I made this comparison doing our postgame wrap with Courtney a few minutes ago, but this game kind of reminds me of the movie Rocky. You get knocked to the mat time after time, get up and keep coming. Then you're the one landing the big punches and the objective is no longer just going the distance, it's to win.
And time runs out and you're out-pointed. That's how I feel about tonight's game.
The Aggies learned a lot tonight. One, they know they can play physical football with anyone. They've got players with tremendous upside who aren't going to back down from adversity.
And they're still not good enough to make mistakes and win, especially against a veteran, disciplined and well-coached team.
Let's start with the offense. Kellen Mond made two key mistakes, a fumble and interception, that cost A&M dearly. The Minka Fitzpatrick one may have been the difference in the game. He held onto the ball too long several times and took sacks he shouldn't have. And you know what? He's the reason the Aggies were in position to at the end to take a final shot. He was 19-27 for 237 yards and a score, and ran another one in. The guy kept plays alive with this feet and had the most Manziel-esqe play we've seen in years on his touchdown pass to Christian Kirk. He outgained Jalen Hurts, the sexy Heisman pick, 251 to 176.
If anyone's not real happy with themselves, it should be the offensive line. With the exception of Koda Martin, nobody played well. Keaton Sutherland got manhandled repeatedly, and they couldn't get a push in the running game. That was to be expected -- Alabama doesn't give up yards to anyone -- but it's still kind of embarrassing. But Mond bailed them up a few times, and the wideouts really came through late. Damion Ratley's big catch on 4th down was brilliant, and Christian Kirk and Camron Buckley made big plays. It wasn't enough, but to see those guys keep coming after being down 24-3 is impressive.
Equally impressive was the overall performance of the defense. Alabama was averaging 46 points a game and more than 500 yards of total offense coming in, and basically got shut down in the second half. They had 110 yards of total offense after halftime, and 75 came on one drive. They averaged a mere 4 yards a play after the half and 1.76 yards per carry in the second half. After Damien Harris' 79-yard run, they averaged 3.7 yards a rush for the game.
In past years, Alabama's goal has been to establish the run in the middle against A&M, then really kill them running outside. They had a little success in the middle and zero running outside. The Aggies are now, simply, too fast defensively for them to get outside. That bodes well the rest of the way.
Tyrel Dodson may well be the best middle linebacker the Aggies have had since Dat Nguyen. Think that's bombast? I would submit his stat line tonight: 16 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1 sack. That's Dat stuff. That's Dat against Texas Tech in 1998 stuff. It's REALLY good. I thought Armani Watts also had a good game, bouncing back from a couple of subpar performances to gut his way through a bad shoulder to really help the rush defense.
The guys up front impressed me immensely. Zaycoven Henderson and Kingsley Keke both had excellent nights, with Henderson crushing the interior of the Alabama line against both the rush and the pass. With the exception of one big 38-yard run, Hurts didn't really didn't damage A&M greatly with his feet. They did what they needed to do, pressure him in the middle and hold up the edges. Both Landis Durham and Jarrett Johnson continue to make liars out of those who thought defensive end was a deficiency (hi there) by holding their own against Alabama's big line and really pushing the tackles around late.
Alabama came in having only given up 4 sacks. The Aggies got Hurts for 3 and got him for no gain at least three other times. They finally got Alabama to turn the ball over, the first time they'd done that in 11 months (that, kids, is crazy). The secondary that had been gouged repeatedly did pretty well, holding hurts to 155 yards through the air.
But it's still a loss, and it's really self-inflicted. Tray Williams' fumble led to a touchdown for Alabama. The Aggies were flat immediately after halftime and the Tide marched the length of the field. Mond took some sacks he shouldn't have taken. The coaches called some horribly foolish plays in critical situations, and even had trouble getting one in to help bury the Aggies deep in their own end. They couldn't run. They gave up 4 sacks after the starters only gave up 2 the last 3 games. They lost the turnover battle 3 to 1.
And they were there at the end, having gotten up off the mat down 24-3 and it was Alabama who was, for lack of a better term, saved by the bell. The Aggies, in past years, were destroyed by Alabama's physical nature. This year, they gave as good as they got, and that's something to be proud of. But losing isn't. Moral victories suck and coaches don't hang their hats on them. They hang their hats on real ones, and the Aggies have a shot to learn from this and go on a run. Florida isn't good. LSU isn't either. Mississippi State appears to have crushed a bad team and that's it. Ole Miss is pitiful. Auburn is...well, really good. But the chances for a good, unexpected year are there.
IF, and only IF, A&M bounces back, learns from its mistakes and eliminates them. Scaring the hell out of Alabama is nice and should be a confidence boost, but confidence is fleeting if you don't follow it up with solid play. The opportunity for them to continue to grow and win is there. Let's see if they take advantage.
