South Carolina had been in this position before. The Gamecocks had a slim lead in the fourth quarter against a nationally ranked opponent. 

Twice before, the Gamecocks led in the closing minutes against ranked opponents, and both times, the team went on to lose. Last Saturday’s game against No. 10 Texas A&M was different. 

The Gamecocks held on to and expanded its lead before the game ended as the team shocked the college football world and beat the Aggies 44-20. 

“We weren't able to finish and get (our fans) the win they deserve,” Gamecock head coach Shane Beamer said. “They showed up tonight like we knew they would. That place was rocking from the time we got here from the hotel all the way through the game. They had an impact on the game, and I am so happy for our fans. They deserve this and are a true 12th man for us out there”

South Carolina’s win over Texas A&M had a massive impact on the SEC standings. Texas A&M entered the contest as the last undefeated team in conference play. The Aggies had their sights set on the SEC championship game in Atlanta followed by a birth in the college football playoff. Now, they are one of five one-loss SEC teams, and their playoff hopes are in jeopardy with two losses overall. 

"I have great respect for coach Elko and that team. I told him after the game, if you are going to win against Texas A&M, you have to beat them. They don't beat themselves,” Beamer said. “A lot of talk about their program and rightfully so. A lot of talk about how physical they are and how great they are on the line of scrimmage and rightfully so. There needs to be some freaking talk about our guys up front and how we played tonight.”

South Carolina commanded both sides of the ball. The offense finished the game with over 500 total yards of offense, and the defense held the Aggies scoreless in the second half to seal the win. 

The team’s freshmen stars shined. Redshirt quarterback LaNorris Sellers finished with 350 yards of offense and three total touchdowns, and true freshman Dylan Stewart made life miserable for the Aggies offensive line.

Sellers’s legs were active all game, dodging sacks left and right. There were many times, especially in the first half, where the young quarterback could’ve taken a costly sack but instead used his running ability to avoid trouble. 

“He is special. He just continues to get better,” Beamer said. “I told our team on Thursday after practice, ‘In a game like this, two evenly matched, physical SEC teams, it comes down to quarterback play and we have the better quarterback.’”

Momentum went the Gamecocks way early. The team scored on its opening drive after converting a fourth-and-one earlier. 

Then when Texas A&M got the ball, it tried to go for a fourth-and-one but was stuffed by the Gamecocks defensive line. This was the Aggies' first fourth-down try of the game, but it was not the last. 

South Carolina got the ball back and drove downfield to score a 15-yard touchdown from Sellers to tight end Joshua Simon, extending the lead to 14-0 less than eight minutes into the game. 

Things began to slow down for the Gamecocks there as Texas A&M started to claw back into the game. The Aggies outscored the Gamecocks 20-6 in the rest of the first half and even took the lead at one point. 

The second half though, was all Gamecocks. 

“They were moving the ball on us and we weren't getting a lot of pressure on the quarterback. We changed some things, tweaked a little bit of things coverage-wise,” Beamer said on the team’s second-half adjustments. 

South Carolina outscored Texas A&M 24-0 in the second half. 

Raheim "Rocket" Sanders put the Gamecocks back in front during the third quarter. He took a handoff on the team’s first drive of the half and found a gap, running 52 yards to the endzone. 

Sanders led all rushers for the game, finishing with 144 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. 

“Seven yards per carry, I would say that is pretty good,” Beamer said. “I love him. He is awesome. Appreciate him coming here. He is another one that continues to work. Great young man. We made him a captain this game. I'm glad he is a Gamecock.”

Texas A&M looked to respond to the Gamecock touchdown but found itself in fourth-and-inches. Now sitting a 1-2 on fourth down conversions in the game, the team kept its offense on the field. 

For the second time that night, the South Carolina defensive line pushed past the Aggie offensive line and stuffed their runner short of the line to gain. The Gamecocks then went downfield and kicked a field goal to go up two possessions. 

“Just great line of scrimmage domination,” Beamer said. “Guys making plays and getting off blocks."

Texas A&M failed to even the score and ended the game with three punts and two turnovers on its last five drives. The Gamecocks scored two late touchdowns to increase their lead and make the game look more lopsided than it was. 

South Carolina improved to 5-3 with the win and 3-3 in SEC play. All three of the team’s losses have come to top-16 ranked teams, and two of them were by less than three points. 

The Gamecocks are one game away from bowl eligibility and will have four more tires to get there. Should the team win out it will reach the nine-win mark for the first time in the Beamer era and the first time since 2017. Should the team achieve that and win its bowl game it will reach the 10-win mark for the first time in over a decade. 

“We said that they will remember November, and this is a great start for sure,” Beamer said. “Since I have been the head coach here, we have played our best football in November. There is a lot of reason for that. Tonight was a huge step, but it better not be the pinnacle. We need to continue to get better because we have a lot of football left here this season.”

Accomplishing that won’t be easy as there are a few challenging games left on the schedule. The Gamecocks still have to travel to Clemson and play a Missouri team that has five consecutive wins over them. 

This week, the Gamecocks will hit the road and play No. 24 Vanderbilt. South Carolina is looking to extend its winning streak over the Commodores to 16 straight games. Kickoff is set for 4:15 p.m. on the SEC Network.