Howell, 11.5
Sanford, 8.5
Hicks, 6
Sacks: Howell, 10.5
Sanford and Hayes, 3.5
Hicks, 3
Interceptions: Sanford and Scooby Williams, 1
Forced fumbles: Sanford 2
Seven players with 1
Fumble recoveries: Brooks, 2
Four players with 1
Injury update
South Carolina: OL Jatavius Shivers and Cason Henry are out.
Texas A&M: S Bryce Anderson and Tom Tom Johnson are out.
LB Scooby Williams is doubtful.
Head to head: South Carolina’s offense vs. Texas A&M’s defense
| Category | South Carolina | National/SEC rank | Category | Texas A&M | National/SEC rank |
| Scoring offense | 19.7 PPG | 119th/16th | Scoring defense | 22.9 PPG | 58th/12th |
| Total offense | 294.1 YPG | 127th/16th | Total defense | 317.3 YPG | 23rd/6th |
| Rushing offense | 100.8 YPG | 126th/16th | Rushing defense | 128.3 YPG | 43rd/9th |
| Passing offense | 193.3 YPG | 103rd/15th | Pass defense | 189 YPG | 30th/5th |
| First downs | 154 | 124th/16th | First downs allowed | 156 | 23rd/5th |
| 3rd down conversion percentage | 32.5% | 121st/15th | 3rd down conversion defense | 24.1% | First nationally |
| Red zone offense | 77.8% | 108th/16th | Red zone defense | 96.3% | 130th/16th |
| Sacks allowed per game | 3.78 | 131st/15th | Sacks per game | 3.78 | First nationally |
| Tackles for loss allowed per game | 7.22 | 127th/16th | Tackles for loss per game | 8.1 | 4th/2nd |
| Turnovers | 13 | 85th/12th | Turnovers forced | 8 | 108th/11th |
| Turnover +/- | 3 | 35th/5th | Turnover +/- | EVEN | 68th/9th |
| Time of possession | 27:58 | 117th/14th | Time of possession | 32:35 | 14th/3rd |
What South Carolina wants to do
Move the ball and score points in any way possible.
To be blunt, I have never seen a worse set of stats than this offense has compiled to date. But Mike Shula is gone and Mike Furrey is now the offensive coordinator, so things could be different.
LaNorris Sellers shredded A&M on the ground last year, and that almost certainly stuck in the brains of Furrey and Shane Beamer, so expect him to get a lot more opportunities to use his legs. They’ll also want to get the ball into the hands of Nyck Harbor, their genetic freak of a wide receiver who runs in the high 4.2s at 235 pounds. He’s an absolute coverage nightmare with his size, physical ability and speed.
The problem with these plans are pretty obvious: the offensive line has been beyond awful and has put a massive crimp in South Carolina’s offensive plans all season. A&M has 34 sacks on the season; South Carolina has given up 34 sacks, and defenses that aren’t good at rushing the passer (Ole Miss) have still had massive success.
The Aggies are a totally different animal. They’re first in the nation in sacks and pressure quarterbacks approximately once every two dropbacks. Against Missouri, that meant a lot of heavy pressure on Matt Zollers; against LSU, it meant sacks for Garrett Mussmeier and Michael Van Buren. LSU’s offensive line isn’t good, but it’s significantly better statistically than South Carolina’s.
The Gamecocks need Sellers to control the game, to keep South Carolina on schedule and make plays. We may see a lot of rollouts, motion and eye candy to slow down the pass rush and quick passes early with the hope they can eventually go deep eventually. It won’t be an easy task.
How A&M may try to counter
Get Sellers on the ground this time. Last year was almost farcical with how bad the Aggies were tackling. If they’re going to lock of a CFP bid, they have to do that a whole lot better this year.
We know South Carolina struggles against any pass rush. The Aggies have the best pass rush, so expect them to throw a lot of different looks at Sellers as they try to get home with four pass rushers while the rest of the defense drops off into coverage. It’s very likely A&M spies Sellers, likely with either Taurean York or Daymion Sanford. They know as well as anyone that someone has to be in position when Sellers decides to take off and run.
South Carolina has not rushed for 200 yards in any game this season and they rushed for a total of -9 yards against the same Missouri defense the Aggies ran all over. If the can get Faison and/or Sellers to the ground quickly and put the Gamecocks in a passing situation, they’re going to be in serious trouble.
