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Texas A&M Aggies defense collapses following loss to South Carolina

Umito November 4, 2024

What has been the Texas A&M Aggies’ biggest strength this season has turned into their biggest weakness.

In Saturday night’s loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks, the Aggies’ usually stout defense completely collapsed in front of a national audience. As if 44 points allowed — nearly double the Aggies’ previous record of 24 this season — weren’t bad enough, they allowed quarterback LaNorris Sellers (13-of-27, 244 passing yards, 106 rushing yards , three touchdowns in total), to running back Raheim. Sanders (144 rushing yards and two touchdowns) and tight end Joshua Simon (four receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns) to step on them.

As head coach Mike Elko admitted after the game, the execution just wasn’t good enough.

“We didn’t bring our feet.” Elko said. “We didn’t tackle big backs the way we should. They’re big, powerful kids. If you want to take on big, powerful kids, you have to bring your body through the tackle. We didn’t do that “

Perhaps the most disappointing issue was the abundance of missed tackles throughout the game. Most notably, Simon shook two would-be tacklers on a 57-yard touchdown run that ultimately put the game out of reach.

TO THE MOON pic.twitter.com/FFHHSQl9Yy

– Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) November 3, 2024

“The number of missed tackles has continued to increase,” Elko said. “Sometimes the hardest thing to do is learn in victory. It’s covered up and masked. Some of the things we played and won through certainly showed up tonight and in a very bad way. It’s my fault. My job as a coach is to make them understand that at the level they need to solve the problem.

Another problem is the fact that the Aggies fell behind 14-0 early, and Elko even admitted that they’re not built to play from behind like that. Even when they briefly took a 20-17 lead before halftime, they were never really in control. It’s a problem for both units, but the defense couldn’t do enough to keep the game close.

The defensive performance, and the game in general, was incredibly disappointing for the Aggies, but all is not lost. They are one of five teams with a loss in the SEC (Georgia, Tennesee, Texas, LSU) and still have a strong chance of making the conference championship game. However, their margin for error is now non-existent.

“We’re tied for first in the SEC. We still control our own destiny until Atlanta. We still control our own destiny until the College Football Playoff. It really does because it does “Elko said.