No. 3 Texas A&M’s game against South Carolina on Saturday wasn’t exactly circled on the calendars of many college football fans.
Heading into the game, the Aggies were 17.5-point favorites over the Gamecocks, and appeared to have only a showdown with No. 10 Texas at the end of the year standing between them and an undefeated regular season.
No one told the Gamecocks they were underdogs however, and South Carolina jumped out to an astonishing 30–3 lead heading into halftime.
Mistake after mistake undid Texas A&M. Quarterback Marcel Reed went just 6-of-19 passing in the first half, and threw two interceptions. He also had a fumble that was returned for a touchdown by the South Carolina defense.
Oh my goodness. Look at that quickness by Dylan Stewart to blow up the mesh point and force a fumble 6 return. Gamecocks rollin pic.twitter.com/a2WeWnwf8b
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) November 15, 2025
Meanwhile, Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers, threw two dream passes that resulted in touchdowns from 50 yards and 80 yards out.
LaNorris Sellers airs it out and hits Vandrevius Jacobs for six pic.twitter.com/HuFHUo3bCO
— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthew_CFB) November 15, 2025
Heading into the game, the Aggies had only trailed for 31 minutes all season. Now, they enter the second half needing to erase a deficit of four touchdowns. In his interview before halftime, coach Mike Elko didn’t have much good to say about his team’s performance.
“We’ve got to find some easy throws for him,” Elko said of his quarterback Reed. “We’ve got to create separation. We’ve got to catch the football. We’ve got to be able to run the football. A lot of things we’ve got to fix.”
Making matters even more awkward was the fact that news of a massive extension for Elko, which would make him one of the highest-paid coaches in college football, broke just hours earlier.
Online, fans were simply stunned by the first half, with the Gamecocks—just 3-6 on the year and 1-6 in SEC play—looking absolutely dominant.
It's 30-3 at halftime for 3-6 South Carolina over No. 3 Texas A&M. Maybe the worst half by a top-three team ever.
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) November 15, 2025
Aggies pic.twitter.com/VO4iJ33x6u
— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) November 15, 2025
Nightmare juice for Aggies right now.
— Lance Zierlein (@LanceZierlein) November 15, 2025
It’s almost like the Aggies haven’t played anyone good in the SEC yet. pic.twitter.com/JSs8jwoAWP
— Dr. Skeptic (@skepticaloneme) November 15, 2025
“South Carolina isn’t even playing that well.”
— Poooooor Aggies! (@pooraggies) November 15, 2025
Joey Galloway on the ESPN halftime show. 😂😂🤣🤣
DEFCON 2 I repeat DEFCON 2. It’s getting ugly in College Station 🐓 27 Aggies 3. Wow. Shocker brewing. pic.twitter.com/VEFbyfIaBx
— Booger (@ESPNBooger) November 15, 2025
I earnestly believe that getting your ass beat really badly should be as disqualifying as 2-3 regular losses. If you lose by 30 at home to 3-6 South Carolina they should let 9-3 teams into the Playoff over you
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) November 15, 2025
There’s still 30 minutes of football to play, but the Aggies are going to need to pull off something special if they’re to get back in this one.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Texas A&M’s Disastrous First Half vs. South Carolina Leaves Fans Baffled.
