Trailing by 27 points at halftime, Texas A&M staged a historic comeback to beat South Carolina 31-30 on Saturday at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas. Four second-half touchdowns helped the Aggies to get to 10-0 on the season, and 7-0 in SEC play. They are the only undefeated team in the league.
To say that things are looking bleak when you're trailing 30-3 in an SEC football game is a massive understatement. Teams have been getting hammered by 27 points or worse 287 times in the past 20 years, according to ESPN Research, and no one had ever come back to win.
Then came Saturday. No. 3-ranked Texas A&M, looking to win its first-ever SEC football title, stormed back against South Carolina at Kyle Field. They scored four second-half touchdowns while keeping the Gamecocks off the board, winning 31-30 to keep their dream season alive. The Aggies are now 10-0, and 7-0 in the SEC, the only team with an unblemished record.
It was a comeback for the ages, the biggest in school history.
“That’s a first for me in my career,” Texas A&M coach Mike Elko told reporters after the game. “I don’t even really know what just happened, to be honest with you. A whole lot of heart left on the field and a whole lot of support from a great group of fans.
“I think getting to 10 wins is going to set us up to continue playing football and continue chasing the big prizes.”
South Carolina (3-7, 1-7 in the SEC) could do no wrong in the first half, scoring 27 unanswered points to take a 30-3 lead at the break. They intercepted A&M quarterback Marcel Reed twice and also returned a fumble for a touchdown. But the Gamecocks couldn't get anything going in the second half, and the lead continued shrink one drive after another.
Reed would throw three touchdown passes in the second half, and then EJ Smith scored on a 4-yard touchdown run with 10:47 to go in the game to take the lead. They'd hang on from there, beating a South Carolina team that clobbered them 44-20 a year ago.
“We wanted revenge on this team," Reed said. “They put us out of the question last year, and they could have put us in a bad position this year. We got this win, and it was important for us.”
This South Carolina season came off the rails a while ago, but this loss was really hard to swallow. They've finished their SEC season with just one win. It started with hopes of contending for playoff spot, and it ends with far more questions than answers.
“To say that I’m hurt for our guys is an understatement,” South Carolina coach Shane Beamer said. “I know the rest of the country was surprised with what was going on in the first half, but we weren’t.
"And when you’re dominating, you don’t look at the scoreboard, you just keep going and that’s what we talked about. In the second half, I’m just feeling disappointed with the way that we performed.”