COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Marcel Reed threw for a career-high 439 yards and three touchdowns and No. 3 Texas A&M rallied from a 27-point halftime deficit to remain undefeated with a 31-30 victory over South Carolina on Saturday.
“I’m not lost for words very much, but I was lost for words with the team in the locker room after the game,” coach Mike Elko said. “A lot of that emotion was just pride in who they were, how they conducted themselves. There’s not a lot of teams that have a culture and a core that will just keep going.”
The comeback was the biggest in school history, eclipsing a 21-point rally by a Johnny Manziel-led team in a 52-48 win in the 2013 Chick-Fil-A Bowl over Duke. Entering Saturday, teams were 0-286 in Southeastern Conference play since 2004 when trailing by 27 points or more.
Reed bounced back from an awful first half where he was intercepted twice and had a fumble returned for a score to put the Aggies in a 30-3 hole with a dazzling second half to keep Texas A&M (10-0, 7-0, No. 3 CFP) on track for its first trip to the College Football Playoff. They’re 10-0 for the first time since 1992.
Last season, Texas A&M had a seven-game winning streak entering the game against South Carolina before a 44-20 defeat sent the team into a downward spiral that knocked them out of contention to reach the playoff.
“We wanted revenge on this team,” Reed said. “They put us out of the question last year, and they could have put us in a bad position this year… we got this win, and it was important for us.”
The Aggies took the lead for the first time on a 4-yard run by EJ Smith with about 11 minutes left.
Texas A&M had a first down at the 1 after that, but Jamarion Morrow fumbled on a trick play and the Gamecocks recovered with about three minutes to go.
Dalton Brooks and Cashius Howell sacked LaNorris Sellers on consecutive plays to bring up fourth-and-16 with about 90 seconds to go. Sellers scrambled on fourth down and was stopped short of the first down marker to seal the victory.
“It wasn’t how we drew it up,” linebacker Taurean York said. “But we found a way to stick together and figure out how to win the game.”
Sellers threw for 246 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for South Carolina (3-7, 1-7), which lost a fifth straight game.
“To say that I’m hurt for our guys is an understatement,” South Carolina coach Shane Beamer said. “I know the rest of the country was surprised with what was going on in the first half, we weren’t. And when you’re dominating, you don’t look at the scoreboard, you just keep going and that’s what we talked about. In the second half, I’m just feeling disappointed with the way that we performed.”
Izaiah Williams caught a 27-yard TD pass from Reed to make it 30-10 on A&M’s first drive of the second half. Reed had a 16-yard run on fourth-and-12 to keep the drive alive.
Reed found Ashton Bethel-Roman for a 39-yard TD to get the Aggies within 30-17 with about four minutes left in the third.
Reed’s 14-yard pass to Nate Boerkircher cut the lead to a touchdown late in the third quarter. That score was set up by a short pass that Bethel-Roman turned into a 76-yard reception the play before.
K.C. Concepcion had seven receptions for 158 yards and Bethel-Roman added 139 yards receiving for the Aggies.
The Gamecocks took a 10-3 lead when Sellers connected with Vandrevius Jacobs on a 50-yard touchdown pass.
They pushed the lead to 17-3 when 322-pound defensive tackle Nick Barrett scooped up a fumble by Reed and rumbled 17-yards for a score late in the first quarter.
South Carolina was up by 17 late in the second quarter when Brooks intercepted a pass from Sellers and returned it 39 yards to give the Aggies a first down at the 6. Concepcion couldn’t reel in two straight passes in the end zone before Randy Bond missed his second field goal of the half to leave Texas A&M empty handed.
The Aggies defense got a stop, but Reed was intercepted in the end zone with about a minute left in the first half to give the Gamecocks the ball again. They took advantage of that mistake when Nyck Harbor had an 80-yard catch and run for a score on the first play of the drive to extend the lead to 27-3.
Reed was picked off again two plays later and South Carolina tacked on a field goal to make it 30-3 at halftime.
The takeaway
South Carolina: The Gamecocks had a great first half, but must avoid a letdown like the one they had today if they hope to end their losing streak.
Texas A&M: The Aggies should maintain their spot in the poll and CFP rankings, but they’ll need to play much better if they hope to contend for a national title this season.
Up next
South Carolina: Hosts Coastal Carolina next week.
Texas A&M: Hosts Samford next week before its showdown with rival No. 10 Texas on Nov. 28.
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