Texas A&M Can't Get Out Of Its Own Way In 20-13 Loss To Tennessee Volunteers: Aggies Notebook
The Aggies will return to College Station from Knoxville with now eight straight road losses dating back to 2021 after a 20-13 embarrassment of a performance at Neyland Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Vols now have won 13 straight at home, and still control their destiny in the SEC West. The Aggies' slim hopes of a division title are all but gone now with two conference losses on their register. Normally, we cover the top three reasons the Aggies lost in the "Notebook" piece following a game, but today, I can't narrow it down to just three. So I'm going with six:
RUSHING DEFENSE
The Aggies "defense" allowed 237 yards rushing on the day, and the issues they would have were apparent from the first possession. Vols running back Jaylen Wright carried for a total of 136 yards on 19 carries for an average of 7.2 yards per carry. That's an absolute embarrassment for an Aggies defense.
PENALTIES
The Aggies committed 11 penalties for 90 yards on Saturday. Inexcusable false start penalties occurred at the absolute worst points of the game, negating big offensive gains when yards were at a premium. Some say dead-ball penalties are a result of poor discipline, which there was plenty of for A&M against the Vols.
BAD SNAPS
The number of poor exchanges between center Bryce Foster and quarterback Max Johnson might make you think the two have never met or played together before. There were seven official "poor snaps" that took Johnson out of his reads to begin the play. At least five of those resulted in incompletions or lost yardage.
WALTER NOLEN INJURY
Aggies defensive tackle Walter Nolen was carted off with just over nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter against No. 19 Tennessee. His status is doubtful for the remainder of the game. Following a missed 50-yard field goal from Randy Bond, the Aggies' defense returned to the field with the intent of getting a stop.
On 2nd and 20, Volunteers running back Jaylen Wright tried to break free for a first down, but instead lost two yards. Nolen was rolled up on during the play and needed medical assistance from the A&M staff. Nolen, who left the field on a cart in tears, refused to lay down but rather sat up on the cart as he left the field to the locker room.
AINIAS SMITH DISAPPEARING ACT
Either the Aggies forgot to include Ainias Smith in the game plan, or the Vols just figured out how to completely eliminate him from the A&M offense. Maybe a little bit of both. Smith had no carries, and just one reception for 20 yards in the game.
And when he's most dangerous - on kick and punt returns - Smith had just one kickoff return at the end of the game that he had to return out of the end zone. That return went 23 yards but was inconsequential in the final possession for the Aggies.
WHAT HAPPENED TO NIK?
Aggies punter Nik Constantinou - who has been a staple in the team's ability to win the field position game with opponents this season - had maybe the worst day of his collegiate career.
Constantinou had four punts on the day for an average of 32 yards per kick, with none inside the 20. That's 16 yards less than his season average of 48 per punt.
