The Sports Xchange
Sep 30, 2017
Keith Ford ran for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and Texas A&M rallied to beat South Carolina 24-17 Saturday night in College Station, Texas.
The Aggies improved to 4-1 with their fourth straight win and 2-0 in the SEC. Texas A&M is also 4-0 all-time against the Gamecocks, who dropped to 3-2 overall and 1-2 in league play.
Ford rushed for 70 yards, as the Aggies' ground game revved in the second half. Trayveon Williams ran for another 56 yards, along with a touchdown, and Texas A&M totaled 239 yards rushing.
True freshman quarterback Kellen Mond actually led A&M by running for 95 yards on 16 attempts. He also completed 19 of 27 passes for 159 yards.
South Carolina quarterback Jake Bentley threw two touchdown passes and 256 yards, but spent most of the game under duress. The Aggies sacked Bentley seven times, including four in the fourth quarter.
The Gamecocks also struggled moving the ball on the ground. South Carolina ran for only 23 yards on 26 carries.
The Aggies took a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter after Williams powered it in from the 1-yard line.
The Gamecocks responded with Bentley avoiding pressure to connect with Shi Smith a 45-yard touchdown. White's 29-yard field goal enabled the visitors to go into halftime up 10-7.
South Carolina's lead swelled to 17-7 in the third after Bentley engineered a big-play 80-yard drive, ending with his 13-yard scoring strike to OrTre Smith.
The Aggies rallied from there behind Mond with three consecutive scoring drives to regain the lead. Daniel LaCamera drilled a 46-yard field go before Ford carried a host of South Carolina defenders into the end zone from 7 yards out.
After another three-and-out by South Carolina, Texas A&M quickly covered 46 yards in five plays. Ford rumbled for the last 17.
Texas A&M is back at Kyle Field next week against No. 1 Alabama.
The Gamecocks return home to face Arkansas next week.