Hill leads A&M's rout of South Carolina Manziel's successor shatters school mark with 511 yards passing

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COLUMBIA, S.C. - Texas A&M sophomore Kenny Hill admitted to a bundle of nerves on Thursday night. In the postgame news conference, perhaps, but not in the four previous hours on the football field.

The Aggies' new starting quarterback had A&M's opponents and preseason critics eating humble pie.

"I was more excited than nervous," Hill said, smiling. "I was ready to go."

Was he ever. The No. 21 Aggies stunned No. 9 South Carolina 52-28 in an oft-hushed Williams-Brice Stadium, in the first live contest on the new SEC Network. And once again under third-year coach Kevin Sumlin and a flashy new quarterback, the Aggies appear to be must-see TV this season.

"We were 10-point underdogs," A&M defensive end Julien Obioha said. "By the score of the game, we proved everybody wrong."

Hill, who completed 44 of 60 passes for 511 yards, set the school's single-game passing mark, snapping Johnny Manziel's 464 from last year in a loss to Alabama. Hill also now owns A&M's single-game completion mark (previously held by Jerrod Johnson with 40 in 2010).

The Aggies coolly marched 67 yards on nine plays on the opening drive to begin their all-night process of consistently quieting the crowd.

The Aggies for the most part had put this one away by halftime, in leading 31-14 against a program that debuted its own new starting quarterback, Dylan Thompson. Connor Shaw's replacement didn't fare nearly as well, completing only half his 40 passes, although he managed four touchdown passes.

It was all systems go for quarterback Kenny Hill and the A&M offense Thursday night at Williams-Brice Stadium. The Aggies rolled up 52 points and 680 yards against South Carolina. It was all systems go for quarterback Kenny Hill and the A&M offense Thursday night at Williams-Brice Stadium. The Aggies rolled up 52 points and 680 yards against South Carolina. Photo: Grant Halverson, Stringer Photo: Grant Halverson, Stringer Image 1 of / 47 Caption Close Hill leads A&M's rout of South Carolina 1 / 47 Back to Gallery

"It was obvious the oddsmakers don't know what they're talking about," a befuddled Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier said. "That team was so much better than us it wasn't funny. … It was a mismatch tonight. If we played them again, they'd be a three-touchdown favorite. We tried everything we could to slow them down."

A&M snapped an 18-game home winning streak for stunned South Carolina, thanks in large part to Hill's calm and confidence under pressure.

"I've been ready for this my whole life," Hill said. "Everybody was doubting us, and I was just ready to (prove) people wrong."

Hill completed passes to a dozen receivers in giving new meaning to the term spreading the ball around. The Aggies' 680 yards of offense were the most ever allowed by a South Carolina squad.

"That's one of our recruiting tools," Sumlin said. "There's only one football, but we like to get it to a bunch of guys and don't like to wear one player out."

Sumlin owns a 21-6 record in his third season in the SEC, and Thursday's triumph ranked up there with A&M stunning top-ranked Alabama two years prior behind Manziel.

"You never know," Sumlin said of how he anticipated his team reacting in that environment. "We've got a bunch of young guys out there. … (But) there was a confidence about this team, and quite frankly there was a little chip on their shoulder, because basically nobody even gave us a chance for this to be a close game.

"What we did tonight kind of showed that we're not a one-trick pony. We're not anywhere where we want to be as a team, but we're not going anywhere any time soon."

The Aggies' biggest setback of the night came in the third quarter, when linebacker A.J. Hilliard, a transfer from TCU, left with a dislocated ankle. Sumlin said the injury will sideline Hilliard, who was turning in an outstanding game, "a while." Starting tight end Cameron Clear exited in the first half with an ankle injury, and offensive coordinator Jake Spavital said the staff had to overhaul its game plan in his absence.

By halftime, Hill had completed 27 of 35 passes for 299 yards, with touchdown passes to Ricky Seals-Jones and Edward Pope. A&M, leading 10-7 after the first quarter, really piled it on after settling down in the alleged hostile environment.

"You never think you'll give up 500 yards passing, but they had 99 plays," Gamecocks defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward said. "That's the most plays I've been a part of since I've been a defensive coach. That's my fault."

The Aggies tripled up the Gamecocks 21-7 in the second quarter, with Seals-Jones collecting a 3-yard touchdown pass from Hill, Pope grabbing a beautiful 14-yard pass, and running back Tra Carson punching in his second rushing touchdown (of three total) of the contest.