Photos: Gamecocks notch first-ever win over Texas A&M
The Gamecocks are on a heater.
South Carolina held on to beat Texas a&M 30-24 Saturday night for the program’s first win ever over the Aggies.
GamecockCentral was on hand for it with plenty of photos to go around from the major win. Here are two galleries from Chris Gillespie and C.J. Driggers.
South Carolina beats Texas A&M for first time in program history
from Michael Sauls
South Carolina was able to finally break its eight-game losing streak to Texas A&M, beating the Aggies 30-24 on Saturday night. With the win, the Gamecocks improve to 5-2 overall and 2-2 in the SEC.
Much like two weeks ago against Kentucky, the Gamecocks got off to a lightning quick start.
Xavier Legette started the game off with a bang, returning the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown.
Less than two minutes later South Carolina got on the board again. Darius Rush picked off Haynes King for his first interception of the year and returned it 59 yards to the five yard line.
The Gamecock offense couldn’t capitalize on the pristine field position though and had to settle for a field goal.
Clayton White’s defense helped put even more points on the board on the ensuing drive when it capitalized on miscommunication in the Aggies offense.
King stepped up to the line and the Texas A&M center snapped the ball early, the ball then bounced off King and into the hands of Tonka Hemingway who returned it 17 yards.
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Hemingway’s return set up a five yard touchdown from Christian Beal-Smith. The score was Beal-Smith’s first since he made his last appearance against S.C State.
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Beal-Smith finished the night with eight carries and 12 yards.
South Carolina was able to put 17 points up on the board in the first five minutes in the game. Despite the positive momentum, the Gamecock offense sputtered for the rest of the first quarter.
South Carolina’s final two drives of the first quarter ended in a fumble by Juju McDowell and a punt.
The lack of momentum at the end of the first quarter led to South Carolina’s offensive woes continuing into the second quarter. The Gamecocks only had two drives in the second quarter and punted both times.
Both drives were six plays a piece and the South Carolina offense only averaged just over four yards per play.
Texas A&M was limited to only field goals to start off the first half. Randy Bond hit a 51-yard field goal midway through the first quarter and hit a 26-yard field goal in the second quarter.
Though the South Carolina defense kept the Aggie offense in check for a majority of the first half, King was able to lead Texas A&M on a 13-play, eight minute drive scoring drive in the second quarter.
