Texas A&M rallies to defeat South Carolina

COLLEGE STATION - Texas A&M has made a habit of turning second-half shortfalls into victories, and in the end gasping fans don't mind - as long as the Aggies keep winning.

A&M overcame a double-digit deficit in the second half to defeat South Carolina 24-17 on Saturday night in a Kyle Field that hardly raised its collective voice until a raucous fourth quarter. The Gamecocks led 17-7 in the third quarter and 17-10 early in the fourth when the A&M offense finally came alive - especially running back Keith Ford.

Ford bull-rushed in from 7 yards out, with plenty of push from his offensive line, to tie the score at 17-17 less than three minutes into the final quarter.

"I was just trying to run hard - running to not get tackled," Ford said. "I don't like going to the ground."

The A&M defense then left its impression on the Gamecocks by sacking quarterback Jake Bentley twice for a total of 17 yards on the ensuing possession. Following a punt, A&M quarterback Kellen Mond, receiver Jhamon Ausbon and Ford went back to work to try to win the game.

"Even though we were down and facing adversity, we still had good composure, and we were still positive," Ford said. "We weren't going at each other."

On the game-winning possession, Mond completed a 21-yard pass across the middle to Ausbon on third-and-9, and two plays later Ford again worked his way over and around the South Carolina defense for a 17-yard touchdown run. That gave A&M its first lead since the first half, and this time the Aggies' defense held strong clutching a seven-point edge.

A&M (4-1, 2-0 SEC) has overcome second-half deficits or ties in its last four games: wins against Nicholls State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Arkansas and now South Carolina (3-2, 1-2).

"The offensive line, running backs-wise, quarterbacks-wise, we just flat-out came out and executed," A&M center Erik McCoy said. "We came out and did what we were supposed to do in the fourth quarter."

The teams played a bland first half with a scoreless first quarter, prior to A&M running back Trayveon Williams punching the ball in from the 1-yard line 15 seconds into the second quarter. South Carolina countered only two minutes later on a 45-yard touchdown pass from Bentley to Shi Smith, and later grabbed its first lead on a 29-yard field goal by Parker White.

The Gamecocks added to their lead six minutes into the third quarter when Bentley connected with OrTre Smith for a 13-yard touchdown pass. The Aggies later got sack happy in the second half, with four sacks on two desperation South Carolina drives in the fourth quarter.

"We decided to dial up the pressure, because we were seeing that it was working all game," A&M linebacker Otaro Alaka said.

The Aggies outrushed the Gamecocks 239 yards to 23, and Mond led all rushers with 95 yards on 16 carries. A&M hadn't allowed that few rushing yards since giving up 21 against New Mexico in 2009.

A&M also finished with seven sacks to one for South Carolina, and the Aggies outgained the Gamecocks 151 yards to 7 in the decisive final quarter.

"It's been something all of our coaches have been pushing - just finish," McCoy said of the Aggies' late-game heroics.

The Aggies now prepare for another night game at Kyle Field, this one against a much more formidable foe. Top-ranked Alabama visits at 6:15 p.m. Saturday in front of what should be, for the first time this season, a full house of more than 100,000 fans.

Earlier in the day, coach Kevin Sumlin learned that one of his biggest mentors in the game, former Purdue coach Joe Tiller, had passed away in Buffalo, Wyo., at the age of 74. Tiller had been in poor health, and this past summer Sumlin had requested prayers for the man he'd played for and worked for decades ago when breaking into college coaching.

"That was tough on me," Sumlin said. "He's a guy I've known since I was 18 years old. He had a huge impact on my life."