Texas A&M football squeaked by Nicholls State on Saturday night in their home opener. Let’s overreact to the close victory.
The Aggies struggled in all aspects of the game on Saturday night in their home opener. Even though they came out victorious, it was barely what an SEC team should consider a win. They have a lot of growing to do before they begin SEC play in two weeks.
Kellen Mond was the starter for the Aggies as Nick Starkel was hurt vs. UCLA. He wasn’t obnoxiously bad, but he wasn’t what the Aggies need in a starter. Senior Jake Hubenak took the ball early in the second half and was marginally better.
The Aggies tried to spread out the ball offensively, giving more guys than just Kirk and Williams touches and it did help, but they will need obnoxiously more amounts of offense to make it through SEC play. Kendall Bussey had a strong game, a career high 97 yards. With the losses of men like Josh Reynolds and Edward Pope on the offensive side of the ball, the Aggies will need as many weapons as they can get.
Defensively, the Aggies struggled all over the field. Otaro Alaka, Tyrel Dodson and Daylon Mack had strong showings all game long. The three of them will be extremely important as the Aggies enter SEC play, especially without Donovan Wilson.
What did Saturday teach us about the Aggies? Here are five overreactions from the game that may or may not truly be overreactions at all.
5. The struggle to finish is alarming
The Aggies have one main issue this season through two games, they cannot finish what they start. At UCLA, they blew a 34-point lead in a little over a quarter. That was good for the second largest comeback in NCAA history. To say that Aggie fans were disappointed in this showing would be a significant understatement.
Many thought that this would be an easy game for Texas A&M, a team from a town in Louisiana that wasn’t named Baton Rouge and wasn’t purple and gold. Easy right? Wrong.
The Aggies jumped out to a 14-0 lead behind two touchdowns, one from Kirk and one from Williams. However, that lead deteriorated as the game wore on as did the Aggie offense and defense. That deterioration was nothing new, as we had just watched them do it against UCLA as well.
This is not something new for Texas A&M. The Aggies have struggled to finish not only games, but full seasons. Last year it was UCLA and Tennessee that caused the Aggies to struggle to finish, even though they pulled out wins in both of those contests. They were not so lucky against UCLA this year. We have also seen the Aggies collapse season and season again in November, going 8-5 the last three consecutive season despite undefeated starts.
The inability to finish games will catch up with the Aggies and absolutely crush them as the season continues. If they cannot play a full four quarters, SEC play will be a serious chore for both the team and the fans.
4. The Aggie defense is absolutely atrocious
With the departure of Myles Garrett, most were sure that the Aggie defense would take a turn for the worst. Garrett, along with many others who departed in 2016, were essential members of the Aggie front. Without these leaders, you can definitely see the struggles clear as day.
While the group has their strong moments and bright stars, as a unit they are struggling. Giving up 14 points to Nicholls State and being unable to sustain a 34 point lead is unacceptable as members of the SEC.
The Aggie passing defense is mediocre at best and the running defense isn’t much better. They will have to make huge strides in the next two weeks heading into SEC play if they want a chance in SEC play. Stronger offenses, for example the Tide or the LSU Tigers running attack, will squish the current Aggies front. We saw exactly what happened when Josh Rosen and UCLA turned up the heat. That could easily happen against any one of the SEC teams A&M has on the upcoming slate.
On the bright side, young players like Tyrel Dodson and Daylon Mack have shown tremendous growth from a season ago. In a defense that was expected to be lead by Armani Watts and Donovan Wilson, seeing young guns flex their muscles is indeed a bright spot for fans going forward.
3. Trayveon Williams is the star of the Aggie offense
For the last three years, the Aggie offense has been centered around one constant name- Christian Kirk. It was well deserved, but as the offense continues to evolve from quarterback to quarterback, it would seem a new chief is in town. His name is Trayveon Williams. As the first true freshman in Aggie history to eclipse 1,000 yards rushing with 1,057, he is running into Aggie record books.
The sophomore running back has been spectacular for the Aggies this season. He has three rushing touchdowns and 256 total yard so far and that number should grow steadily as the season continues on. They will lean on him heavily going forward, hoping that the offensive line can continue to make holes big enough for him to find first downs and hopefully, like the video above, the endzone.
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If the Aggies had a “Heisman Contender” it would undoubtably be Williams. The young man has some sort of second gear that triggers when he gets into open space that is unmatched by anyone else on the Aggie roster. He could easily be the best player on the offense this season, even outmatching senior star Christian Kirk. And the team has at least one more season with him.
Right now though, what they can count on is Williams giving it his all on every carry, fighting for every yard and working hand in hand with Keith Ford to give the offense the best chance to put points on the board.
2. Kellen Mond may never live up to his billing
Unless you were living under a rock the last two weeks, you are well aware of the quarterback issue at Texas A&M. With Nick Starkel out likely for the season after ankle surgery, the team turned to QB Kellen Mond and that, well it didn’t go well. Not at all. Christian Kirk, senior leader on the team, apparently didn’t have much faith in the young gun as he sent the below text to senior QB Jake Hubenak. It is likely that Hubenak will be the Aggie’s quarterback going forward.
Texas A&M WR Christian Kirk said he sent QB Jake Hubenak a text after UCLA game that said, 'We're going to rely on you."
— 𝕋𝕣𝕒𝕧𝕚𝕤 𝕃. 𝔹𝕣𝕠𝕨𝕟 (@Travis_L_Brown) September 10, 2017
Kellen Mond was projected to be one of the best quarterbacks of the 2017 class. His numbers were staggering and his ability to make plays with his legs reminded fans of Johnny Football, which had them all very excited. However, after summer practice concluded, it was decided that he would be second string. He wasn’t consistent enough to fill the starting role for the Aggies just yet. And that has been seen front and center as he was thrust into the spotlight.
The question now remains, will Kellen Mond live up to the billing that he brought with him as a recruit? Will he be strong enough to compete for the starting position this season? The next one? Or will he become another QB to transfer from Texas A&M. Only time will tell, but right now it’s not looking too great.
1. The Aggies won’t be bowl eligible this season
As an Aggie myself, this is the hardest section to write. However, with what the Aggies have put on the field getting to seven wins doesn’t seem as achievable as it once did. With all the struggles outlined above, even with the bright spots, it seems like a hard feat to reach.
If Coach Sumlin needs more than eight wins to not be shown the door, then this may be his last season at A&M. Watching the struggles against a less than dominant Nicholls State makes any SEC team seem like Goliath. That isn’t to say the team cannot improve and shock the world, but at the present time it isn’t looking too good.
On the bright side, even if the Aggies have been less than successful on the field, the athletics department has come together in support to those affected by Hurricane Harvey and that is extremely inspirational to watch.
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Hopefully the guys will be able to take that passion and throw it into the rest of the season, pushing them toward another bowl game. Right now however, the best the Aggies can do is focus on LA Lafayette and improving on what they can control. The rest will hopefully fall into place.