Opponent Film Review: Texas A&M's Defense
South Carolina's offense has faced several ferocious defenses to this point in the season, and that will be no different when they take on Texas A&M's offense on Saturday. The Aggies' defense under DJ Durkin will run a 4-2-5 scheme but will use three down linemen with a jack playing the edge. They have extreme confidence in those three linemen to make plays and keep offensive lines on their heels all night. To make matters worse, they have a linebacker in Edgerrin Cooper who can fly sideline-to-sideline and get after the quarterback.
With this defense, they feel good about beating you with light numbers, constantly trying to stop the run with six in the box. However, if you spread them out in 2x2, they typically keep five in the box and can be vulnerable to big gains in the rushing game. If you come in with tight bunch sets, you play into their strength and can make it a long day.
Linebacker Fadil Diggs
Texas A&M Athletics
On the back end of things for the Aggies, they will play a decent amount of man coverage, and it also seems like, at times, they'll get into a Tampa 2 defense, with two safeties and a deep linebacker in zone coverage. They are a team that can be beaten with explosive plays and routes that involve double moves. Spencer Rattler just has to have time, which you rarely get against this defensive front.
The Gamecocks' Offense will have an extremely tall task this week. They can continue to play tight with 11 personnel, one tight end, and a running back to help with chipping. The best bet to get after them may be to spread it out a bit and rely on your best five o-linemen five to beat their five box defenders. Dowell Loggains will have to scheme differently for this defensive line for sure. South Carolina will not have time to sit back and throw often, and this will arguably be the offensive line's toughest test to date.
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