Texas A&M
4-1 , 2-0
South Carolina
3-2 , 1-2
Texas A&M Tops South Carolina, 24-17
Sep 30, 2017 | Football
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- Keith Ford ran for 70 yards and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead 17-yard score in the fourth quarter, to lift Texas A&M to a 24-17 win over South Carolina on Saturday night.
Freshman Kellen Mond threw for 159 yards and ran for 95 to help the Aggies (4-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) rally for the victory.
Texas A&M trailed by a touchdown entering the fourth quarter before Ford tied it up with a 7-yard run.
Mond looked to have scored two plays earlier, but Camron Buckley delivered a helmet-to-helmet hit while blocking on the play and it was called back. Buckley, who was called for a holding penalty earlier in the drive, was ejected for targeting after the play was reviewed.
Otaro Alaka sacked Jake Bentley on third down on South Carolina's next drive to force a punt.
Ford put the Aggies on top on their ensuing possession when he dragged three defenders into the end zone for that 17-yard touchdown, which made it 24-17.
Bentley was sacked twice on South Carolina's next drive and the Aggies got the ball back and they used run after run to get the clock down to less than two minutes.
Bentley threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns for South Carolina (3-2, 1-2), but he was sacked seven times behind a line that often didn't give him enough time to make plays.
Alaka led the way on defense for the Aggies, finishing with nine tackles, including five for losses and two sacks.
Bentley pushed South Carolina's lead to 17-7 when he connected with OrTre Smith on a 13-yard touchdown pass with about nine minutes left in the third quarter.
The Aggies took a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by Trayveon Williamsearly in the second quarter. South Carolina tied it up when Bentley wriggled out of a would-be sack and found Shi Smith wide open on a 45-yard touchdown pass to tie it at 7-all with about 13 minutes left in the second quarter.
The Gamecocks took a 10-7 lead on a 29-yard field goal by Parker White with about nine minutes left in the first half.
They had a chance to add to their lead when they were driving inside the 10-yard line late in the second quarter, but Bentley was sacked by Landis Durham, who caused a fumble which the Aggies recovered to end the drive.
South Carolina had a shot to take an early lead after recovering the ball after Christian Kirk fumbled a punt in the first quarter. But White's 46-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left.
South Carolina receiver Terry Googer was carted off the field on a stretcher after a hit on a punt. But school officials said he was moving all of his extremities after arriving at the hospital and coach Will Muschamp said on the television broadcast at halftime that he was OK.
ABOUT THE GAME
Texas A&M rallied from a 10-point second half deficit to down the South Carolina Gamecocks, 24-17, at Kyle Field.
• Texas A&M improved to 4-0 in games against South Carolina, winning all four meetings since the teams became permanent SEC cross-division rivals in 2013.
• The Maroon & White moved to 4-1 on the season, the sixth straigth season to win at least 4 of their first 5 games. The six-year streak is the first such streak in program history.
• The Aggies improved to 2-0 in SEC play for the fourth straight season.
• It was the Aggies' fifth straight win vs. SEC East Division opponents.
• Head coach Kevin Sumlin improved to 83-39 as a head coach and 48-22 at Texas A&M.
NOTABLES
• The Aggies logged seven sacks on the evening. It marked the highest single-game tally for Texas A&M since registering 9.0 against Arizona State in the 2015 season-opener. The seven sacks against the Gamecocks is tied for the fourth-highest single-game sack total in all of FBS for 2017. The Aggies entered the contest ranked 11th in the country in sacks and have recorded at least two sacks in every game in 2017.
• The Texas A&M defense held South Carolina to 23 rushing yards. It marked the first time the Maroon & White held an opponent under 25 rushing yards since limiting New Mexico to 21 yards on Sept. 5, 2009.
• The Aggies were 3-for-3 on red zone trips, converting on three TDs. Texas A&M entered the contest converting on 18-of-21 red zone attempts with 11 TDs.
• Senior RB Keith Ford registered his third game of two or more rushing TDs in 2017. He entered the season with one for his career.
• Junior LB Otaro Alaka logged a season-high nine tackles. He ended the game with a career-high five TFL, including a career-high two sacks.
• Junior WR Christian Kirk passed Larry Stegent for sixth place on A&M's career list for all-purpose yardage. He logged 22 all-purpose yards on the game to move his career total to 3,799.
• Junior PK Daniel LaCamera improved to 79-for-79 on PATs for his career. It marks the longest string of consecutive PATs for an Aggie since Josh Lambo hit 108 in a row as his career ended in 2014.
• The Aggies owned a 151-7 advantage in total offense in the fourth quarter.
• Sophomore RB Kendall Bussey had a career-long 19-yard reception in the first quarter.
GAME CAPTAINS, 12TH MAN
• Game captains for the Aggies were Cullen Gillaspia, Christian Kirk, Trayveon Williams and Armani Watts. South Carolina won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff.
• The Aggies' 12th Man representative was junior LB Cullen Gillaspia (Katy, Texas) in his 18th straight start.
"The #12thman had a huge impact on this game. It was loud. It was great. The energy level was high & we really appreciate it." -@CoachSumlin pic.twitter.com/68WwdLjpRC
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) October 1, 2017
"We love our #12thMan." -@LandisDurham following the win #SCvsTAMU pic.twitter.com/AAmDzLz6YG
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) October 1, 2017
"Best fans in the nation. The #12thMan came to play with us." -@OtaroAlaka #SCvsTAMU pic.twitter.com/XxSmIdzCKM
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) October 1, 2017
Sawing 'em off with the #12thMan after another big win! pic.twitter.com/DgwloENddQ
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) October 1, 2017
"It gives us so much life & energy. We can't replicate that anywhere else. It's one of a kind." - @JarrettJ_40 on the #12thMan pic.twitter.com/XRQOORxsfl
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) October 1, 2017
"The #12thMan was unbelievable. They brought the intensity for us." - @Erik_McCoy_73 #12thMan pic.twitter.com/AJhUpWfczj
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) October 1, 2017
Team Stats
SC 0, TAMU 7
TAMU - T. Williams 1 yd run (Daniel LaCamera kick), 10 plays, 55 yards, TOP 4:33
SC 7, TAMU 7
SC - Shi Smith 45 yd pass from Jake Bentley (Parker White kick) 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:00
SC 10, TAMU 7
SC - Parker White 29 yd field goal 6 plays, 39 yards, TOP 2:30
SC 17, TAMU 7
SC - OrTre Smith 13 yd pass from Jake Bentley (Parker White kick) 6 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:17
SC 17, TAMU 10
TAMU - Daniel LaCamera 46 yd field goal 12 plays, 55 yards, TOP 5:01
SC 17, TAMU 17
TAMU - Keith Ford 7 yd run (Daniel LaCamera kick), 7 plays, 55 yards, TOP 2:26
SC 17, TAMU 24
TAMU - Keith Ford 17 yd run (Daniel LaCamera kick), 5 plays, 46 yards, TOP 2:12
