Game preview: Texas A&M's offense vs. South Carolina'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) begins with a breakdown of the Aggie offense against the Gamecocks 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))

How they got here

Texas A&M:

Beat UTSA 42-24

Beat Utah State 44-22

Beat Notre Dame 41-40

Beat Auburn 16-10

Beat Mississippi State 31-9

Beat Florida 34-17

Beat Arkansas 45-42

Beat LSU 49-25

Beat Missouri 38-17

South Carolina:

Beat Virginia Tech 24-11

Beat South Carolina State 38-10

Lost to Vanderbilt 31-7

Lost to Missouri 29-20

Beat Kentucky 35-13

Lost to LSU 20-10

Lost to Oklahoma 26-7

Lost to Alabama 29-22

Lost to Ole Miss 30-14

Texas A&M offensive depth chart

QB: #10, Marcel Reed (6-1, 185, RS-So.)

#16, Miles O’Neill (6-5, 220, RS-Fr.)

#13, Brady Hart (6-4, 195, Fr.) OR #9, Jacob Zeno (6-2, 215, Gr.)

RB: #8, Le’Veon Moss (5-11, 210, Sr.)

#4, Rueben Owens II (5-11, 215, RS-So.)

#5, Amari Daniels (5-8, 197, RS-Sr.) OR #23, Jamarion Morrow (5-9, 205, Fr.) OR #22, EJ Smith (5-11, 211, Gr.)

WR: #7, KC Concepcion (5-11, 190, Jr.)

#18, TK Norman (6-0, 182, Fr.)

WR: #1, Mario Craver (5-9, 165, So.) OR #2, Terry Bussey (5-10, 195, So.)

#0, Izaiah Williams (5-11, 185, RS-Fr.)

WR: #3, Ashton Bethel-Roman (6-0, 185, RS-Fr.) OR #2, Terry Bussey (5-10, 195, So.)

#11, Kelshaun Johnson (5-11, 168, Fr.)

TE: #17, Theo Melin Öhrström (6-6, 257, RS-Jr.) OR #87, Nate Boerkircher (6-4, 250, Gr.) OR #84, Amari Niblack (6-3, 235, Sr.)

#88, Micah Riley (6-5, 257, R-Jr.)

#21, Kiotti Armstrong (6-5, 275, Fr.)

LT: #60, Trey Zuhn III (6-6, 319, Gr.) OR #76, Reuben Fatheree (6-7, 333, Gr.)

#79, Lamont Rogers (6-6, 337, Fr.)

LG: #71, Chase Bisontis (6-5, 315, Jr.)

#73, Ashton Funk (6-6, 322, R-Fr.) OR #77, Tyler Thomas (6-4, 329, Fr.)

C: #54, Mark Nabou (6-3, 322, R-So.) OR #60, Trey Zuhn III (6-6, 319, Gr.)

#61, Koli Faaiu (6-3, 333, Sr.)

RG: #55, Ar’maj Reed-Adams (6-5, 325, Gr.)

#52, Blake Ivy (6-3, 336, RS-Fr.)

RT: #78, Dametrious Crownover (6-7, 336, Gr.)

#70, Robert Bourdon (6-6, 318, RS-Fr.)

Texas A&M statistical leaders

Passing: Reed, 157-252 (62.3%), 2,193 yards, 19 TD, 6 INT

O’Neill, 4-7, 101 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT

Rushing: Owens, 91 carries, 542 yards (6 YPC), 5 TD

Moss, 70 carries, 390 yards (5.6 YPC), 6 TD

Reed, 69 carries, 378 yards (5.5 YPC), 6 TD

Receiving: Craver, 46 catches, 775 yards (16.9 YPC), 4 TD

Concepcion, 40 catches, 629 yards (15.7 YPC), 8 TD

Bethel-Roman, 12 catches, 242 yards (20.2 YPC), 2 TD

South Carolina defensive depth chart

Edge: #6, Dylan Stewart (6-5, 245, So.)

#9 Desmond Umeozulu (6-6, 255, Jr.)

#30, Demon Clowney (6-4, 255, Gr.-TR.)

DT: #93, Nick Barrett (6-3, 322, RS-Sr.)

#99 Gabe Brownlow-Dindy (6-3, 315, RS-Jr.-TR.)

DT: #44, Monkell Goodwine (6-4, 305, RS-Sr.)

#33, Troy Pikes (6-3, 290, RS-So.-TR.)

#90, Davonte Mills (6-4, 280, RS-Jr.)

Edge: #46, Bryan Thomas Jr. (6-2, 249, Sr.)

#12, Jatius Greer (6-6, 250, RS-Sr.)

MLB: #0, Fred “JayR” Johnson (6-3, 244, So.)

#7, Shawn Murphy (6-3, 231, RS-Jr.)
WLB: #17, Justin Okoronkwo (6-3 231 So.-TR.)

