No. 7 Texas A&M vs. South Carolina

Seventh-ranked Texas A&M has a loss on its resume to Alabama, but the Aggies aren’t out of the running for the SEC West title or even a potential at-large spot into the College Football Playoff. A&M can’t afford to overlook a dangerous South Carolina squad on Saturday, though.

How to Bet Texas A&M at South Carolina NCAA Football Odds & TV Info

When: Saturday, 7 PM ET
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium
TV: ESPN
Stream: ESPN app
Radio:com
Opening NCAAF Lines: Texas A&M -10 (total 58.5)

Last Meeting

The schools met last season in College Station and the Aggies rolled 30-6. Kellen Mond threw for 221 yards and a touchdown and ran for a second score. Cordarrian Richardson ran for 130 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown, and added a TD reception to help the Aggies to the win on a night they piled up 319 yards rushing. The Aggies led by 10 at halftime and neither team could get anything going after the break, combining for six punts in the third quarter. Ryan Hilinski threw for 175 yards for South Carolina in a game where the Aggies held the Gamecocks to just 45 yards rushing.

Texas A&M leads the all-time series 6-0. Three of the six games have been decided by seven points or less.

Why Bet on Texas A&M? | 2020 NCAA Expert Analysis

The Aggies (4-1) avoided an upset last week by beating improved Arkansas 42-31. Kellen Mond threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns as A&M built a big lead and held on to win its ninth in a row over the Hogs. Jalen Wydermyer had a career-high 92 yards receiving with two touchdowns. Ainias Smith ran for a touchdown and caught a TD pass in the first half to help A&M win its third straight since losing to No. 2 Alabama.

Mond threw TD passes of 35, 6 and 15 yards. The senior added 32 yards rushing to give him 10,015 yards of total offense in his career, passing 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel (9,989), who played just two seasons, for the most in school history.

Mond also holds the all-time career school record for passing yards (8,623), completions (714) and attempts (1,217). Mond is the only player in program history and the 12thplayer in SEC history to tally over 10,000 total yards in their career. Mond moved into second all-time on A&M’s all-time career passing touchdowns list as his three scoring passes in the game matched his regulation career high and brought his career total to 64.

With his 26th career victory as a starting quarterback, Mond took sole possession of second on A&M’s all-time list (26-13), sitting only behind Corey Pullig (1992-95), who boasts a 33-6-1 record.

The Texas A&M offensive line made it four straight games, 144 pass attempts, without allowing a QB sack. The line has not allowed a sack since the second quarter of the season-opening win over Vanderbilt. The offensive line was one of the most maligned units over the past couple of seasons. But the same group is paving the way for the Aggies’ success this year.

All five starters returned from last season, and the experience appears to be paying off. The line has allowed the Aggies to average an SEC-leading 5.3 yards per carry this season.

Why Bet on South Carolina? | 2020 NCAA Expert Analysis

South Carolina (2-3) has been off since a 52-24 loss at LSU on Oct. 24. USC was unable to maintain its form from a week earlier, when the Gamecocks beat Auburn for the first time since 1933. Collin Hill was 12 of 22 for 234 yards and one touchdown, but also was intercepted by Eli Ricks, who returned the ball 45 yards for the first of LSU’s two non-offensive touchdowns during the game.

Running back Kevin Harris largely carried the Gamecocks’ offensive with 126 yards and two TDs on 12 carries. Shi Smith moved into a tie for seventh place on Carolina’s all-time receptions list. Smith now has 153 receptions, tying him with Jermale Kelly (1997-2000) after his two catches for 68 yards.

LSU took a 31-10 lead with 2:43 before halftime as Eli Ricks returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown to give the Tigers a three-score lead before halftime. USC settled for field goal tries on four promising drives, and kicker Parker White missed three from 54, 34 and 40 yards.

Ernest Jones had a career high 19 tackles in the loss. Jones’ previous high was 13 on two occasions, including this season vs. Vanderbilt. Eight of Jones’ 19 tackles were solos. The last Gamecock to have at least 18 tackles in a game was Aubrey Brooks vs. Arkansas in 1995.

Smith, meanwhile has had some success against the Aggies. In three games, Smith has caught eight passes for 178 yards, a 22.3-yard average, with a pair of touchdowns. He scored on TD passes from 45 yards out in 2017 and on a 22-yarder in 2018.

USC coach Will Muschamp and A&M coach Jimbo Fisher were on Nick Saban’s coaching staff at LSU from 2001-2004.