On Saturday, South Carolina and Texas A&M met at Williams-Brice Stadium in front of a sellout Gamecock crowd. In the end, Shane Beamer moved into second all-time in Gamecock history with top-10 wins as his team defeated the Aggies 44-20.

Three key pieces

1. 4th downs on the first drive of the game for each team
   After a careless gaffe by LaNorris Sellers left USC short of sticks on the edge of field goal range, Shane Beamer and Dowell Loggains decided to attack on 4th-and-1. Rocket Sanders converted, and a few plays later LaNorris Sellers found the end zone from 23 yards out.
   On the ensuing drive, Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko also added fourth down. Quarterback Marcel Reed was stuffed on a sneak attempt, giving the Gamecocks the ball at the A&M 32. A few plays later, after a nice play call from Loggains, Sellers found Josh Simon for a 15-yard score.
   With less than seven minutes to play, South Carolina led 14-0. It was the first time this season that the Gamecocks scored touchdowns on their first two offensive possessions. USC needed that fast start as Texas A&M finally came back and took the lead.
2. The pivot point
   When things seemed to be headed for disaster (Texas A&M had taken a 20-17 lead with 1:08 left in the first half), the Gamecocks needed something to go right before halftime. A few nice plays and a few A&M penalties put South Carolina behind. Alex Herrera hit a 44-yard kick with two seconds left to tie the score at halftime.
   The momentum continued into the second half. The Gamecocks forced a three-pointer on Texas A&M's first drive of the third quarter. Then Rocket Sanders took off. After both Sanders and LaNorris Sellers had good runs, No. 5 found daylight on the right side and shot 52 yards into paydirt.
   After the Aggies took a 20-17 lead, the Gamecocks went on a 10-0 run in about seven minutes of play. The scoreboard turned in South Carolina's favor, and so did the momentum of the game.
3. Sacks
   Not one play, but two in the fourth quarter felt like the nail in Texas A&M's proverbial coffin. After not recording any sacks for about 53 minutes of play, the Gamecocks scored two on three plays.
   Dylan Stewart beat A&M's left tackle with a nice jab step inside before accelerating outside. In the process, he crushed Reed and nearly forced a fumble.
   Two snaps later, TJ Sanders broke up a double team and got to Reed again, forcing a punt that eventually led to Josh Simon's game-winning touchdown.

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Two game balls

1. Gamecock offense
   South Carolina needed its best players to have good days to have a chance of beating Texas A&M. On offense, that meant LaNorris Sellers, Rocket Sanders and Josh Simon had to play well. That's what they did.
   Against the SEC's best defense in conference play, the Gamecocks totaled over 500 yards of offense. Sellers and Sanders both ran for over 100 yards, something no other player had ever accomplished this season. Sellers threw for 244 and 2 touchdowns (and no turnovers) and Sanders received 92 receiving yards. Simon also added 132 yards and two receiving touchdowns.
   The trio led the Gamecocks to 44 points. However, they couldn't have done it without arguably the best game of the year for the USC offense. Carolina's big uglies didn't allow a sack in this game, and the run blocking at the rim (particularly on the right side) was as good as it has been all season en route to 286 rushing yards.
2. Demetrius Ritter
   It didn't cause any sales. He didn't record a sack. He wasn't the player who had the big 4th down stops. However, Demetrius Knight made almost every other play of the day for the South Carolina defense. The veteran linebacker posted an 11 tackle performance in the game. Knight flew around the field all night, helping Texas A&M post one of its lowest rushing numbers of the season and zero points after halftime.

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A burning question

Can South Carolina's offense build off a strong performance and the Gamecock defense look like it did in the 2nd half?
Saturday's contest against Texas A&M was the Gamecocks' best offensive performance against anyone not named Akron. South Carolina gained over 500 yards of offense and won the turnover battle.
On the other hand, the Gamecock defense had one of its worst games overall. The good news, however, is that the D had its best moments in the most important moments, forcing two failed 4th-down conversion attempts, giving up zero points in the 2nd half, and two sacks during A&M's final attempt in the 4th quarter conceded.

(Win two tickets to the South Carolina-Missouri football game)

Next week, South Carolina faces another big test when they travel to Nashville to take on the already bowl-eligible Vanderbilt Commodores.