By The Numbers: Texas A&M 44, South Carolina 14

Here’s a statistical look, by the numbers, at the Aggies’ 44-14 win over the Gamecocks Saturday night at Kyle Field...

0 - Sacks allowed in the game by A&M on offense. The Aggies gave up 12 sacks through the first 5 games this season but Zach Calzada has been sacked just 1 time in the last 3 games.

#1 / #17 - A&M’s national ranking in kick return average and punt return average, respectively. The Aggies, powered by the national leader in kick return average, Devon Achane, lead the nation with a 43.6 average (all from Achane). Achane ranks #4 nationally with 4 returns over 30 yards. Meanwhile, following Ainias Smith’s 95-yard return for a TD against South Carolina, the Aggies have moved way up into #17 in the national punt return rankings at 13.5 yards per return. Smith ranks #5 nationally in punt return average individually (14.3 Avg.) and is #1 with 3 returns over 30 yards (and has had at least 3 more called back due to penalties or video reversal).

2 - Plays allowed over 20 yards on defense in the game. Both plays were 4th quarter runs … a 20-yard run by ZaQuandre White and a 26-yard run by MarShawn Lloyd. A&M’s longest pass allowed was 18 yards. The Aggie defense has allowed just 5 passes all season of 30-plus yards (#5 nationally).

3 - Turnovers forced on defense in the win, including a first half fumble recovery from 6th-year senior linebacker Aaron Hansford and fourth quarter interceptions by freshman corners Tyreek Chappell and Deuce Harmon. The Aggies had just 1 takeaway in their first 3 games vs. Power 5 opponents but have produced 7 combined takeaways the last 3 weeks vs. Alabama, Missouri and South Carolina.

3 - Consecutive games that the trio of Isaiah Spiller, Devon Achane and Ainias Smith each scored at least 1 touchdown.

5 - Sacks for defensive end Tyree Johnson during this three-game winning streak. The fifth-year senior edge rusher deluxe had 2 sacks against ‘Bama and 1 sack at Mizzou before racking up 2 more sacks against SC. Johnson now has 6 sacks this season (#14 nationally).

#5 - A&M’s national ranking in pass plays allowed over 30 yards. The Aggies did not allow a pass of 30-plus yards vs. South Carolina (longest pass allowed was 18 yards). On the season, A&M has given up just 5 passes of 30 or more yards.

6 - Consecutive games with at least 1 tackle-for-loss for DE Micheal Clemons. The sixth-year senior giant had a run TFL against the Gamecocks in the win and now has 7.5 TFL through 8 games this season.

7 - Plays over 20 yards against South Carolina. That included explosive runs of 21 yards (Isaiah Spiller), 21 yards (Devon Achane) and 35 yards (Achane) and Zach Calzada passes of 25 yards (Jalen Wydermyer), 27 yards (Demond Demas), 28 yards (Wydermyer) and 33 yards (Jalen Preston).

8 - Consecutive wins for the Aggies in the series with South Carolina. The Bonham Trophy has been safely secured … somewhere randomly in the bowels of The Alamo - ever since that “Kenny Hill Game” to open the 2014 season in Columbia. The Aggies have never lost to the Gamecocks in school history.

#8 - A&M’s national ranking in Scoring Defense. The Aggies are allowing an average of just 16.1 points per game this season. That’s up from 21.7 PPG allowed in 2020 (#28), 22.5 PPG allowed in ’19 (#36) and 25.3 PPG allowed in ’18 (#47).

9 - Interceptions this season for A&M’s defense, which ranks 14th nationally. The Aggies picked off back-up quarterback Jason Brown twice in the 4th quarter (Tyreek Chappell and Deuce Harmon) on Saturday. A&M had 10 interceptions all last season, 10 INTs in 2019 and 7 INTs in ’18 under the direction of Mike Elko.

#10 - National ranking for both Isaiah Spiller and Devon Achane in runs over 30 yards. Achane’s 35-yard touchdown run was A&M’s only rush over 30 yards against the Gamecocks. Both backs now have 4 runs over 30 yards in 2021.

11 - Total yards for South Carolina in the 1st half. That’s the fewest yards allowed in the 1st half of a game pitting two SEC teams since 2008. The Aggies gave up just 15 yards and 0 points through 3 quarters before calling off the dogs and allowing SC to score 14 points and gain 170 total yards in the 4th.

#12 - A&M’s national ranking in sacks. The Aggies sacked SC’s Zeb Noland 3 times and has 24 sacks through 7 games this season. A&M is #10 nationally in tackles-for-loss with 56.

