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Texas A&M Aggies’ Defense Collapsed Against South Carolina

Harry November 4, 2024

The Texas A&M Aggies’ greatest strength this season has become their greatest weakness.

In Saturday night’s loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks, the Aggies’ usually strong defense completely collapsed in front of a national audience. As if the 44 points allowed (nearly double the Aggies’ previous record of 24 this season) wasn’t bad enough, quarterback LaNorris Sellers (27/27 yards, 244 passing, 106 rushing yards, three total touchdowns) threw Raheim They let him run back to . Sanders (144 rushing yards and two touchdowns) and tight end Joshua Simon (four receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns) to roam all over.

As head coach Mike Elko admitted postgame, the execution wasn’t good enough.

“We didn’t bring our feet” Elko said. “We didn’t tackle the big backs properly. They’re big, strong kids. If you want to fight big, strong kids, you’ve got to put your body through that fight. We didn’t do that.” “

Perhaps the most disappointing issue was the number of missed tackles throughout the game. Most importantly, Simon rattled two tacklers on a 57-yard touchdown pass, ultimately putting the game out of reach.

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— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) November 3, 2024

“Missed tackles are on the rise,” Elko said. “Sometimes the hardest thing to do is learn from victory. It’s covered up and masked. Some of the things we played and won definitely came out very badly tonight. That’s my responsibility. My job as a coach is to make sure they understand it to the level they need to understand it to fix it. It’s my responsibility.”

Another problem was that the Aggies fell behind 14-0 early, and Elko even admitted they weren’t built to play from behind like that. Although they briefly took a 20-17 lead before halftime, they were never able to fully maintain control. This was a problem for both units but the defense couldn’t do enough to keep the game tight.

The defensive performance and the game in general were incredibly disappointing for the Aggies, but all is not lost. They are one of five teams (Georgia, Tennesee, Texas, LSU) with one loss in SEC play and still have a chance to advance to the conference championship game. But the margin for error no longer exists.

“We’re tied for first place in the SEC. We’re still in control of our own destiny against Atlanta. We’re still in control of our own destiny going into the College Football Playoff. It feels that way because it is,” Elko said.