On a night when Marcel Reed assumed full command of the Texas A&M offense, the Aggies’ run defense suddenly disappeared.

A once sure-tackling team was suddenly grasping at air. Numerous times, A&M’s defense had the quarterback dead to rights. And suddenly off he went, running for all sorts of daylight and green grass.

Reed, the redshirt freshman who electrified the A&M fan base earlier this season and then saved the day against LSU, had some bright moments against South Carolina. But it was LaNorris Sellers who was here, there, everywhere for the Gamecocks in a dynamite 44-20 home win over the 10th-ranked Aggies.

“That’s a heck of a team,” South Carolina coach Shane Beamer said on the ABC broadcast. “I’ve got so much respect for them and the way they play the game. And all the talk this week was how physical they are, and they are. We’re pretty damn physical, too.”

South Carolina (5-3, 3-3 SEC) has been close all season. It all finally clicked. “What a statement win by our program,” Beamer said.

South Carolina fans rushed the field, which will draw a SEC fine, not that Gamecocks officials care. But every A&M fan is asking one simple question after Saturday night: what happened to the A&M run defense?

A&M coach Mike Elko would probably like to know. College Football Playoff selection committee members must be wondering, too.

Now, what should we make of Texas A&M? The Aggies are 7-2 overall and 5-1 in SEC play. The Aggies are still in SEC title contention, albeit it’s a jumbled mess atop the league standings. But they’ve got two losses, and by all indications, a two-loss team is supposed to be on the verge of being knocked out of the 12-team CFP.

The Aggies will drop out of the top 10 on Sunday, no doubt. But they shouldn’t drop too far considering their SEC record.

South Carolina was supposed to be A&M’s toughest game left until the regular-season finale against No. 6 Texas. Considering how the defense yielded an eye-popping 530 yards, A&M fans can’t take anything for granted. Not New Mexico State on Nov. 16. Not Auburn on Nov. 23. Nothing.

But it wasn’t just the big plays — nine going for 20 yards or more. It was the way A&M’s defense yielded huge chunks of yardage via bad tackling technique or just straight-up whiffs.

Sellers rushed for 106 yards on 15 attempts while Raheim “Rocket” Sanders had 144 yards on 20 carries. Together, they both averaged more than seven yards per carry and tallied up three touchdowns.

Sellers also completed 13 of 27 passes for 244 yards and threw for two scores (15 and 57 yards).

Sellers’ performance overshadowed Reed’s. Elko was coy about whether Reed or Connor Weigman would start against the Gamecocks. Frankly, how it could have been anyone but Reed? He completed 18 of 28 passes for 206 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Reed also ran for 46 yards using the zone read plays that were so effective against LSU and will continue to work after more fine tuning.

But A&M’s defense is what’ll be under the microscope in the days ahead. The Aggies yielded 286 yards on the ground, did not register a sack and had only one quarterback pressure.

A&M is still in the national championship mix, but like most teams in the SEC, the Aggies have more work to do.