16 - Career receiving touchdowns for tight end Jalen Wydermyer after racking up 2 more TDs vs. SC. Wydermyer passed teammate Ainias Smith and Malcome Kennedy and is currently 8th on the career receiving TDs list at A&M. The junior from Dickinson also passed Martellus Bennett on Saturday for most receiving yards by an A&M tight end. He now has 1,306 yards through the air. Bennett finished his three-year A&M career with 1,246.

17.5 - “Havoc Rate” for the A&M defense in the game. Havoc Rate is an advanced metric from longtime stat man Bill Connelly that is determined by calculating the total number of tackles-for-loss, passes defended (including INTs) and forced fumbles divided by the total number of plays. The Aggies had 2 interceptions, 0 forced fumbles (the line fumble recovery was unforced), 1 pass breakup and 7 TFL (3 sacks / 4 run TFL) vs. South Carolina. That’s 10 “Havoc points” divided by 57 defensive snaps for a game rating of 17.5, meaning that the Aggies created havoc on exactly 17.5% of the Gamecocks’ offensive snaps. For the season, A&M’s Havoc Rate is 17.0 (94 havoc points in 553 defensive snaps). Last season, the Ags had a Havoc Rate of 19.1 and it was 18.6 in ’19. A&M ranked 5th in the nation in 2018 with a Havoc Rate of 20.4.

23.1% - Third down conversion percentage for the SC offense. A&M’s defense held the Gamecocks without a first down on their first 10 attempts and did not allow a successful third down conversion until the 9:13 mark of the 4th quarter.

40% - Red zone TD percentage for the Aggies in the game. While A&M was a perfect 5-of-5 coming away with points in 5 trips inside the SC 20, the Ags managed just 2 red zone touchdowns and had to settle for 3 Seth Small field goals. A&M’s red zone touchdown percentage through 8 weeks sits at 53.57% (#96 nationally)

256 - Combined rushing yards for Spiller and Achane after combining for 292 yards on the ground last week. Achane led the way with 154 yards and a TD on 20 carries, while Spiller added 102 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. That’s a combined 6.7 yards-per-carry average. Spiller now has 15 100-yard rushing games in his career and now has 2,743 rushing yards, passing Courtney Lewis for 11th all-time at A&M. Spiller is just 48 yards away from cracking the top 10 in school annals.

1997 - The last time A&M had multiple rushers go over 100 yards in back-to-back games. Dante Hall and Sirr Parker did it against Oklahoma State in November of ’97 and then Hall and Tiki Hardeman did it against Texas at Kyle Field.

A&M in national stat rankings

Offense
• Total O = #69 (396 YPG)
• Scoring O = #58 (29.6 PPG)
• Rushing O = #43 (188 YPG)
• Passing O = #93 (208 YPG)
• Yards Per Play = #53 (6.01 YPP)
• First Downs = #56 (21.8 PG)
• 3rd Down Conversions = #60 (40.95%)
• Red Zone TD% = #96 (53.57% - 15-of-28)
• Explosiveness = #54 (36 plays over 20 yards)
    - #63 with 15 plays over 30 yards
    - #52 with 8 plays over 40 yards
    - #50 with 4 plays over 50 yards
    - #27 with 3 play over 60 yards
    - #45 with 1 play over 70 yards
• Explosive Run Plays = #24 (14 plays over 20 yards)
    - #7 with 8 plays over 30 yards
    - #4 with 6 plays over 40 yards
    - #28 with 2 plays over 50 yards
    - #11 with 2 plays over 60 yards
• Explosive Pass Plays = #79 (22 plays over 20 yards)
    - #101 with 7 plays over 30 yards
    - #110 with 2 plays over 40 yards
    - #66 with 2 plays over 50 yards
    - #55 with 1 play over 60 yards
    - #26 with 1 play over 70 yards
• Sacks Allowed Per Game = #40 (1.63 PG ... 13 total)
• Tackles For Loss Allowed Per Game = #66 (5.75 PG ... 46 total)

