Texas A&M Poses Unique Challenges

South Carolina enters the weekend on their bye, but a look ahead tells us that the Texas A&M game will be critical.

Texas A&M has been one of the most up-and-down teams in college football. They beat a physical Arkansas team, almost defeated Alabama on national television, yet lost a head-scratcher to Appalachian State.

They are an extremely talented group that poses significant problems for South Carolina. The Aggies can win with finesse and power but, depending on the night, may not be prepared to win at all.

The outcome depends on which version of A&M shows up. They should be freshly motivated off a close loss at home, but with head coach Jimbo Fisher at the helm, anything is possible.

South Carolina wants to be a team that can win in multiple ways. They've spent the past few weeks reinventing themselves, attempting to get all three phases to play together.

There's no question that the Aggies have the talent to win this game. They may be without their two top quarterbacks but have a highly touted prospect waiting in the arms who may be better than their first two options.

However, they have struggled to develop this talent for the last few years. Good teams find ways to exploit them, but bad ones are overcome by the names on the back of the jersey.

The Gamecocks are going to find out which won they are. The team that showed up in Lexington, Kentucky, wouldn't let Texas A&M push them around for four quarters or make highlight throws.

We are still learning about this South Carolina team, though. Things have looked great the past three weeks, but they played two group of five teams and a Power-5 squad without their starting quarterback.

The Aggies provide a much more real challenge that gives fans many answers. If South Carolina can take care of business on another nationally-televised spot, it's time to take them for real. If not, we know that they are likely looking toward next season for a breakout year.

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