Texas A&M football has some things to figure out after its embarrassing collapse on the road against the UCLA Bruins.
The Texas A&M Aggies blew a lead that could go down as one of the biggest collapses of the 2017 college football season. Head coach Kevin Sumlin’s days might be numbered in College Station. Blowing a 34-point lead in the fourth quarter is something that should not happen to any respectable head coach.
Texas A&M might give Sumlin a few more weeks to prove himself, but no more than that if he does not turn things around quickly. The Aggies have steadily regressed, it seems, over the past few seasons since Johnny Manziel left College Station.
Last year, the Aggies had something good going until transfer quarterback Trevor Knight went down with injury. Each time that Sumlin needs to make a call to piece his roster together after a key injury he’s not able to make the most of the opportunity. His game management can now be called into question as well.
On the other hand, the UCLA Bruins played a horrible game through the first three quarters. Star quarterback Josh Rosen could not find his way and the offensive line couldn’t protect him at all. UCLA’s head coach, Jim Mora, entered the contest in much of the same situation as Sumlin. If Texas A&M had held on and won by double-digit points then Mora could be in the same position Sumlin is right now.
While UCLA sits in a good spot right now, their inconsistent performance over the course of the two halves brings some concerns. Can UCLA keep the momentum going into the next few weeks? And, is this the level of play we can expect from Rosen for the rest of the year? We’ll have to wait and see.
Now, let’s take a look at five overractions from the Texas A&M loss to UCLA.
1. Kevin Sumlin should be fired this week
There’s some quality coaching prospects on the market right now. The Aggies should not hesistate to explore their options if they have their minds set on firing Kevin Sumlin. It’s better to do it sooner rather than later.
Ultimately, Texas A&M needs to shake things up somehow. This program has been declining consistently for too long now. If the Aggies don’t find a way to start racking up wins soon, the SEC West will eat them up.
If Sumlin is not fired until Week 4 against the Arkansas Razorbacks, it could be too little too late. Texas A&M has two easy matchups coming up in the next two weeks. It could be a chance for Sumlin to redeem himself or the Aggies could be losing their chance at finding a new direction to go in.
This decision is a huge one for the Texas A&M program. Things are a mess right now and they need to make a decision soon. That decision will most likely be to let Sumlin go. Especially if the Regents Board agrees with Tony Buzbee and thinks he “should go now”, according to USA Today.
4. Texas A&M does not have good options at QB
Sumlin announced this weekend that Texas A&M would go with redshirt freshman Nick Starkel as the starting quarterback. However, Starkel got injured while the Aggies had a large lead. True freshman Kellen Mond took over after Starkel’s injury.
Mond had trouble finding any of his receivers. He only completed three passes on 17 attempts for 27 yards. Mond rushed for twice as many yards as he passed for. If this is the type of production that the Aggies can expect from their starting quarterback, they’re going to have trouble winning any games.
Texas A&M’s biggest source of offense came from their ground attack. Oklahoma transfer Keith Ford rushed for 114 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore Trayveon Williams was the most productive, though. Williams rushed for 203 yards and two touchdowns.
If Starkel comes back strong after his foot injury recovers, he is the best option for the Aggies behind center. Yet, Starkel did not even play that well. He completed less than half of his passing attempts. Texas A&M’s quarterback situation does not have much hope right now.
3. Secondary will continue to struggle
The secondary did a great job against one of the most talented quarterbacks in the country in the first half. Rosen was not able to do much in the first two quarters as the Aggies roared out to a 44-10 lead at one point.
However, the second half was a different story. UCLA figured out how to protect Rosen in the third and fourth quarters and Texas A&M’s defensive backs had too much pressure put on them to shut down the UCLA receiving corps.
Related Story: Why Kevin Sumlin should be fired after UCLA loss
Tight end Caleb Wilson and receivers Darren Andrews and Jordan Lasley had their way with the Aggie secondary. Wilson caught 15 passes for 203 yards, while Andrews and Lasley both combined for 247 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Texas A&M lost their best defensive back from last year in Justin Evans. This year, they rely on Armani Watts to lead the secondary. Watts is a talented DB but the rest of the secondary does not look to be in good shape.
2. Jim Mora will keep his job for the rest of the year
One of these two head coaches were going to put themselves in a good position for the next few weeks and one’s seat was going to become even hotter. Jim Mora put himself in a good position to have some job security, at least for the next few weeks.
If Rosen stays healthy, then Mora will likely keep his job for the rest of the season. It makes your head coach look very good when the quarterback passes for more than 400 yards and leads a 34-point comeback.
UCLA has an easier slate over the next two weeks. They face Hawaii and Memphis before taking on the Stanford Cardinal. If UCLA enters the Stanford game undefeated then the Bruin fan base should be happy enough with the job Mora is doing.
Texas A&M now knows the struggle of having a head coach on the hot seat and having the immediate futre of the program called into question. UCLA got themselves a massive victory and saved their coaches job, at least for a couple weeks.
1. Rushing attack is the only hope for the offense
Texas A&M scored 44 points behind their run game. Trayveon Williams and Keith Ford had their way with UCLA’s defense for three quarters. When the Aggies started trying to throw the ball more, things started to fall apart.
It almost looked too easy for the Aggies to run the ball on the Bruins in the first half. Ford and Williams combined for five first half touchdowns, including a 61-yard touchdown run for Williams at the end of the second quarter.
Moving forward, the Aggies should take this as a lesson and rely of their ground game. Williams and Ford are talented running backs and can carry this team. With two freshmen vying for time at quarterback, they need the help of the run game to get settled in.
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It’s a shame that All-American wide receiver Christian Kirk does not have someone, at least yet, that can throw the ball to him consistently. Kirk only caught five passes for 60 yards. The Aggies will have to find other ways to get him the ball.