Gamecocks Travel to Texas A&M Saturday, Oct. 23

First-year head coach Shane Beamer and the South Carolina Gamecocks (4-3, 1-3 SEC) travel to College Station, Texas this week for an SEC showdown with the No. 17/17 Texas A&M Aggies (5-2, 2-2 SEC). The annual battle for the Bonham Trophy will take place at 7:30 pm ET (6:30 pm CT) on Saturday, Oct. 23 at Kyle Field (102,733).
 
OVER THE AIRWAVES: SEC Network has the television broadcast with Tom Hart and Jordan Rodgers in the booth and Cole Cubelic on the sidelines. Kate Scott and Mike Golic have the national radio call for Learfield College Football Saturday Night. Todd Elis and Tommy Suggs handle the call for the Gamecock Radio Network with Jamar Nesbit on the sidelines.
 
A LITTLE HISTORY: 2021 marks the 128th season of intercollegiate football at the University of South Carolina dating back to 1892. It is the 115th-consecutive year in which South Carolina has competed on the gridiron. The University did not field a team in either 1893 or 1906. Carolina owns an all-time record of 618-598-44, a .508 winning pct.
 
IT JUST MEANS MORE: The 2021 season marks South Carolina’s 30th year in the Southeastern Conference. South Carolina and Arkansas joined the league prior to the 1992 campaign. The Gamecocks earned the SEC Eastern Division title in the 2010 season. The Gamecocks are 100-137-1 (.422) all-time in SEC regular-season play.
 
THE SERIES: This is the eighth gridiron meeting between South Carolina and Texas A&M. The Gamecocks are still looking for their first win over their “permanent” SEC Western Division rival from College Station. The two schools met for the first time in 2014 in Columbia, with A&M posting a 52-28 win in the season opener for both teams. The Aggies own a 4-0 record in Columbia and are 3-0 against the Gamecocks in College Station. Three of the seven games have been decided by seven points or less.
 
THE BONHAM TROPHY: Amateur historian Richard Peterson, a USC Broadcasting Journalism graduate and previous resident of Alamo Heights in San Antonio, Texas, recommended “The Governor’s Trophy” to be named after James Butler Bonham, Hero of the Alamo and himself an Alum of The University of South Carolina. Peterson and Katon Dawson took the idea to then Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina and a new tradition was born. “The Bonham Trophy” is exchanged between the Governors of South Carolina and Texas with the winner taking possession of the Bonham Trophy of “Western Artwork,” created by renowned Texas sculptor Jeff Gottfried, and displayed at the victorious State Capital, University or any location the Governor may choose. Two weeks after the Game, The Bonham Trophy is returned for permanent display at The Alamo until the next South Carolina – Texas A&M football game.
 
THE LAST TIME THEY MET: No. 7 Texas A&M rolled to a 48-3 win over South Carolina in Columbia on Nov. 7, 2020. The Aggies scored touchdowns on seven of 10 possessions, while holding a 530-150 advantage in yards and a 38:21-21:39 lead in time of possession.
 
THE LAST TIME THEY MET HERE: Texas A&M scored 17 points in the first nine minutes of the fourth quarter to break open a close contest in a 30-6 win over South Carolina on Nov. 16, 2019 in College Station. Kellen Mond threw for 221 yards and a touchdown and ran for a second score in the win. A&M rolled up 540 yards compared to just 260 for the Gamecocks, including a 319-45 advantage on the ground, as the Aggies controlled the time of possession, 41:39-18:21.
 
FACING TEAMS FROM THE LONE STAR STATE: Carolina is 3-11 all-time against teams from the Lone Star State, going 1-0 against Texas, 1-2 versus both Baylor and Houston, and 0-7 against Texas A&M. This will mark the Gamecocks fourth trip to College Station in the last seven years. Prior to the 2015 meeting, South Carolina had not ventured into the state of Texas since dropping an 18-17 decision to Baylor in Waco on Oct. 2, 1976.
 
DEEP IN THE HEART OF: The Gamecocks own a 1-6 record when playing in Texas. Their only win came 64 years ago, Oct. 5, 1957, when they ventured into Austin and defeated the 20th-ranked Texas Longhorns by a 27-21 score. Carolina has lost three times at A&M, (2015, ’17 and ’19) twice at Baylor (1949 and ’76) and at Houston (1973 – the night after the Riggs-King Battle of the Sexes tennis match in the Astrodome).
 
PLAYING A RANKED OPPONENT: The Aggies come into this week’s contest ranked 17th in both the A.P. and Coaches’ polls. Texas A&M is the second ranked opponent Carolina will face this season. The Gamecocks dropped a 40-13 decision at Georgia earlier this season when the Bulldogs were ranked second in both polls. The Gamecocks last win over a ranked opponent came last year when they topped No. 15/14 Auburn in Columbia by a 30-22 score. Carolina’s last road win over a ranked opponent came in 2019 when the Gamecocks went into Athens and knocked off the third-ranked Georgia Bulldogs 20-17 in double overtime.
 