#14, Jaron Willis (6-2, 254, RS-Jr.)
NICKEL: #24, Jalon Kilgore (6-1, 211, Jr.)

#18, Jaquel Holman (6-1, 204, Fr.)

CB: #8, Judge Collier (6-2, 201, Jr.)

#3, Myles Norwood (6-2, 184, RS-Sr.)

FS: #1, DQ Smith (6-1, 219, Sr.)

#13, David Bucey (6, 202, So.)

SS: #31, Peyton Williams (6, 209, RS-Jr.)

#23, Gerald Kilgore (6, 210, RS-Jr.)

CB:
#15, Brandon Cisse (6, 190, Jr.-TR.)

#4, Vicari Swain (6-1, 190, So.)

South Carolina defensive statistical leaders

Tackles: Smith, 51

Okoronkwo, 43

Johnson, 41

Tackles for loss: Thomas, 7

Barrett, 4

Goodwine and Johnson, 3.5

Sacks: Thomas, 5

Stewart, 3.5

Barrett and Geer, 2

Interceptions: Williams and Kilgore, 2

Five players with 1

Forced fumbles: Willis, 2

Five players with 1

Fumble recoveries: Goodwine, Swain and Stewart, 2

Head to head: Texas A&M’s offense vs. South Carolina’s defense

Category	Texas A&M	National/SEC rank	Category	South Carolina	National/SEC rank
Scoring offense	37.8 PPG	12th/3rd	Scoring defense	22.1 PPG	49th/9th
Total offense	459.8 YPG	17th/4th	Total defense	344.2 YPG	47th/10th
Rushing offense	204.9 YPG	19th/3rd	Rushing defense	153.7 YPG	82nd/14th
Passing offense	254.9 YPG	40th/6th	Pass defense	190.6 YPG	32nd/6th
First downs	208	31st/8th	First downs allowed	175	54th/10th
Third down conversion percentage	43.5%	44th/5th	Third down conversion defense	42.1%	100th/14th
Red zone conversion percentage	91.9%	20th/5th	Red zone defense	84.4%	68th/9th
Sacks allowed per game	.89	8th/1st	Sacks per game	1.89	78th/12th
Tackles for loss allowed per game	2.89	1st nationally	Tackles for loss per game	5.3	76th/12th
Turnovers	8	13th/4th	Turnovers forced	16	18th/1st
Turnover +/-	EVEN	68th/9th	Turnover +/-	+3	35th, 5th
Time of possession	32:35	14th/3rd	Time of possession	27:58	118th/14th

What A&M wants to do

Run the ball until South Carolina breaks or makes them do something else. It’s really that simple.

In conference games, the Gamecocks have given up 146, 285, 108, 166, 171, 72 and 258 yards on the ground. The 72 was against Alabama, who just can’t run the football on anyone. The one win they have in conference was against Kentucky, who only gained 108 yards on the ground.

If you can run the football on South Carolina, odds are you’re going to win.

Against LSU, A&M threw the ball three times in the second half. Against Missouri, A&M threw the ball eight times in the second half, and only once in the fourth quarter — on the first play of that quarter. The Aggies scored 59 points in those second halves. Texas A&M can batter you and still score points.

The strength of the Gamecocks defense are their defensive ends, Bryan Thomas and Dylan Stewart. A&M should do exactly what South Carolina did last year to Nic Scourton and Shemar Stewart — run right at them and wear them down. I suspect we will see a lot of two tight end looks as the Aggies use their efficient running game first and foremost. Then, once the defense has been worn down, Reed can take some shots down the field.

Texas A&M has dominated time of possession and has one of the most effective running games in the country. It’s time for the offensive line to get some revenge for last year.

How South Carolina may try to counter

Do what you do best — force turnovers. The Gamecocks have forced 16 of them this season, and that number has helped keep them in games. They’ve got to be trying for a bunch of them on Saturday and hope they can get a touchdown or two out of it.

So far, the Gamecocks have faced three types of SEC opponents: the ones who ran it right at them, the one who was offensively inept (Kentucky) and Alabama. The secondary has put up pretty good numbers, but part of that is because the teams that beat them really didn’t need to throw. For instance, Ole Miss only threw for 159 yards, a paltry total for them, but still averaged 6.3 yards per play.

The Gamecocks are probably going to load up the box and do everything they can to stop the run, and then take their chances with Marcel Reed and the passing game. They’ll need their best pass rushers, Thomas and Stewart, to get home or at least get Reed moving, flustered and in a position where he could make some mistakes.

So the gameplan will likely be to try to stop the run first and foremost, then blitz heavily to pressure Reed into situations where he could turn the ball over. Against one of the nation’s best offensive lines and a group that has given up one sack in its last four conference games, that’s going to be easier said than done.