POST GAME THOUGHTS: A&M TAKES DOWN #4 FLORIDA

I genuinely dont even know where to begin. This game was an emotional rollercoaster full of silly mistakes, errant penalties, turnovers from both sides...it had everything.

In order to win this game we had to 1) not lose the turnover battle, 2) have Kellen play a clean game and 3) get a running back over 100 yards.

And despite a litany of issues we did all three.

Your Fightin Texas Aggies came back from being down 10+ points to beat a top 5 team at Kyle Field for the first time since 2002. Let’s break this down so we can go and celebrate

OFFENSE

Kellen Mond played the best game of his life. Period. He finished the day 25/35 (71%!)for 338, 3 TDs, and no turnovers. For all the flack that kid has caught over the course of his career, when it mattered he played his ass off. The critics said he couldnt hit the long ball, and he did that. He played a masterful game, and I damn well expect the detractors to give him his credit today because he deserves it.

And to help him out, the WRs made tough grabs. Caleb Chapman finished the day with 9 catches for 151 yards solidifying himself as the matchup nightmare we hoped he’d be. Jalen Wydermyer had sticky hands making huge grabs. Chase Lane made tough clutch catches. We might be seeing our WRs come of age.

The offensive line was fantastic today. Josh Henson came in with a lot of fanfare and today he showed why. Kenyon Green is a monster. Amazing things can happen when you win the line of scrimmage and we won the line of scrimmage today.

Last but not least, Jimbo’s strategy relies on us being able to run the ball...we cannot win if we dont run the ball well. Today Spiller was a man among boys with 27 carries for 174 yards. 6.4 YARDS A CARRY!

What a damn game for the offense

DEFENSE

We had issues throughout, cant lie about that. Much of that was due to Kyle Trask being a savvy 5th year senior who knows how to run this offense. In addition to the regular issues of coverage busts and not being able to get pressure from the edge, we had uncharacteristically sloppy tackling and just boneheaded penalties. One series we had a INT negated by hands to the face, and then followed that up with offsetting personal foul penalties. Just not a clean game.

But you know what? The best time to clean shit up is when you’re coming off a win. And we got that win. When we needed a turnover senior LB Buddy Johnson came up with a strip and Demarvin Leal fell on it which led to the go ahead score. Make plays when you need to make plays. And we did that today.

AND HOW ABOUT SETH SMALL COMING UP BIG WITH THE FINAL KICK.

OVERALL

This was a character building game because we had to make our way out of the muck to get it. It wasnt easy, and we didnt make it easy on ourselves, but we relied on our seniors, our stars, and we had some stars emerge.

Everything is on the table for the rest of the year. Every single thing. This team is better than you think it is and we’re just getting started.

Enjoy your Saturday afternoon. I damn sure am.

BTHO miss st