Raheim Sanders rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns Saturday night while adding another 92 yards on five receptions as South Carolina handed No. 10 Texas A&M its first Southeastern Conference loss 44-20 in Columbia, S.C.
The Aggies (7-2, 5-1) saw their seven-game win streak end, and the lopsided result threw the SEC race into chaos. Five teams have one conference loss and four others have two. Texas A&M and Georgia are tied for first place in the conference.
Sanders snapped a 20-20 tie with 9:19 left in the third quarter, zipping 52 yards for the score that put the Gamecocks (5-3, 3-3) ahead for good. Alex Herrera added a 43-yard field goal on South Carolina’s next possession.
Its defense made the lead stick, holding the Aggies scoreless in the second half. Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers added the clinching touchdown on a short pass to tight end Joshua Simon, who ran 57 yards, with 3:24 remaining in the game.
Sellers completed 13 of 27 passes for 244 yards and two scores while adding 106 yards and a touchdown on 15 rushes. South Carolina rolled up 530 total yards in beating a ranked team for the first time in two years.
Marcel Reed, who ran for three touchdowns in Texas A&M’s 38-23 win over LSU last week, threw for 206 yards on 18-of-28 passing with a touchdown and an interception. But the Aggies didn’t score again after taking a 20-17 lead on Reed’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Jabre Barber with 1:08 left in the first half.
The Gamecocks set the tone early, taking a 14-0 lead less than seven minutes into the game. Sellers peeled off a 23-yard scoring jaunt to cap a game-opening 75-yard drive. On South Carolina’s next possession, Sellers threw a 15-yard touchdown strike to Simon at the 8:24 mark.
Texas A&M responded with 52- and 55-yard field goals from Randy Bond, then answered Herrera’s 25-yard field goal with Amari Daniels’ 56-yard scoring run with 7:29 left in the first half.
Herrera drilled a 44-yard field goal with two seconds remaining to even the score at halftime.
–Field Level Media
