Texas A&M isn’t pretending last year didn’t happen. The Aggies took a seven-game winning streak into Columbia and got blasted 44-20, the first crack in a late slide that nuked their College Football Playoff hopes. As No. 3 A&M (9-0, 6-0 SEC) heads back to South Carolina on Saturday, the words around the locker room are simple enough.

“We got embarrassed at South Carolina last year,” linebacker Taurean York said. “It’s personal.”

Quarterback Marcel Reed echoed it while steering the mindset to the here and now.

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“Obviously, you can’t look back at last year and try to bring that type of energy into it, but it is personal,” Reed said. “Those were one of the teams that got us out of getting into the playoffs last year and took us out of the SEC Championship conversation. It’s just a 1-0 mentality … they’re in our way just like every other team, so we’re just going to go handle business this weekend.”

On paper, this year’s Gamecocks (3-6, 1-6) aren’t the same punch that landed last November. But Mike Elko isn’t biting on records or narratives.

“Every Saturday you’re at risk in this conference. That’s just the way it is,” he said. “We have to go play, regardless of what their record is, a really, really talented football team on Saturday and it’s the same team that beat us by 25 points or whatever it was last year and really embarrassed us up and down the field. So, if any of our players or anyone thinks it’s going to be anything different than that, they’re kind of crazy.”

South Carolina just fired OC Mike Shula and handed play-calling to receivers coach Mike Furrey, hoping for a jolt after ranking last in the SEC in scoring and total offense.

“He’s kind of got that swag or whatever you want to call it, and he’s brought that to the offense,” Shane Beamer said. “And I’m not saying that we didn’t have it before, but he’s definitely brought confidence … this will hopefully give us a little bit of a spark.” Beamer isn’t sugarcoating A&M, either: “I don’t really see a weakness in them. Their record and body of work speaks to that.”

Priority one for A&M’s defense? Bottle up quarterback LaNorris Sellers and limit explosive shots to Nyck Harbor.

“He’s built like Rob Gronkowski,” York said of Sellers. “So, it’s hard to tackle him up high. You’ve got to drive through the thigh board.” Elko’s equally awed by Harbor: “They’ve got one of the most physically impressive wide receivers I’ve seen in 30 years of college football… 6-5, 235… he can absolutely fly. DBs are running away from him on the snap and he still runs past them.”

The Aggies’ special-teams swagger is rising, too, thanks to safety Dalton Brooks, who ripped off a 26-yard fumble return and a 48-yard fake-punt run against Missouri. Elko joked about two near-scores:

“No, shoot, he should have scored on both of them is what I told him” — before turning serious: “He’s a really talented kid… to be able to account for (74) total yards… two huge, huge plays for us from a momentum standpoint.” Brooks felt right at home: “It kind of felt like back in high school.”

Last year’s flop made this trip “personal.” The path to flipping the script is more practical: start fast, choke off Sellers’ scrambles, plaster Harbor, and keep the throttle down. Survive Columbia, and A&M stays perfect … and squarely on track for Atlanta and the CFP.

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