And time runs out and you're out-pointed. That's how I feel about tonight's game.
The Aggies learned a lot tonight. One, they know they can play physical football with anyone. They've got players with tremendous upside who aren't going to back down from adversity.
And they're still not good enough to make mistakes and win, especially against a veteran, disciplined and well-coached team.
Let's start with the offense. Kellen Mond made two key mistakes, a fumble and interception, that cost A&M dearly. The Minka Fitzpatrick one may have been the difference in the game. He held onto the ball too long several times and took sacks he shouldn't have. And you know what? He's the reason the Aggies were in position to at the end to take a final shot. He was 19-27 for 237 yards and a score, and ran another one in. The guy kept plays alive with this feet and had the most Manziel-esqe play we've seen in years on his touchdown pass to Christian Kirk. He outgained Jalen Hurts, the sexy Heisman pick, 251 to 176.
If anyone's not real happy with themselves, it should be the offensive line. With the exception of Koda Martin, nobody played well. Keaton Sutherland got manhandled repeatedly, and they couldn't get a push in the running game. That was to be expected -- Alabama doesn't give up yards to anyone -- but it's still kind of embarrassing. But Mond bailed them up a few times, and the wideouts really came through late. Damion Ratley's big catch on 4th down was brilliant, and Christian Kirk and Camron Buckley made big plays. It wasn't enough, but to see those guys keep coming after being down 24-3 is impressive.
Equally impressive was the overall performance of the defense. Alabama was averaging 46 points a game and more than 500 yards of total offense coming in, and basically got shut down in the second half. They had 110 yards of total offense after halftime, and 75 came on one drive. They averaged a mere 4 yards a play after the half and 1.76 yards per carry in the second half. After Damien Harris' 79-yard run, they averaged 3.7 yards a rush for the game.
In past years, Alabama's goal has been to establish the run in the middle against A&M, then really kill them running outside. They had a little success in the middle and zero running outside. The Aggies are now, simply, too fast defensively for them to get outside. That bodes well the rest of the way.
Tyrel Dodson may well be the best middle linebacker the Aggies have had since Dat Nguyen. Think that's bombast? I would submit his stat line tonight: 16 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1 sack. That's Dat stuff. That's Dat against Texas Tech in 1998 stuff. It's REALLY good. I thought Armani Watts also had a good game, bouncing back from a couple of subpar performances to gut his way through a bad shoulder to really help the rush defense.
The guys up front impressed me immensely. Zaycoven Henderson and Kingsley Keke both had excellent nights, with Henderson crushing the interior of the Alabama line against both the rush and the pass. With the exception of one big 38-yard run, Hurts didn't really didn't damage A&M greatly with his feet. They did what they needed to do, pressure him in the middle and hold up the edges. Both Landis Durham and Jarrett Johnson continue to make liars out of those who thought defensive end was a deficiency (hi there) by holding their own against Alabama's big line and really pushing the tackles around late.
Alabama came in having only given up 4 sacks. The Aggies got Hurts for 3 and got him for no gain at least three other times. They finally got Alabama to turn the ball over, the first time they'd done that in 11 months (that, kids, is crazy). The secondary that had been gouged repeatedly did pretty well, holding hurts to 155 yards through the air.
But it's still a loss, and it's really self-inflicted. Tray Williams' fumble led to a touchdown for Alabama. The Aggies were flat immediately after halftime and the Tide marched the length of the field. Mond took some sacks he shouldn't have taken. The coaches called some horribly foolish plays in critical situations, and even had trouble getting one in to help bury the Aggies deep in their own end. They couldn't run. They gave up 4 sacks after the starters only gave up 2 the last 3 games. They lost the turnover battle 3 to 1.
And they were there at the end, having gotten up off the mat down 24-3 and it was Alabama who was, for lack of a better term, saved by the bell. The Aggies, in past years, were destroyed by Alabama's physical nature. This year, they gave as good as they got, and that's something to be proud of. But losing isn't. Moral victories suck and coaches don't hang their hats on them. They hang their hats on real ones, and the Aggies have a shot to learn from this and go on a run. Florida isn't good. LSU isn't either. Mississippi State appears to have crushed a bad team and that's it. Ole Miss is pitiful. Auburn is...well, really good. But the chances for a good, unexpected year are there.
IF, and only IF, A&M bounces back, learns from its mistakes and eliminates them. Scaring the hell out of Alabama is nice and should be a confidence boost, but confidence is fleeting if you don't follow it up with solid play. The opportunity for them to continue to grow and win is there. Let's see if they take advantage.
