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Either way, A&M lost it. Time of possession, rushing yards, passing yards, sacks, turnovers, everything.

Okay, that's not true. They won easily through missed tackles and stupid penalties. This was a perfect storm with everything hitting at once.

Normally I start the offense, but not tonight. Special credit goes to the defense for an incredibly poor performance.

South Carolina had 530 yards of total offense, including 286 on the ground. They ran the ball 6.7 yards per carry and averaged 18.8 yards per completion. Sacks, on the second-worst offensive line in the country in that category? Nada. Zipper. Nothing.

The game was essentially lost on the second play from scrimmage when Scooby Williams, completely free, darted in and tackled LaNorris Sellers – who the Aggies just made look like Michael Vick. He completed one pass for 20 yards, the Gamecocks felt something was up, and that was it.

I've never seen a team miss more tackles in my life. They probably beat Sellers to death for a sack at least six times and couldn't bring him down. Their tackling was absolutely terrible, allowing 106 yards and Rocket Sanders to run for 144 yards. A defense that had been swallowing up offenses of late was fed with its teeth.

South Carolina completely outclassed A&M. They took advantage of the Aggies' aggressiveness by using shallow crosses in areas where a blitzer had cleared. Notre Dame killed A&M with the outside run and South Carolina came back. No difference. They ran at will and A&M never adjusted. The lack of adjustments in defense was almost as annoying as the lack of tackling.

One thing South Carolina did was wait for the Aggies to loosen up and get Cashius Howell or Rylan Kennedy. And then they ran straight towards her.

The stupid penalties eventually came back to bite the Aggies. Shemar Turner, who picked up a personal foul while waiting, picked up two tonight. Argue all you want about the gross accusation against Sellers – and it pissed me off – you still can't beat a guy that bad. BJ Mayes' serve negated a turnover. The defense alone had 58 yards of penalties and all but one of the five called against them resulted in first downs.

I think they covered the deep ball well. Will Lee made a great forced fumble, knocked the ball out and smoked a South Carolina defender to prevent a first down. Shemar Stewart had a really good play, blocking a shovel pass, but that was it. Stewart and Nic Scourton have done essentially nothing against an offensive line that is considered subpar.

But they did everything A&M could do to hurt themselves. I can't even explain how bad the tackling was. The seizures were bad. There were no adjustments. They just seemed listless and underprepared. And South Carolina came for blood.

I'll start with a statement that might upset some people: I don't think Marcel Reed played that badly. In fact, there were parts of the game where he was pretty darn good.

But he didn't get much help, especially from his offensive line.

A&M gave up 3 sacks and 6 tackles for loss and Reed was under a lot of pressure most of the night. But he made some really nice passes on the move that gave the offense a dimension that Conner Weigman didn't have. He ended up with 236 total yards of offense, which is quite a lot, but the Aggies total had 350 yards.

Reed's accuracy, while still not great, has improved. He made some really nice throws into tight windows and progressed better tonight. He threw for 206 yards, the most he has thrown this season. He made some mistakes and allowed his first two turnovers, but he has never started a game in such a place. As much as I believed in Conner Weigman before the season and that he should get the job back if he was healthy, I wouldn't change a thing now. Reed is just beginning to realize his potential.

But the playcalls were often confusing. The Noah Thomas jet sweep was a disaster. Refusal to run outside or directly to the undersized defensive ends was a mistake. South Carolina did what I think A&M should do and ran on or around the ends to wear them down. A&M just kept going, and that proved counterproductive.

The offensive line was overwhelmed, especially in the middle. The inability to penetrate even TWICE three feet into your own depths tells you everything you need to know. Although the line has improved significantly from last year, there is still a long, long way to go. And Chase Bisontis was sorely missed tonight.

We have to come to the realization that this offense is going to be a slog unless Reed or Conner Weigman really comes into play and starts doing something through the air. Amari Daniels (13 carries, 83 yards) did well when Le'Veon Moss went down, but let's face it – Moss is a huge loss. I think there's hope he comes back before the end of the season, but that would be pretty remarkable. But according to Daniels, the closet is pretty empty. EJ Smith has done very little all season, and he did next to nothing tonight, accumulating 15 yards on 8 carries.

Other than Jabre Barber, no Aggie receiver really inspired fear in South Carolina. They put 8 and 9 players in the box and dared Reed to beat them. He did it a few times, but not enough. Noah Thomas had a tear and struggled to open most of the night. Cyrus Allen had a few receptions, but nothing major. Terry Bussey played no role.

But the playcalls – I just don’t get it. Do you run the middle on 2nd-and-15 when you have a quarterback you don't want in the 3rd-and-long situation? Makes no sense. The jet sweep was a terrible idea. They had some nice quick slants to stop the pass rush and they worked the tempo well, but they never got into a rhythm, never showed anything South Carolina hadn't seen, and put Reed in positions where his Line couldn't protect him long enough. It was a disaster.

Bravo Randy Bond. Field goals of 52 and 55, that's your job. Tyler White was just okay. Cover was ok. They retrieved the damaged barge.

“In general, our generals were superior to generals.” – Abraham Lincoln.

Well, boys, this might as well have been Chancellorsville. The Aggies played a good quarter. Unfortunately it's four quarters. And A&M was absolutely thrashed in the other three cases.

A&M has had penalty problems all year. They killed her tonight. They started slow on defense and they did the same tonight. They've had episodes where they've handled terribly, and tonight they were beyond terrible.

But this can largely depend on Elko and its employees. He was the guy who called for the two fourth-and-short plays, and while he appreciated his trust in his team, both were bad ideas. The punt with five minutes left was a white flag, whether intentional or not. This team remains undisciplined at times, and tonight it looked like they stopped believing early in the fourth quarter.

Jay Bateman and his staff made no adjustments. Their boys tackled poorly and committed stupid, stupid penalties for several weeks. Collin Klein didn't help Reed. It was a disaster in every way and an absolute embarrassment.

But they don't storm the field for nobody.