That's the weirdest half I think I've ever seen. This game should be a blowout--and I'm not sure for who.
For A&M, this is all about beating themselves with the stupid crap ever. There was a lot of half-assing and lack of effort early on, but they've turned it on over the last 20 minutes.
The first 10 were a disaster. They had no hustle on the kickoff return -- and why are you kicking it to him anyway? -- and the interception by King was just terrible. He telegraphed that ball the whole way, and A&M runs those patterns so often that USC jumped them repeatedly.
And Wykoff? What the hell was that?
And somehow, they're only down 3. They just needed to stop sucking at an epic level.
Offensively, A&M has shown some life, piling up at least 216 yards (the statbroadcast here is very iffy), including a 97-yard, 13-play drive. We said all week that you needed to get Devon Achane the ball and he's got 75 yards on 13 carries. If anything, he should be getting ball more. Carolina's run defense isn't very good and even when they get to Achane, the first guy isn't bringing him down. And considering how bad the jumbo package looked on its one play, why wouldn't you give it to Achane more?
King has looked serviceable since the unbelievably bad pick. I wouldn't say good, but not bad. He's 11-19 for 115 yards and he deserves a lot of credit for the touchdown pass, because he kept his balance, kept his eyes up and found Max Wright, who made a great play. Wright has two career TDs-- both from King, both on this field.
Evan Stewart has been abusing his guy. He's only got 3 catches, but 56 yards. He's really running those sharp routes we've talked about since the spring. Chase Lane has 3 catches as well. Donovan Green looked like he was getting rolling before he got shaken up.
The playcalling is still mind-boggling. Starting off with throw after throw was a horrible decision. Then the repeated out routes were so predictable the Gamecocks knew what was coming. I said this week that they should roll the pocket and use the middle of the field more. They got down 17-0 and VOILA! Roll the pocket, middle of the field. And it worked.
The line has been up and down. They haven't given up any sacks, but King has seen heavy pressure on 3rd downs. On the other hand, he's also had time to go deep a few times. And the run blocking has been solid. Still, the stupid snap and so many false starts have killed them.
Defensively, A&M has gone from a 3-man front to a massive 4-man front, with Shemar Turner playing a lot of defensive end. It's working, because South Carolina has 15 yards of rushing. Marshawn Lloyd supposedly has 8. Rattler is 6-16 for 80 yards, but he's had a couple of wide open guys drop passes. Other times, though, he's been running for his life.
Bryce Anderson had a fantastic first half, stripping the ball for a fumble and getting another tackle for loss right after. Andre White being back has really helped. He's been where he needs to be and has been solid in the middle. McKinnley Jackson and Walter Nolen have helped blow up the middle, taking away a lot of where Lloyd wants to run.
One thing the defense needs to do is get Deuce Harmon off the field. He comes on in 3rd down situations and Carolina IMMEDIATELY goes at him. Every time they see 11, he's targeted. I haven't seen much, if any, of Denver Harris, and I'd rather take my chances with him.
The Aggies have flipped momentum in this game, but they've got to go after Carolina and win this the old-fashioned way: hit them in the mouth. Run the ball with Achane and continue to pressure the line of scrimmage. Give King time to get the ball down the field, because he actually did it a little. And call better plays. No more out routes.
