© Maria Lysaker, USA TODAY
Can Texas A&M Fix Run Game Woes Before Facing Appalachian State?
COLLEGE STATION - - Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher was pleased that his offensive line didn’t allow a sack in its 31-0 win over Sam Houston. Everything else, however, needs work.
Since arriving in College Station in 2018, Fisher’s offense has featured a consistent rushing attack. That wasn’t the case Saturday at Kyle Field when the No. 6 Aggies (1-0) only managed to rush for 110 yards and average 3.4 yards per play against the Bearkats’ front seven.
“We’re going to have to run the football — that’s what we do,” Fisher said Monday. “We’re going to run the football and we’ve got to get synchronized and get things together.”
Last season, A&M tallied 2,196 rushing yards on 418 carries. Led by running backs Isaiah Spiller and Devon Achane, the duo averaged over 5.5 yards per run and scored at least five touchdowns en route to an 8-4 record.
Regarding replacing talent, the Aggies lost two-time All-American Kenyon Green at right guard and left tackle Jahmir Johnson to the NFL Draft. A&M was also missing starting center Byce Foster Saturday due to an illness.
The results showed.
Achane, who led the SEC in yards per attempt last season (7.0), averaged a mere 2.3 yards per carry on 18 carries behind the new offensive line. While he scored on a 1-yard run in the third quarter, the play was set up by three completions from quarterback Haynes King to his receivers earlier in the drive.
“We’ve got to get [Achane] some space,” Fisher said. “You get him some space and good things happen for you. That will always be an emphasis.”
Achane is expected to be an x-factor for the Aggies’ success in 2022. King, who finished with 364 passing yards and three touchdowns, also added 35 rushing yards to his stat line on six carries.
Fisher said the offensive line needs to have better communication up front. Far too often, a player missed an assigned block, allowing the Bearkats ample time to swallow up both Achane and King in the backfield.
“We’ve got to calm down and just get back to the fundamentals,” Fisher said. “Everything was fundamentally fixed – whether you’ve got your foot too hard, or you got your shoulders turned, and got leaned out; or you had your head on the wrong side and you get in a seam and split it.”
Fisher said that first-game jitters could have been an issue early. Center Matthew Wykoff, left tackle Trey Zuhn and left guard Aki Ogunbiyi all made their debuts with the first-team unit. They also are still adjusting to playing with returning starters Layden Robinson and Reuben Fatheree and vice versa.
The Aggies will need to get things rolling in practice this week if they intend on setting the tone early against Appalachian State. Last week in their season-opener against North Carolina, the Mountaineers allowed 215 rushing yards on 35 carries and three rushing touchdowns en route to a 63-61 loss.
For now, Fisher isn’t concerned with the status of his offensive line. That could change entering Week 3 should they struggle to find any consistency against the Mountaineers.
“We need to get the five guys all executing together,” Fisher said. “Four out of five or three out of five (won’t cut it). In the second half, we did a much better job, and we’ve got to get that (running game) going to get the plays we need to get.”
The Aggies return to Kyle Field to face the Mountaineers on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
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