ABOUT LAST WEEK: Back-up quarterback Zeb Noland led the Gamecocks on an 8-play, 75-yard drive in 59 seconds with no timeouts, connecting with Xavier Legette on a 9-yard touchdown pass with 37 seconds remaining to lift South Carolina to a 21-20 win over Vanderbilt last Saturday in Columbia. The Gamecocks scored on each of their first two possessions to open up a 14-3 lead, but four turnovers and 10 penalties kept Carolina from scoring again until the final possession. The Gamecocks had 434 yards of offense, including 317 through the air, to just 312 for Vandy.
 
A MILESTONE WIN: The win over Vanderbilt marked South Carolina’s 100th conference win since joining the SEC in 1992. It also was the Gamecocks’ 13th-straight win over Vanderbilt.
 
ZEB TO THE RESCUE: Backup quarterback Zeb Noland played for just 59 seconds of the Gamecocks’ 21-20 win over Vanderbilt, but he made every second count. He completed 5-of-8 passes for 75 yards, including a 9-yarder to Xavier Legette with 37 seconds remaining for the game-winner. It was Noland’s first game action since leaving the Georgia game in week 3 with a hand injury.
 
THE BELL COW: Jaheim Bell had the biggest game for a tight end in school history in the win over Vanderbilt, catching six passes for 136 yards with a touchdown. The 136 receiving yards for a tight end surpassed the previous mark of 134, set by Danny Smith in 1985. His score came from 82-yards out, tying for the 10th-longest reception in school history and was the longest since Jake Bentley hit Deebo Samuel on an 89-yarder at Florida in 2018.
 
WE’RE GOING THE OTHER WAY: Jordan Strachan picked off a pass and returned it 44 yards against Vanderbilt. That gave the Gamecocks 281 interception return yards this season on 10 picks, just 63 yards off the record of 344 return yards, set in 1984 when the squad intercepted 23 passes.
 
BOMBS AWAY: Carolina punter Kai Kroeger had a big day against Vanderbilt, earning SEC Special Teams Player of the Week and Ray Guy national Punter of the Week accolades. He had four punts for 227 yards, a 56.8-yard average with all four going for 50-plus yards (54, 70, 53 and 50). Three of the four punts were placed inside the 20. He boomed a career-long 70-yard punt, the longest for a Gamecock since Joseph Charlton had a 73-yarder in 2017. Vandy had no return yards, so the Gamecocks had a net of 56.8 yards per punt.
 
FINISH STRONG: The Gamecocks have been very good in the fourth quarter, outscoring its opponents by a 46-16 margin in the final period. Carolina has been outscored in each of the first three quarters, 59-38 in the first quarter, 46-42 in the second stanza and 31-27 in the third quarter,  but the big fourth quarter advantage gives the Gamecocks a slim 153-152 overall scoring advantage.
 
THAT’S OUR BALL: The Gamecock defense has been outstanding in forcing turnovers this season. They forced a season-high four turnovers against Troy, collecting a pair of fumbles along with two interceptions, and have forced at least two turnovers in six of their seven games (EIU-2; ECU-2; UGA-3; UK-3; Troy-4; UT-0; VU-2). For the season, South Carolina has forced 16 turnovers – 10 interceptions and six fumbles, ranking in a six-way tie for third in the NCAA, behind only Iowa (20) and Middle Tennessee (18).
 
PICK PARTY: The Gamecocks have 10 interceptions this season, ranking in a five-way tie for fifth in the NCAA behind only Iowa (16), Troy (12), Kent State (12) and Cincinnati (11). Included are a trio of pick-sixes by Jordan Burch, Damani Staley and David Spaulding. Jaylan Foster leads the way individually with four, which puts him in a six-way tie for the NCAA lead. South Carolina recorded just eight INTs in 10 games last year.
 
THREE TO THE HOUSE: The Gamecock defense has scored three times this season on pick-sixes. In the opener against Eastern Illinois, it was defensive end Jordan Burch who picked off a pass and rumbled 61 yards to paydirt. That was Carolina’s first pick-six since Israel Mukuamu went 53 yards for a score at Georgia in 2019 and the first for a Gamecock defensive lineman since Devin Taylor raced 48 yards at Arkansas in 2011. Linebacker Damani Staley got the Gamecocks on the scoreboard with just a minute left in the first half on a 63-yard interception return against East Carolina.  David Spaulding went 74 yards with an interception return in the final minute of the first half against Troy. The Gamecocks are in a four-way tie for third in the NCAA behind only Ohio State (5) and UTSAA (4) with three defensive touchdowns. The three interception returns for touchdowns is the most for Carolina in a season since 2010 (5).