2018 TEXAS A&M FOOTBALL
GAME 7 | AT SOUTH CAROLINA
SATURDAY, OCT. 13, 2018
GAME TIME: 2:30 PM CT | SITE: WILLIAMS-BRICE STADIUM | TV: SEC NETWORK
WHAT TO WATCH FOR #TAMUvsSC:
- Texas A&M will be seeking to stay undefeated against its permanent SEC cross-division rival South Carolina when the Aggies and Gamecocks face off at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C. at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. The Aggies are 4-0 in the series that began in 2014.
- The winner of the annual Texas A&M-South Carolina claims the Bonham Trophy, which is named for South Carolina native James Bonham who fought and died in the Battle of the Alamo (Feb. 23-March 6, 1836) during the Texas Revolution.
- Jimbo Fisher will be seeking his first victory as Aggies' head coach in a true SEC road game against the Gamecocks. He logged his first SEC win away from Kyle Field on Sept. 29 vs. Arkansas at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
- Texas A&M will be trying for its third straight SEC victory, which hasn't been done since the Aggies won four straight against Auburn, Arkansas, South Carolina and Tennessee in 2016.
- Newly-ranked in the AP and coaches top 25 polls, the Aggies will be pursuing their first win as a ranked team since beating UTSA, 23-10, at Kyle Field on Nov. 19, 2016. The Aggies are also seeking their first road win as a ranked team since beating South Carolina, 24-13, on Oct. 1, 2016.
SETTING THE SCENE: TEXAS A&M vs. KENTUCKY
- KICKOFF: 2:30 p.m. (CT)
- SERIES VS. SOUTH CAROLINA: Texas A&M leads 4-0
9/30/2017 College Station W, 24-17
10/1/2016 Columbia W, 24-13
10/31/2015 College Station W, 35-28
8/28/2014 Columbia W, 52-28 - SITE: Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, S.C. (capacity: 80,250)
- RANKINGS: South Carolina: RV (AP), RV (Coaches) | Texas A&M: #22 (AP), #22 (Coaches)
- TELEVISION: SEC NETWORK (National)
Taylor Zarzour, play-by-play
Matt Stinchcomb, analyst
Kris Budden, sideline - RADIO:
Texas A&M Radio Network (Regional) - The Texas A&M Radio Network provides coverage via nearly 60 stations across the state of Texas.
Andrew Monaco, play-by-play
Dave Elmendorf, analyst
Will Johnson, sideline
Texas A&M Spanish Network (Regional) - Texas A&M's Spanish broadcast can be heard on radio stations in Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, El Paso, Brownsville and McAllen, Texas. Locally, the TAMU Spanish Network can be heard on 1550 AM.
Pedro Vela Almaguer, play-by-play
Noel Orellana, analyst
SIRIUS XM: The Texas A&M Radio Network call of the game can be heard on SiriusXM at Sirius 81 / XM 81 / Internet 81.
MILESTONES TO WATCH:
- RB Trayveon Williams is on the cusp of breaking into the top 10 in career rushing at Texas A&M. With 2,575 career yards, the junior needs 13 yards to pass Johnny Hector (1979-82) for 11th all-time and 136 yards to surpass Courtney Lewis (2003-06) for 10th.
- Just 17 games into his career, QB Kellen Mond needs 178 passing yards to become the 17th player in school history to reach 3,000 career passing yards.
- With his next receiving TD, first-year TE Jace Sternberger will break the Texas A&M record for touchdowns by a tight end in a single season (currently tied with Rod Bernstine, 1986 and Jamie McCoy, 2008).
QUICK HITS:
- Texas A&M's defense ranks second nationally in third-down conversions, holding opposing teams to just 22.9%.
- The Aggie defense is holding opposing offenses to 82.5 rushing yards per game, which is the best in the SEC and fourth in FBS.
- Texas A&M has dominated possession in the first six games averaging 35:43 per game. The tally ranks first in the SEC and is tops among Power 5 schools.
- The Maroon & White average 491.5 yards of offense per game, which ranks 17th nationally.
- Texas A&M has accumulated 164 first downs, the most in the SEC and fourth in FBS, and has allowed 85 first downs defensively, which ranks second in the SEC.
- The Aggies are just one of five schools nationally to rank in the top 25 in both offense and defense, joining Alabama, Appalachian State, Clemson and Washington State.
- Texas A&M is one of three teams (Iowa and North Texas) to have not allowed a fourth-down conversion this season. Texas A&M has only faced one fourth down conversion all season, as Clemson's Kelly Bryant fumbled on 4th and Goal from the 1 in the second quarter. All other FBS teams have faced at least three fourth down attempts.
- Texas A&M carries a 33-game streak of scoring at least 14 points into Saturday's game, which is the longest such streak in the SEC and ranks third among Power 5 schools (Oklahoma, 46 & West Virginia, 37.
LIMITING OPPONENT CHANCES:
- Through six games, including half of them against AP top 15 teams, the Texas A&M defense has faced an average of just 54.7 plays per game, which is easily the lowest in the SEC.
- Among all FBS teams that have played six games, Texas A&M's 328 defensive snaps is lowest in the nation by 38 snaps (366 by Rice).
- Additionally, Texas A&M has limited opponents to just a 22.9 percent success rate in third down situations (No. 1 in SEC/No. 2 in FBS) and has allowed only 16 third down conversions in six games (2.7 per game).
- Texas A&M is allowing just 14.2 first downs per game, which leads the SEC. • The 54.7 plays faced per game in 2018 is an enormous turnaround from last season when the Aggies faced an average of 72.5 plays per contest.
- "On Pace Guy" notes a 54.7 average for a 13-game season in 2018 would mean the Aggies would face 232 fewer plays than in 2017 (or the equivalent of four 58-play games).
CONNECTIONS:
- Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher and South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp have served on the same coaching staff at Auburn and LSU.
- Fisher was the QBs coach at Auburn from 1993-98 while Muschamp was a GA in 1995-96. At LSU, Fisher served as the OC for Nick Saban from 2000-06 and Muschamp was the DC from 2001-04.
- South Carolina's Nick Harvey spent the last four season at Texas A&M where he appeared in 38 games, including 13 starts at CB. He logged 109 tackles and 14 pass breakups with one interception.
- Texas A&M running backs coach Jay Graham served in a similar capacity at South Carolina from 2009-11.
- Eric Hyman served as the athletics director at both South Carolina (2005-12) and Texas A&M (2012-16).