A PS3 Season in Review: The saga concludes

Welcome back, y’all. Check out part one for the preamble and the first three games of the season.

Here we go.

Game #4: Texas A&M vs. Arkansas (Arlington, TX)

Ah, Arkansas. Pleasant, dependable Arkansas.

A boring first half left us tied at ten at the break, but A&M jumped ahead 17-10 late in the third quarter. Which, of course, meant that Arkansas immediately answered with a 63 yard run to tie the game.

At this point, we saw a staple of seemingly every A&M/Arkansas game since our move to the SEC: Arkansas shoots themselves in the foot at a critical juncture

Play of the game

Yes, that’s us catching a dropped interception for a touchdown (followed by a ‘zero frans given’ celebration by Trevor Knight).

Any time you have a football hangover, just take two teaspoons of early season Arkansas and call me in the morning.

Final Score: Texas A&M 34, Arkansas 17

Editor’s note: Don’t take a medicine called Arkansas

Game #5: Texas A&M at South Carolina (Columbia, SC)

If this happened in real life, some of us might not make it.

The game stretched into the fourth as an ugly 17-14 mess in SC’s favor, but the Ags capitalized on a turnover deep in enemy territory to go up four with 1:23 remaining.

Chief and the D needed a stop... and they cratered, giving up huge chunks of yardage before finally holding ground at our 14. SC had no timeouts, and we were looking at a 4th and 8 to win the game.

Play of the game

That’s not good. SC gets to the line and kills the clock with :03 remaining. We’ve got one play to decide the game. Literally one.

Play of the game, part two

Like I said, some of us wouldn't make it.

Final Score: South Carolina 24, Texas A&M 21

Game #6: Texas A&M vs. New Mexico St. (Kyle Field)

This was a horrible, horrible 11:00 am football game.

Details: One TD, 13 punts, and the worst passing statistics you'll ever see - virtual Trevor was 12/27 (44%) and virtual NMSU guy clocked in at a healthy 9/30 (30%). If you were seated in the first few rows, your safety was not guaranteed. Our one rushing Touchdown was enough to lock in an ugly, ugly victory.

Play of the game: Nah.

Final Score: Texas A&M 16, NMSU 9

Editor’s note: We had to move this game two weeks earlier for virtual scheduling purposes. The actual game against NMSU is our 8th game of the year.

Game #7: Texas A&M vs. Tennessee (Kyle Field)

The mental anguish from South Carolina was still fresh. This wasn't fair.

Tennessee went 6/28 passing, yet somehow had a 17-13 lead coming down the stretch. We punched in a TD with 1:47 remaining, but UT drove the length of the field with no timeouts for a game-tying FG as time expired.

Overtime was over before it started, as Tennessee's quick TD drive was immediately followed by Knight's third lost fumble of the day.

With the loss, Texas A&M fell to 3-4. The highlights failed to load, which is probably for the best.

Final Score: Tennessee 28, Texas A&M 20 (OT)

Game #8: Texas A&M at Alabama (Tuscaloosa, AL)

Sure, we could talk about this game and show some highlights. We could. Or you could trust that I'm saving you a great deal of pain and heartache.

The Aggies were now 1-5 in games not played against purchased non-conference wins, and Trevor Knight officially feared for his life.

This is the darkest timeline.

Final Score: Alabama 37, Texas A&M 18

Game #9: Bye week

Whew. A much needed break. There was a big decision to be made during the bye week... but I needed y’all’s help.

Thanks, guys. Thanks.

Game #9: Texas A&M at Mississippi State (Starkville, MS)

You know what? I don’t care. I’m going to listen to Aggie Twitter.

Behold, Trevor Knight and Jake Hubenak on the field at the same time. Stare deeply into the future you have created, friends.

This is the life you have chosen.

Weird. It’s almost as if they don’t respect the running ability of Jake Hubenak, our new tailback. The offense ran four snaps with both guys in the game for a cumulative -13 yards. Oh, and Trevor got hurt on the 4th play.

Don’t look at me... this blood is on your hands.

When Jake stepped in, the team looked alive. He only took one sack (a huuuuge improvement), and kept the down/distance manageable. The result was 245 yards of rushing and almost 500 yards of total offense.

Yes, MSU turned out to be pretty terrible... but hey. It's a start.

Play of the game

Look at that push. This game is easy when you blow your opponents off the line.

Final Score: Texas A&M 44, Mississippi State 14

Editor’s note: Trevor is officially announced as out for the season.

Game #10: Texas A&M vs. Ole Miss (Kyle Field)

Jake, Sumlin, and the boys punched Ole Miss in the mouth from the word go, building a 31-9 lead by the end of the 3rd quarter. Ole Miss turned on the charm with two late TD drives, but by that point we were too busy printing #HubesForHeisman17 campaign T-shirts to notice.

Play of the game

The Hail Mary falls short, and the victory is complete.

We now own the state of Mississippi. I don't know what we're going to do with it, or if we even want it.... but we own it.

Final Score: Texas A&M 31, Ole Miss 24

Game #11: Texas A&M vs. UTSA (Kyle Field)

Somebody needs to tell these "paycheck game" teams to calm down. For the third non-con game running, we struggled heavily in the first half and made the afternoon much tougher than it needed to be. The Roadrunners took a 17-14 lead into the fourth quarter, but our boy Jake threw three 4th quarter TD's to put the locals at ease. Did he throw four interceptions before that? Perhaps. But a late A&M pick six finally put this sucker to bed, and we could all focus on bowl eligibility.

Deep breath. Three wins in a row. 6-5. Perhaps all is not lost.

Final Score: Texas A&M 42, UTSA 20

Game #12: Texas A&M vs. LSU (Kyle Field)

This was the game that could save the season. Our early heartache could be salvaged with a win here, and all parties knew it. Which, of course, meant that LSU jumped out to a methodical, boring 17-7 halftime lead.

The teams traded field goals in the third quarter, but the A&M offense finally woke up in the 4th. Two TD drives gave us a 24-20 lead late, and we could finally taste it. It was going to happen this time. It was. All we needed was a stand from the Chief. One stop.

Play of the game

Crap. We still had a minute remaining and a timeout, but I think even the most optimistic Aggies knew how this was going to end.

Play of the game, part 2

Why do I do this.

Final Score: LSU 34, Texas A&M 24

Bowl Season

Texas A&M was not offered a bowl invite at 6-6. It was probably for the best, as longtime readers will note that our previous experience with virtual bowl attendance was subpar.

Across the Country

SEC West

1. Auburn 11-1
2. LSU 10-2
3. Ole Miss 8-4
4. Alabama 7-5
5. Texas A&M 6-6
6. Mississippi State 5-7
7. Arkansas 4-8

SEC East

1. Georgia 9-3
2. Tennessee 8-4
3. Florida 8-4
4. Missouri 7-5
5. South Carolina 5-7
6. Kentucky 3-9
7. Vanderbilt 2-10

National Championship: Ohio State over Clemson