Texas A&M football coach Mike Elko knows better than to look past South Carolina when the No. 3 Aggies take the field Saturday at College Station, Texas.
For starters, the Aggies (9-0, 6-0 SEC) were smashed 44-20 by the Gamecocks (3-6, 1-6) last season after they were outscored 24-0 in the second half.
“Every Saturday, you’re at risk in this conference,” said Elko, whose Aggies’ teams have been ranked in the AP Top 25 in 19 of the 22 games he has been coach.. “That’s just the way it is. So we have to go play — regardless of what their record is — a really talented football team on Saturday.”
The Aggies, though, have looked nothing like the team that was embarrassed by the Gamecocks last season. Texas A&M leads the FBS in road wins over ranked opponents with three: Notre Dame, LSU. Missouri.
A 38-17 victory at Missouri last Saturday came on 221 yards passing from quarterback Marcel Reed, with two touchdowns. Rueben Owens II rushed for 102 yards and two scores. Elko will push for even more against South Carolina, including from a defense that allowed 77 total passing yards.
“It’s the same (Gamecocks) team that beat us by (24) points last year and really embarrassed us up and down the field,” Elko said. “If any of our players or anyone thinks it’s going to be anything different than that, they’re crazy.”
It doesn’t sound as if Elko will simply lean into the fact that Texas A&M is 9-0 for the first time since 1992 when R.C. Slocum’s Aggies posted a perfect 12-0 regular season. The Aggies are also 6-0 in SEC play for the first time since joining the conference in 2012.
Texas A&M’s No. 3 ranking in the CFP is their highest. The top four teams in the final CFP rankings would earn a bye into the quarterfinals, but an immediate goal is that Texas A&M’s can reach 10 wins for the first time since 2012 and the 13th time in its history.
Reed has thrown for two or more touchdowns in three straight games and has at least two passing scores in seven of the nine games this season. The sophomore ranks No. 21 nationally in total offense with 285.7 yards per game while averaging eight yards per play.
South Carolina still has quarterback LaNorris Sellers leading the way. Sellers scorched Texas A&M last season for 244 yards and two touchdowns through the air and another 106 yards and a score on the ground.
The early Heisman Trophy hopeful has slumped this season to only seven touchdown passes with five interceptions and has rushed for 158 yards with three more scores.
The Aggies will be the Gamecocks’ fifth straight opponent ranked No. 14 or better in the AP poll. South Carolina has lost to LSU, Oklahoma, Alabama and Ole Miss so far during the daunting run.
The Gamecocks led then-No. 4 Alabama by eight points late on Oct. 25 before falling apart in the final three minutes of a 29-22 loss.
South Carolina coach Shane Beamer knows the Gamecocks have their work cut out for them.
“(Texas A&M) is a team that, in my opinion, is playing better than any team in the nation,” Beamer said. “They are clicking on all cylinders.”
Beamer made significant changes over the team’s bye week, firing offensive coordinator Mike Shula and offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley. South Carolina is last in the SEC in scoring (19.7 points per game), total offense (294.1 yards) and rushing offense (100.8 yards).
“There have been some take out, but there has also been some additions,” Beamer said. “Certainly, there’s different voices in there now leading the way.”
