Texas A&M TE Max Wright and Aggies 'Inches' From Turning Things Around
It's been over a week since Texas A&M last faced another football team, but the Aggies are still feeling the sting from their nail-biter loss with Alabama in Week 6. They were two yards from taking down then-No. 1 Bama, and have had a lot of time to reflect on that heartbreaker. For Aggies tight end Max Wright, head coach Jimbo Fisher's words to the team after that game are still ringing in his ears.
"[Fisher's] message was ... the inches are where you win and lose those games," said Wright this week during media availability. "We had opportunities. We had opportunities throughout that game that could have given us a chance to win it."
Looking at the final play from that Alabama game, a failed Aggies first-and-goal try from the two-yard line as time expired, Wright couldn't be more, well, right. All year Texas A&M has looked like a talented team that can't seem to make it click. Their showdown with Bama may have put them on the right track though, and a bye week off has given them plenty of time to prepare for this week's opponent, South Carolina.
If there's a good game for the Aggies to get back in the conference win column, it's this one against the Gamecocks. Texas A&M is 8-0 all-time against South Carolina and despite their struggles this year, the Aggies are a 3.5-point favorite. Fisher will be eager to secure A&M's first victory away from home in 2022, especially after two straight conference road losses.
A&M has had its struggles offensively, but they seemed to be turning a corner against the Crimson Tide. Luckily, South Carolina is just a middle-of-the-pack defensive team, coming in at 61st for scoring defense nationwide this year (25.0 points per game). Whether it's sophomore quarterback Haynes King or the freshman Conner Weigman under center, the Aggies offense should be able to put a few scores on the board in this contest.
A win at Williams-Brice Stadium would be a huge step in the right direction. Beating South Carolina has become somewhat of a tradition for the Aggies thus far, and a loss could really affect morale. They may not be in the playoff race anymore, but there's still plenty for A&M to play for this fall.
"We try to keep things in perspective," explained Wright. "What we talked about was 'Hey, win out'. If we can put things together, play like we did that night [against Alabama], and perform, there's no reason why we can't win out...You have to take it day by day."
For right now, that means preparing for this road trip and the Gamecocks. They know this will be their best chance to get back to .500 in conference play and get their first road win. A convincing performance here could change the tone of the season going forward and put the Aggies back on track to finish in the rankings.
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