Comeback magic – Texas A&M rallies past South Carolina

COLLEGE STATION – Despite trailing by 27 points at halftime, coach Mike Elko didn’t sense much panic Saturday afternoon from his No. 3-ranked Aggies. No Texas A&M team had ever overcome a 27-point deficit, but these 2025 Aggies are different.

Quarterback Marcel Reed, linebacker Taurean York, receiver KC Concepcion and the rest of the Aggies refused to let lowly South Carolina ruin their perfect record.

The Aggies scored 28 unanswered points while pitching a shutout in the second half to win 31-30 before a raucous sellout crowd of 108,582 at Kyle Field.

“It sounds crazy to say this, but there really wasn’t a lot of panic,” Elko said after the Aggies improved to 10-0 overall and 7-0 in the SEC. “There were certainly your leaders. You heard Taurean York, you heard Ar’maj Reed-Adams, you heard Marcel Reed, you heard Concepcion. 

“You heard our leaders talking as we were going up the tunnel, as we were going into the locker room. I think we made sure that we reset the energy the right way. I thought that was important just to make sure that everybody knew kind of where we needed to be and what space we needed to be in.”

Still unbeaten

The Aggies are 10-0 for the first time since they went 12-0 in 1992 while in the old Southwest Conference. Two conferences and 33 years later, the Aggies are atop the SEC standings and in position to reach the SEC Championship Game for the first time if they win out.

What appeared headed for a major upset turned into a historic day at Kyle Field. Reed, who had a forgettable two-interception first half, threw for a career-high 439 yards and three touchdowns. 

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Concepcion had seven catches for a career-high 158 yards. Wide receiver Ashton Bethel-Roman had four catches for a career-high 139 receiving yards and a touchdown. Defensive end Cashius Howell matched a career high with three pass breakups and a sack.

“I mean, it wasn’t how we drew it up,” York said after collecting a team-high eight tackles. “Honestly, we didn’t want to be down 30-3 at halftime. But ultimately, we found a way to stick together and figure out how to win the game.”

Senior cornerback Will Lee III had five tackles with a pass breakup and recorded his first career sack. Safety Dalton Brooks recorded his first interception of the year. 

Early miscues

Reed threw two interceptions in the first half, and Randy Bond missed a pair of field goals. Reed also fumbled the ball for what proved to be a scoop-and-score touchdown for the Gamecocks, who headed into halftime ahead 30-3.

The defense struggled early to contain South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers, who threw for 246 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Sellers did most of his damage in the first half.

He connected with a 50-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Vandrevius Jacobs. Linebacker Dylan Stewart forced a sack-fumble on Marcel Reed that was scooped up by defensive lineman Nick Barrett for a touchdown to end the first quarter with the Aggies trailing by two scores. 

“Down four scores at halftime,” Elko said. “I think I read somewhere that SEC teams are 0-286 all-time in that predicament. That’s 1-286 now, I guess.”

No panic

The Aggies started the second half strong.  They scored on the first drive when Reed threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Izaiah Williams. 

“I almost cried when he scored,” Bethel-Roman said of Williams. “I was so happy for him. It’s rough when you play football, you’re going to practice every single week, but you might not be getting what you think you deserve or whatever the case may be.

“But for him to be able to swallow that pride, go on the field, and make the most out of his opportunity when his name is called, his number called, meant everything to me. I was happy. I almost cried, I ain’t going to lie.

Reed then ignited the crowd with a 39-yard touchdown pass down the middle to Bethel-Roman. Chants of “Marcel Reed” filled the stadium. Momentum continued to swing when Reed connected on a 76‑yard pass to Bethel‑Roman, setting up a 14‑yard touchdown to tight end Nate Boerkircher.

With 10:47 remaining in the fourth quarter, Reed connected with Concepcion for 31 yards, and running back EJ Smith capped the drive with a four‑yard rushing touchdown. The score gave Texas A&M its first lead of the night, 31‑30.

“Yeah, as bad as everything was going, we don’t panic,” Elko said. “Like, that’s the one thing we don’t do, is we don’t panic. Maybe we need to panic a little bit more, I don’t know? But it worked for us today.”