Gamecocks Host SEC-Leading Aggies in Saturday Night Showdown

It’s Homecoming Week on the University of South Carolina campus as the South Carolina Gamecocks (4-3, 2-3 SEC) host the SEC-leading and No. 10/11 Texas A&M Aggies (7-1, 5-0 SEC) in an SEC matchup on Saturday, Nov. 2. Game time is set for 7:30 ET at Williams-Brice Stadium (77,559) in Columbia.

OVER THE AIRWAVES: This week’s contest will be televised nationally on ABC. Sean McDonough will handle the play-by-play with Greg McElroy providing the color commentary. Molly McGrath will patrol the sidelines. This is South Carolina’s fourth national appearance on ABC this year. As a comparison, they were on CBS three times total from 2018-2023. The Gamecock Sports Radio Network features a pair of Gamecock Great quarterbacks in play-by-play voice Todd Ellis (33rd season) and analyst Tommy Suggs (52nd season). Chet Tucker returns for his second year as the sideline reporter.

HALL OF FAME WEEKEND: Nine former University of South Carolina standout student-athletes will be inducted into the USC Lettermen’s Association Hall of Fame as the Class of 2024 on Friday, Nov. 1, and will be recognized on the field on Saturday, Nov. 2. The nine newest members include Pharoh Cooper (football), Dana (Fulmer) Garfield (softball), Melvin Ingram (football), Bob Kaczka (men’s track and field/cross country), Tiffany Mitchell (women’s basketball), Tommy Moody (baseball/contributions to the Athletics Department), Jocelyn Penn (women’s basketball), Jason Richardson (men’s track and field) and Shalonda Solomon Nurudeen (women’s track and field).

HOW WE GOT THIS FAR: The Gamecocks have reached November with a 4-3 record overall and a 2-3 mark in SEC play. All three of South Carolina’s losses have come to ranked opponents with two of setbacks not decided until the game’s final play. They opened the campaign with a hard-fought 23-19 win over Old Dominion, then dominated Kentucky in the SEC opener, winning by a 31-6 count in Lexington. The Gamecocks were unable to hold onto a 17-0 first half lead in a heartbreaking 36-33 setback to No. 16/17 LSU, then bounced back with a convincing 50-7 rout of Akron to improve to 3-1. The Gamecocks dropped their next two contests to highly-ranked opponents, coming up on the short end of a 27-3 decision to No. 12/11 Ole Miss in Columbia, then suffering another gut wretching defeat in a 27-25 loss at No. 7/7 Alabama in Tuscaloosa. They responded with a convincing 35-9 dismantling of Oklahoma in Norman before enjoying their second bye week of the season last weekend.

A LITTLE HISTORY: 2024 marks year four of the Shane Beamer Era and the 131st season of intercollegiate football at the University of South Carolina, dating back to 1892. It is the 118th-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 638-616-44, a .508 winning percentage. Since the start of the 21st century, the Gamecocks are 172-134, a .562 winning clip. In four seasons under Coach Beamer, the Gamecocks are 24-21, a .533 winning percentage.

IT JUST MEANS MORE: The 2024 season is South Carolina’s 33rd year in the Southeastern Conference. South Carolina and Arkansas joined the SEC prior to the 1992 campaign. The Gamecocks earned the SEC Eastern Division title in the 2010 season. The Gamecocks are 111-151-1 (.424) all-time in SEC regular season play but posted a 42-38 (.525) record in conference action from 2010-19. Under Coach Beamer, the Gamecocks are 12-17 in SEC play, a .414 winning clip.

THE SERIES: This is the 11th gridiron meeting between South Carolina and Texas A&M. The Aggies lead the all-time series 9-1, including a 4-1 advantage when playing in Columbia in a series that began in 2014, but the Gamecocks are looking for their second-straight home win over A&M. Four of the 10 games in the series have been decided by seven points or less and four have been blowouts of 24 points or more.

TROPHY HUNTING: 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, although upon a site visit during this past summer, no one at The Alamo could identify its current whereabouts.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET: A banged-up Carolina squad battled but fell short in a 30-17 setback at Texas A&M in College Station on Oct. 28, 2023. After spotting the Gamecocks an early 7-0 lead, the Aggies scored 21 second quarter points and never looked back. Carolina trimmed the deficit to 24-17 early in the fourth quarter but could get no closer. A&M held a 354-209 advantage in total yards and possessed the ball for 13 minutes more than Carolina.

CAROLINA’S LONE WIN: South Carolina extended its winning streak to four and captured the Bonham Trophy for the first time in nine tries with a 30-24 win over Texas A&M at a sold-out Williams-Brice Stadium on Oct. 22, 2022. The Gamecocks exploded for 17 points in the first 5:09 of the game, using a Xavier Legette kickoff return for a touchdown and cashing in on turnovers on each of the Aggies’ first two possessions to build an insurmountable cushion. A&M cut the lead to 24-21 heading into the final period, but the Gamecocks put together an eight-play, 80-yard drive, using 5:13 of the clock to seal the win. Darius Rush logged a game-high eight tackles, returned an interception 59 yards setting up a score and forced a fumble, earning SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS: Carolina is 4-13 all-time against teams from the Lone Star State, going 1-0 against Texas, 1-2 versus both Baylor and Houston, and 1-9 against Texas A&M.

OLD FRIEND ALERT: South Carolina running backs coach Marquel Blackwell held a similar position on Jimbo Fisher’s staff at Texas A&M in 2023.

TEXAS TIES: The Gamecocks have four players from the state of Texas. Wide receiver Davelon Campbell is from Missouri City (Fort Bend Marshall), quarterback Jimmy Francis is from Dallas (St. Mark’s School of Texas), tight end Reid Mikeska is from Cypress (Bridgeland) and defensive back Peyton Williams is from Heath (Rockwall-Heath).

ALL MY EXES: Christian Ellsworth is an offensive analyst for the Aggies. He was on the Carolina staff in 2022 as a graduate assistant for the offense. His brother, Preston, works in the Gamecock football offices. Kyle Hoke is a defensive analyst for TAMU. Kyle spent two seasons on the Carolina staff as a GA. His father, Jon, was the Gamecocks’ defensive coordinator in 2015. Gavin Spurrier is an offensive GA for Texas A&M He is the son of Steve Spurrier Jr. and the grandson of the HBC, Steve Spurrier. The two elder Spurriers coached in Columbia from 2005-15.