Defense
• Total D = #30 (329.3 YPG)
• Scoring D = #8 (16.1 PPG)
• Rushing D = #38 (129.4 YPG)
• Passing D = #32 (199.9 YPG)
• Yards Per Play Allowed = #16 (4.76 YPP)
• First Downs Allowed = #41 (18.6 PG)
• Opponent 3rd Down Conversions = #32 (34.2%)
• Opponent Red Zone TD% = #16 (45.45% - 10-of-22)
• Explosiveness Against = #33 (27 plays allowed over 20 yards)
    - #11 with 8 plays allowed over 30 yards
    - #10 with 3 plays allowed over 40 yards
    - #6 with 1 play allowed over 50 yards
    - #30 with 1 play allowed over 60 yards
    - #53 with 1 play allowed over 70 yards
    - #96 with 1 play allowed over 80 yards
• Explosive Run Plays Against = #47 (8 plays allowed over 20 yards)
    - #42 with 3 plays allowed over 30 yards
    - #1 with 0 plays allowed over 40 yards
• Explosive Pass Plays Against = #24 (19 plays allowed over 20 yards)
    - #5 with 5 plays allowed over 30 yards
    - #23 with 3 plays allowed over 40 yards
    - #22 with 1 play allowed over 50 yards
    - #44 with 1 play allowed over 60 yards
    - #75 with 1 play allowed over 70 yards
    - #112 with 1 play allowed over 80 yards
• Sacks = #12 (3 PG ... 24 total)
• Tackles For Loss = #10 (7.0 PG ... 56 total)
• Interceptions = #14 (9)
• Fumble Recoveries = #94 (2)

Team
• Time of Possession = #46 (30:29)
• Turnover Margin = #72 (-1)
• Penalties = #96 with 7.1 penalties per game
    - #90 with 62.3 penalty yards per game

Special Teams
• Field Goal % = #71 (73.7% - 14-of-19)
• Punting = #25 (46.1 Avg.)
• Kick Returns = #1 (43.6 Avg.)
• Explosive Kick Returns = #9 (4 returns over 30 yards)
• Opponent Kick Returns Average = #95 (22.9 yards per return)
• Explosive Kick Returns Allowed = #58 (2 returns allowed over 30 yards)
• Punt Returns = #17 (13.5 yards per return)
• Explosive Punt Returns = #8 (3 returns over 20 yards)
    - #1 with 3 returns over 30 yards
• Opponent Punt Returns Average = #62 (6.9 yards per return)
• Explosive Punt Returns Allowed = #97 (2 returns allowed over 20 yards)

Individual
• QB Zach Calzada = #70 in passing yards (1,364); #37 in passing TDs (12); #97 in completion percentage (55.3%); #67 in QBR (59.6)
    - #72 in passes over 20 yards (19); #91 in passes over 30 yards (6)

• RB Isaiah Spiller = #17 in rushing yards (761); #52 in yards per carry (6.2); #79 in rushing TDs (5); #15 in yards from scrimmage (940)
    - #8 in runs over 10 yards (23); #32 in runs over 20 yards (6); #10 in runs over 30 yards (4); #2 in runs over 40 yards (4); #29 in runs over 50 yards (1)
    - #12 in runs over 60 yards (1)

• RB Devon Achane = #38 in rushing yards (607); #20 in yards per carry (7.1 Avg.); #79 in rushing TDs (5); #37 in yards from scrimmage (797)
    - #39 in runs over 10 yards (18); #20 in runs over 20 yards (7); #10 in runs over 30 yards (4); #19 in runs over 40 yards (2); #29 in runs over 50 yards (1)
    - #12 in runs over 60 yards (1); #1 in kick return average (43.6); #4 in kick returns over 30 yards (4)

• RB/WR Ainias Smith = #18 in receiving TDs (6)
    - #5 in punt return average (14.3 Avg.); #2 in punt returns over 20 yards (3); #1 in punt returns over 30 yards (3)

• WR Demond Demas = #56 in catches over 50 yards (1); #21 in catches over 60 yards (1); #9 in catches over 70 yards (1)

• WR Caleb Chapman = #56 in catches over 50 yards (1)

• TE Jalen Wydermyer = #65 in receiving TDs (4)

• DL DeMarvin Leal = #24 in sacks (5.5); #39 in tackles-for-loss (8.5)

• DL Micheal Clemons = #57 in tackles-for-loss per game (1.07 PG ... 7.5 total)

• DL Tyree Johnson = #14 in sacks (6)

• LB Aaron Hansford = #84 in tackles (55); #57 in tackles-for-loss (7)

• CB Tyreek Chappell = #58 in pass breakups (5)

• S/N Antonio Johnson = #84 in tackles (55)

• S Leon O’Neal = #37 in interceptions (2); #29 in passes defended (7); #58 in pass breakups (5)

• PK Seth Small = #45 in field goal % (77.8% - 14-of-18)

• P Nik Constantinou = #12 in punting average (47.6 Avg.)