After sleepwalking through the first quarter, the Aggies have taken control of this thing in the second. But the first was God-awful.
I swear that, it doesn't matter who the Aggie coaching staff is, if there's a glaring weakness that an opponent has, they will absolutely refuse to exploit it. 125th-ranked pass defense? Run it! 125th ranked offensive line? 3-man front! They can't get a sack to save their lives? Don't block!
Offensively, A&M has essentially sucked until the last two drives. They have 112 passing yards and 27 on the ground, with three sacks allowed. Max Johnson is holding onto the ball too long, and the offensive line has been terrible yet again. The run blocking has not been great, but there have been some really big holes that Rueben Owens and Amari Daniels have flat out missed. Owens just doesn't hit the holes fast enough. He's indecisive and it costs him. The one time he did hit a hole fast, he rolled for a 14-yard touchdown. The holes have been there, but the backs don't hit them.
The passing game was timid for most of the half, and absolutely locked in to Evan Stewart. It's probably not a coincidence that the screen to Jake and the deep crosser to Ainias got things going. Max certainly looked more comfortable as the half went on. 11-15 for 133 yards and a touchdown is not bad, but the hesitation on throws just leaves you frustrated. There's absolutely no excuse for them not to keep throwing in the second half, because South Carolina cannot cover. A&M has guys running free in the secondary almost every play, and Max is locked in on someone else and doesn't see them.
South Carolina had a 65-yard drive to get their touchdown. They have 49 yards at halftime. That means that A&M took them out behind the woodshed and kicked the crap out of them in the second quarter. Spencer Rattler is definitely rattled, with three intentional grounding calls in the second quarter. He just doesn't want to be hit anymore. After playing super conservative in the first quarter, A&M brought the heat in the second and SC was just overwhelmed.
Edgerrin Cooper is a man playing a man's game. He is absolutely everywhere and hitting with fury. He has 6 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack and 2 QB hurries.
The Aggie defensive line is doing what it should against a bad and battered South Carolina front. The Gamecocks have -4 yards rushing BEFORE adding in the grounding penalties, which leaves them at -26. Their long run has been 4 yards. They're pretty much limited to short passes and rollouts, and have only targeted Xavier Legette once. If A&M keeps bringing the heat, I can't see them doing much.
Credit where it's due: after catching rightful hell for not using his timeouts late in the half the past two weekends, Jimbo called a timeout after A&M forced a South Carolina punt, which led to a short punt and a penalty and an immediate touchdown pass from Max to Ainias. He's also been much more aggressive in short yardage situations, going for it three times on 4th down and getting all three.
Oh, and bench the punter.
The Aggies can out-talent these guys and should. But here's where you prove you can dominate in all facets of the game. Get another stop, go score quick and take complete control. Don't pull your second half disappearing act. Adjust and keep attacking.
I swear that, it doesn't matter who the Aggie coaching staff is, if there's a glaring weakness that an opponent has, they will absolutely refuse to exploit it. 125th-ranked pass defense? Run it! 125th ranked offensive line? 3-man front! They can't get a sack to save their lives? Don't block!
Offensively, A&M has essentially sucked until the last two drives. They have 112 passing yards and 27 on the ground, with three sacks allowed. Max Johnson is holding onto the ball too long, and the offensive line has been terrible yet again. The run blocking has not been great, but there have been some really big holes that Rueben Owens and Amari Daniels have flat out missed. Owens just doesn't hit the holes fast enough. He's indecisive and it costs him. The one time he did hit a hole fast, he rolled for a 14-yard touchdown. The holes have been there, but the backs don't hit them.
The passing game was timid for most of the half, and absolutely locked in to Evan Stewart. It's probably not a coincidence that the screen to Jake and the deep crosser to Ainias got things going. Max certainly looked more comfortable as the half went on. 11-15 for 133 yards and a touchdown is not bad, but the hesitation on throws just leaves you frustrated. There's absolutely no excuse for them not to keep throwing in the second half, because South Carolina cannot cover. A&M has guys running free in the secondary almost every play, and Max is locked in on someone else and doesn't see them.
South Carolina had a 65-yard drive to get their touchdown. They have 49 yards at halftime. That means that A&M took them out behind the woodshed and kicked the crap out of them in the second quarter. Spencer Rattler is definitely rattled, with three intentional grounding calls in the second quarter. He just doesn't want to be hit anymore. After playing super conservative in the first quarter, A&M brought the heat in the second and SC was just overwhelmed.
Edgerrin Cooper is a man playing a man's game. He is absolutely everywhere and hitting with fury. He has 6 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack and 2 QB hurries.
The Aggie defensive line is doing what it should against a bad and battered South Carolina front. The Gamecocks have -4 yards rushing BEFORE adding in the grounding penalties, which leaves them at -26. Their long run has been 4 yards. They're pretty much limited to short passes and rollouts, and have only targeted Xavier Legette once. If A&M keeps bringing the heat, I can't see them doing much.
Credit where it's due: after catching rightful hell for not using his timeouts late in the half the past two weekends, Jimbo called a timeout after A&M forced a South Carolina punt, which led to a short punt and a penalty and an immediate touchdown pass from Max to Ainias. He's also been much more aggressive in short yardage situations, going for it three times on 4th down and getting all three.
Oh, and bench the punter.
The Aggies can out-talent these guys and should. But here's where you prove you can dominate in all facets of the game. Get another stop, go score quick and take complete control. Don't pull your second half disappearing act. Adjust and keep attacking.
