South Carolina named a national riser as Beamer's month-long turnaround rolls into Texas A&M

A month ago, Shane Beamer looked like the coach in the most trouble in the SEC. Now South Carolina is on the national risers list. USA TODAY Sports put the Gamecocks with USC and Wake Forest among the teams climbing fastest after Week 9. The paper said Beamer's seat was arguably the hottest in the country after the 35-34 overtime loss to Kentucky on Oct. 3, and that he may have saved his job since then. It called South Carolina "one of the hottest teams in the country right now."

The numbers back that up. South Carolina started 2-3 after losing at home to Mississippi State, getting beaten 49-18 at Alabama and falling to Kentucky. It has since won three straight against SEC opponents: 38-19 at then-No. 16 Florida, 27-24 over then-No. 11 Tennessee and 42-25 at Oklahoma on Oct. 31. That put the Gamecocks at 5-3. In Norman, LaNorris Sellers threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns, according to The Associated Press. The defense held the Sooners to 118 yards and 10 points through three quarters. 247Sports reported that Sellers and Darius Gray both won SEC weekly honors for that game. USA TODAY wrote that the quarterback is again playing like a top NFL prospect.

The change matters most for the rest of the season. A team that seemed headed for a coaching search in early October is now one win from bowl eligibility, with a month of November still to play.

What it means for Texas A&M

The Aggies come to Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7. Kickoff is at 3 p.m. Eastern on ESPN, and Texas A&M is coming off a bye. Before that open week, Roundtable Sports described a team in trouble. Quarterback Marcel Reed threw two interceptions against Alabama, and Mike Elko said benching him for freshman Brady Hart had been considered. Receivers Terry Bussey and Mario Williams and offensive lineman Blake Ivy are out for the season. Roundtable also reported that the Aggies have lost their last two games in Columbia and need at least two wins in their final four to reach a bowl.

South Carolina's pass rush is the obvious pressure point. Dylan Stewart's strip sack set up the winning field goal against Tennessee, and he now faces an A&M line that has been shaky. The Gamecocks' recent form points the same way. Over the last three weeks they have averaged 35.7 points against three SEC opponents, two of them ranked at the time.

The prices on this site's board match that view. South Carolina is favored at -257 on Novig's moneyline, and Texas A&M comes back at +245. On the spread, Novig has the Gamecocks at -7.5 with a +115 price. The best number anywhere for South Carolina is BetMGM's -7 at -112. On the Aggies' side, Novig is at +7.5 for -117, and theScore Bet is slightly better at +7.5 for -115. The total runs from 50.5 at FanDuel to 51.5 at Novig and DraftKings. Across the 12 venues, the spread and total each vary by only half a point. Sportsbook hold on the spread ranges from 3.8% to 6.7%.

After Saturday, the question is whether one more home win turns a saved season into a strong one.