Staff Picks: South Carolina at Texas A&M, other Week 12 matchups

South Carolina is back from its bye week and will travel to College Station to take on No. 3 Texas A&M on Saturday.

Kickoff is at noon on ESPN from Kyle Field.

Here’s how the GamecockCentral and 107.5 The Game staff sees this game going, plus a few predictions on other key matchups this weekend.

George Bagwell: The Gamecocks might look a lot better now that offensive coordinator Mike Shula was relieved of his duties. But a road game against the best defense in the nation will be a tough first game for the new-look offense. South Carolina needs this game for their bowl hopes, but those might dry up by around 3:30 on Saturday. Texas A&M 28, South Carolina 10.

Elijah Campbell: The freshness of a new play caller might help the Gamecocks get on the board early and Carolina’s defense will be able to manufacture a few stops but over the course of four quarters, the damn will eventually break given how good A&M’s offense is in all aspects. A&M dominates teams at the line of scrimmage and I don’t see the Gamecocks getting an edge in that department in a stadium the program has never seen a win in. Texas A&M 34, South Carolina 14.

The Insiders Forum: Discuss South Carolina football!

Chris Clark: The Aggies have not been tested as much as the Gamecocks have this season, but they’ve still won every game and are good in all three phases of the game. You can play pretty well on defense and still lose, because you’re going to have to score points. And South Carolina’s offense hasn’t proven it can do that consistently enough. This is another big test on the road. Texas A&M 31, South Carolina 20. 

Terry Ford: The A&M offense is REALLY GOOD. The Gamecocks offense hasn’t been. My hope is that USC -interim OC Mike Furrey will bring some creativity to the offense. Get the ball out of quicker in the passing game, run more diverse route combinations, be more versatile in the run game. But at the end of the day the success or failure of this offense will depend on the o-line being able to hold their own against a good A&M defensive front. I am just not confident they can. Carolina has to force turnovers and not beat themselves in addition to putting together their best output of the season. I hope they can get the much needed W. Texas A&M 34, South Carolina 20.

Griffin Goodwyn: Heading on the road to face an undefeated Texas A&M squad at Kyle Field, the “Home of the 12th Man,” sounds like a recipe for disaster for South Carolina. As far as the Gamecocks’ 2025 season goes, College Station is where their bowl game hopes go to die. Texas A&M 38, South Carolina 10.

Tyler Head: Not really a whole lot working in the Gamecocks’ favor in this one. Texas A&M has a Heisman-caliber QB, a wide range of playmakers and a disruptive defense. I know Carolina will give a valiant effort, but I think they’re just overmatched. Texas A&M 34, South Carolina 17.

Mingo Martin: As much as I want to pick an upset for this game purely out of “it’s 3-6 might as well try some optimism,” I do still have to use my logical brain here. 99.99% chance the bowl game quest officially dies in College Station. Texas A&M 31, South Carolina 17.

Kevin Miller: One of the most complete teams in the country will host South Carolina this weekend, and they will be out for some revenge. The Gamecocks beat Texas A&M handily in Columbia last season, and this year’s game could be an inverse of that one. The USC defense is good enough to keep things somewhat competitive early, but Marcel Reed will break loose in the second half, and the Carolina offense, though perhaps more fun under interim playcaller Mike Furrey, won’t be able to score enough points to win. Texas A&M 34, South Carolina 17.

Wes Mitchell: Texas A&M has yet to play an SEC team with a winning record in conference play, so I’m hesitant to crown them as the best team in the league yet. But regardless, this is a tough, tough matchup for the Gamecocks. A&M is as good as about anyone in the league on offense, with weapons across the board and a QB who can distribute the ball in the passing game and hurt teams with his legs. Then you have a defense that is the best in the country at creating havoc. That’s just not a great recipe for a Carolina offense that has struggled with that aspect. Texas A&M 31, South Carolina 21.

