POST-GAME THOUGHTS: The Aggies fall 44-20 to South Carolina in Columbia

Texas A&M was reminded Saturday night how tough away games can be in the SEC. Give South Carolina credit. This is a bloody good and physical football team that really wanted to play in front of a loud home crowd. What went wrong at A&M? You could just say “everything,” but I’ll do my best to add some details.

Pass protection

Maybe this is the latest thing on my mind, but it felt like it would ultimately kill any chance of A&M getting back into this game. In the second half, Marcel Reed was under constant pressure, which led to sacks and turnovers. The internal pressure was absolutely murderous. This team needs starting left tackle Chase Bisontis back ASAP.

defense

By far the worst defensive performance of the Mike Elko era. A&M's defenders refused to finish the entire game, they had LaNorris Sellers dead four or five times and couldn't sack him, they let Rocket Sanders run free. It was very pissy all around. On top of that, the A&M defense was constantly out of position, leaving receivers wide open and having poor gap integrity. That’s up to the coaching staff.

The Aggies have typically tackled well this season, aside from a few mistakes here and there. That was absolutely miserable. Hopefully it's a blip, because my goodness, it was ugly.

Short-distance decisions

I honestly don't hate trying 4th on your own turf. Some people hate it. I can probably defend the decision in the second half better than the one in the first, as it felt like all the momentum was South Carolina's way at that point. But the play calls and execution were poor. With Le'veon Moss leaving the game with an injury in the first quarter, A&M struggled greatly in short-yardage situations. I would have liked to see something other than a middle barrel from the shotgun formation when our best back is in street clothes.

Punish

Completely undisciplined. This has happened in spurts this season, but tonight was terrible. Of note are the late score after the fumble recovery and the defensive poise that negated a sack fumble. Must be better.

Go forward

That was a reality check. There is no doubt about that. I don't know if it's disappointment after the win over LSU, if the rigors of the season took their toll, or if we just weren't prepared.

What I do know is that Elko is angrier than any of us right now. Let's hope he and his crew can get things back on track, because believe it or not, there's still a lot to do this season.