By The Numbers: Texas A&M edges South Carolina 24-13

It was not an explosion of numbers like we’d hoped. Many of our main numbers-getters didn’t even make the trip. It was a classic trap game before the huge Tennessee showdown and the associated bells and whistles that accompany a top-ten matchup, and we eked it out. It wasn’t anything but a win, but there were a few bright spots and some other not-so-bright:

2: turnovers by Knight. Yesterday was Bad Trevor. He threw a bad pick and had some other throws that were dropped interceptions. He fumbled while scrambling. He never really got into a rhythm with Josh Reynolds. We’re going to need Good Trevor if we want to beat Tennessee.

3-14: third downs allowed. Right around 20%. Pretty good.

9-19: third downs converted. Right around 50%. Pretty decent, or at least better than some recent games.

#10: how about Daeshon, though? Stepped up big with Myles out: 6 tackles, 3.5 for loss, 2 sacks, and a pair of QB hurries.

11: tackles for Shaan Washington. Throw in 2 TFLs, a sack, a QB hurry, and a forced fumble. He continues to have a really solid season at linebacker. A linebacker had double digits in tackles and led the team. This is what’s supposed to happen, right?

12: catches by Kirk...for only 61 yards. It was obvious the gameplan was “get Kirk a ton of touches and hope he breaks one.” It didn’t quite pan out, but it’s got to be good for his confidence. He was basically taking long handoffs in much of the first half as we experimented with this and didn’t get the ball to the running backs much. It’s not too surprising he didn’t break one when you realize we were short two starting wide receivers, both of whom are pretty good at downfield blocking.

49: the big play from Trayveon Williams. Nice run, but he scores because Josh Reynolds is out there throwing defensive backs around like Godzilla movie props.

Trayveon Williams 49-yard TD run vs. South Carolina.

First he pushes his guy about 20 yards downfield at full speed, then gives him one final shove that knocks him backward into the feet of another defender, creating a tangle of bodies that Williams can easily hurdle. Reynolds was bowling for Gamecocks and hit a strike.

206/216: yards passing/rushing. The Aggie O continues to be balanced, if a little choppy. And the run game continues to impress. A brief word on RUNNIN’ THE DANG BALL: before you click this link, take a guess at which team is leading the SEC in rushing touchdowns and yards per attempt. There’s only one SEC team ahead of the Ags in total rushing yards this year. And Texas A&M is leading the SEC in total offense after week five. It’s been a while since that happened. It’s not as flashy, but it’s there.

12,012,012: number of times Aggies who feel disrespected/affronted/slighted will tweet at ESPN, Kirk Herbstreit, various producers, Cheez-It, Sam Ponder, The Home Depot, and all other various and sundry entities remotely associated with ESPN’s College GameDay when they perceive the slightest hint of disrespect towards Texas A&M. Here’s the deal. The SEC Network is a subsidiary of ESPN. Texas A&M has been a huge boon to both organizations since joining the conference. No one is out to get you. It’s mindless programming chatter to fill air time that the hosts, anchors, pundits, and other guests forget ten seconds after they say the words. Learn to do the same and try to have fun with it. It’s one of the coolest periphery events in college football, and it hasn’t happened in Aggieland since the Manziel era. Focus on enjoying it instead of picking online battles with folks who aren’t really paying attention to you anyway.

Football is fun. Enjoy the hell outta this week.