Jay Philips: Even with some new energy being injected after Mike Shula’s dismissal, this game feels like a very tall order for Carolina. Expecting big changes from this offense is unrealistic, so it’s more about finding wrinkles to add productivity and keeping the team confident on the road. The defense will also be challenged by an A&M offense that has been explosive in many of its games, especially against LSU and Missouri. The spread is big and the game is a local morning kick, which may play just a bit into the Gamecocks hands, but not enough. Texas A&M 34, South Carolina 20.

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Kendall Smith: I think Texas A&M is one of the hardest places to play in the SEC, and as Jack Veltri always says on GC Live, Texas A&M is legit this season. To me, they are just the better team. Not to say South Carolina can’t make some magic happen, but I’ve got A&M over Carolina. Texas A&M: 31, South Carolina: 13.

Mike Uva: I expect South Carolina to show some fight against a team who is rolling right now. Not an easy place to play at. Texas A&M 27, South Carolina 20.

Jack Veltri: I’ve said it all week that Texas A&M is the best team that South Carolina will face all year. Couple that with the fact that the Gamecocks have never won at Kyle Field, and this becomes all the more tough of a game to win. I expect to see some better play offensively, but better won’t be enough against this team. Texas A&M 34, South Carolina 21.

Chris Wellbaum: Changing playcallers isn’t going to fix all that ails the Gamecocks. Especially against a Texas A&M team that might actually be really good and have a smart coach. At least this game will be over long before The Real SC game Saturday night. Texas A&M 37, South Carolina 11.

	Clemson at Louisville	Notre Dame at Pittsburgh	Arkansas at LSU	Henderson State at Ouachita Baptist (Battle of the Ravine)	Penn State at Michigan State	Iowa at Southern Cal	Oklahoma at Alabama	Texas at Georgia	TCU at BYU
George Bagwell (77-41)	Louisville	Notre Dame	LSU	Ouachita Baptist	Penn State	Southern Cal	Alabama	Georgia	TCU
Elijah Campbell (79-39)	Clemson	Notre Dame	LSU	Henderson State	Penn State	Southern Cal	Alabama	Texas	BYU
Chris Clark (74-44)	Louisville	Notre Dame	LSU	Ouachita Baptist	Penn State	Southern Cal	Alabama	Georgia	BYU
Terry Ford (66-52)	Louisville	Notre Dame	LSU	Ouachita Baptist	Penn State	Southern Cal	Alabama	Georgia	BYU
Griffin Goodwyn (81-37)	Louisville	Notre Dame	LSU	Ouachita Baptist	Penn State	Southern Cal	Alabama	Georgia	BYU
Tyler Head (69-49)	Louisville	Notre Dame	LSU	Ouachita Baptist	Penn State	Southern Cal	Alabama	Georgia	BYU
Mingo Martin (74-44)	Louisville	Notre Dame	LSU	Henderson State	Penn State	Iowa	Alabama	Georgia	BYU
Kevin Miller (77-41)	Louisville	Notre Dame	LSU	Ouachita Baptist	Penn State	Southern Cal	Alabama	Georgia	BYU
Wes Mitchell (78-40)	Louisville	Notre Dame	LSU	Ouachita Baptist	Penn State	Southern Cal	Oklahoma	Georgia	BYU
Jay Philips (73-45)	Louisville	Notre Dame	LSU	Ouachita Baptist	Penn State	Southern Cal	Alabama	Georgia	BYU
Kendall Smith (78-40)	Louisville	Notre Dame	LSU	Ouachita Baptist	Penn State	Southern Cal	Alabama	Georgia	BYU
Mike Uva (76-42)	Louisville	Notre Dame	LSU	Ouachita Baptist	Penn State	Southern Cal	Alabama	Georgia	BYU
Jack Veltri (71-47)	Clemson	Notre Dame	LSU	Ouachita Baptist	Penn State	Southern Cal	Alabama	Georgia	BYU
Chris Wellbaum (73-45)	Louisville	Notre Dame	LSU	Henderson State	Michigan State	Southern Cal	Alabama	Texas	BYU

The Insiders Forum: Discuss South Carolina football!