South Carolina Hosts Texas A&M

Both the South Carolina Gamecocks and Texas A&M Aggies are coming off big win games last weekend. The two teams will play Saturday afternoon in South Carolina.

Coaching Ties

Both football teams’ head coaches certainly know a thing or two about one another. Aggies head coach Jimbo Fischer and Gamecocks head coach Will Muschamp will look across the field and have to put their friendship aside during the game this weekend. With Muschamp’s defensive coaching style and Fischer’s offensive style, it should be a battle of play calling on Saturday.

They both still have great respect for one another but Fischer said preparing for Texas A&M is giving him quite the headache. Muschamp knows all three sides of the ball.

And on the other hand, Muschamp said he doesn’t always enjoy playing against friends because he knows that there is nobody on a game day that wants to win more than they do.

Gamecocks Preview

South Carolina is currently 3-2 overall and 2-2 in SEC play. The Gamecocks had an out of the ordinary game last week against Missouri. The five hour and 13-minute game full of rain and lightning made for quite the emotional win.

Redshirt sophomore kicker, Parker White was probably South Carolina’s key player. After a 53-yard drive led by first time starting QB Michael Scarnecchia with under two minutes left of game time, White kicked South Carolina’s second longest field goal in history to give the Gamecocks their 37-35 win.

South Carolina picked up two SEC player honors this week. SEC freshman of the week went to defensive back Jaycee Horn. In last weeks’ game, Horn and the rest of South Carolina’s defense held Missouri to just 17-of-36 passing for 204 yards. He also recorded three tackles on his own.

The first of many! Congrats to the @SEC freshman of the week, @jayceehorn_10! pic.twitter.com/e7bHGZliHF

— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) October 8, 2018

The other SEC honor was given to kicker Parker White. He shared the special teams co-player of the week with Texas A&M’s Braden Mann. White hit all three of his field goals and all of them were scored to give South Carolina the lead.

Hit on all three of his FG attempts, connecting from a season-long 42 yards on two occasions, and a 33-yard game-winner with just two seconds remaining.@parker_white4 is the #SECFB Co-Special Teams POTW. pic.twitter.com/FEtsaaj0iF

— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) October 8, 2018

A helpful factor for the Gamecocks against the Aggies could be the return of starting QB, Jake Bentley. He was out last week with an injured knee and is expected to make a return under center with a brace on his knee.

Aggies Preview

No. 22 Texas A&M is sitting at a 4-2 and 2-1 SEC record this season. The Aggies gave Kentucky a huge 20-14 upset in overtime last week. The win also gave Fischer his first SEC home win as head coach.

Prior to last weeks’ game, Kentucky was the SEC’s leading rushing team. Texas A&M held them to only 70 yards on the ground and 178 yards in total offense. Fischer said his team is going to have play physical again and be sure to finish their drives on offense.

For the second week in a row, Braden Mann picked up his SEC player of the week honor. He is well on track to break Texas A&M’s record as he is averaging 54 yards per punt.

😍😍😍

2 – @SEC Special Teams Player of the Week honors
2 – @RayGuyAward weekly honors
1 – In our ♥️

🔗: https://t.co/8zTgoRlyEA#MannCrushMonday #GigEm pic.twitter.com/Gr3h6efbvw

— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) October 8, 2018

The Aggies are now leading the SEC in third down conversions and with their SEC special teams co-player of the week, they are looking to be the favorite in this weeks matchup.

What’s Next

Kickoff between these two SEC teams is set for 3:30 p.m. EST. The game at Williams-Brice Stadium will also be aired live on SEC Network.