The ugly numbers behind South Carolina football’s second-half collapse vs Texas A&M

For one half at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas, on Nov. 15, South Carolina football looked unstoppable.

The Gamecocks (3-7, 1-7 SEC) took a 27-point lead over the No. 3 Aggies (10-0, 7-0) into halftime, the largest deficit Texas A&M had faced all season.

Everything had gone right, from Nick Barrett’s scoop-and-score to Nyck Harbor’s 80-yard touchdown reception to LaNorris Sellers’ 183 yards and two touchdown passes.

But the South Carolina team that showed up in the first half was not there for the second half. And the Texas A&M team that came out after halftime is the one that looked like a national championship contender.

Before the Gamecocks knew what happened, the Aggies were walking off their home field with a 31-30 win for the biggest comeback in Texas A&M history.

“I don’t know why we’re going through it,” South Carolina coach Shane Beamer said. “I don’t know why we’ve had this heartbreak that we’ve had, but we will be better and stronger and hardened because of it as we go into next season.”

South Carolina lived up to preseason ranking for a half

For the first half, the Gamecocks looked like the team that had been ranked No. 13 in the preseason. Sellers performed like a projected first-round NFL Draft pick, dicing up the Aggies’ defense.

The Gamecocks intercepted Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed twice. Dylan Stewart and Barrett combined for a forced fumble and a scoop-and-score touchdown.

“I know the rest of the country was surprised with what was going on in the first half,” Beamer said. “We weren’t.”

But the Aggies looked even better after the break than the Gamecocks did before it.

Texas A&M scored on four consecutive drives in the second half, erasing the 30-3 deficit with 11 minutes to go in the game. Reed played like a Heisman candidate. After 141 first-half passing yards and two interceptions, Reed had 298 passing yards and two touchdowns in the second.

“Give credit to A&M,” Beamer said. “They did what championship teams do.”

South Carolina vs Texas A&M stats comparison

South Carolina outgained Texas A&M 312-132 in the first half, including holding Texas A&M to minus-9 rushing yards. South Carolina gained more yards in the first half than its season average of 294.1, which is the worst in the SEC and 127th nationally.

The offensive line didn’t give up a sack – a big deal for LaNorris Sellers, who has been sacked more than any other quarterback in FBS.

It was the opposite in the second half. The Aggies had 371 yards to the Gamecocks’ 76, tallying four sacks as it held South Carolina scoreless.

The Gamecocks had a chance to set up a field goal on one final drive. After Texas A&M fumbled near the goal line, South Carolina had 3:10 remaining to drive down the field.

After a second-and-1 at the South Carolina 40 yard line, Sellers got sacked twice in a row before scrambling for 7 yards on fourth-and-long, ending South Carolina’s upset hopes.

With their seventh loss, the Gamecocks are eliminated from bowl eligibility for the second time in three years. There are two games still left on the schedule, including the season finale against rival Clemson Nov. 29.

“There’s a lot of guys on this team that love being a Gamecock,” Beamer said. “There’s a lot of guys on this team and in this program that hurt like hell right now about what we’re going through, but there’s a lot of guys who have great grit and resolve to get this right.”

Evan Gerike is the high school sports reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Email him at egerike@citizentimes.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @EvanGerike.