Texas A&M Notebook: Aggies Fall to Ole Miss Rebels 38-35
The Aggies lost an opportunity to break their dubious road losing streak on Saturday with a narrow 38-35 loss to the No. 10 Ole Miss Rebels in Oxford. It was a sloppy game for A&M that saw quarterback Max Johnson take a beating, running back Le'Veon Moss leave with an injury, and defensive standout Shemar Turner get ejected.
Even with the sub-par play, the Aggies were never out of it, even down 28-14 for a brief time early in the second half. Let's take a look at a few things that were noteworthy in the Aggies' loss to the Rebels on Saturday.
Ole Miss Rebels QB Jaxson Dart
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BROTHERLY LOVE
Down two scores, the Aggies needed a quick strike. It only took five plays, but spanned 75 yards and ended in a 28-yard brother-to-brother touchdown. Max Johnson found Jake Johnson with a short pass near the left sideline after rolling out and let the tight end do the rest. Suddenly, the Aggies were back to within 28-21 in a hostile Rebels environment.
SPECIAL TEAMS SCORE
Had it not been for an unbelievable play resulting in a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown, the Aggies might have found themselves down three scores mid-way through the middle of the second quarter. After their offensive drive stalled, Ole Miss was lining up for a 41-yard field goal attempt to go up 17-0. Shemar Turner blocked the attempt, and it deflected right into the arms of Jacoby Matthews. Matthews returned it 68 yards for a touchdown that turned a 17-0 deficit into just 14-7.
PASS DEFENSE FAILURE
The Aggies' secondary has been a point of contention all season, and Saturday was no exception. While the pass rush was sufficient, it was not outstanding, and Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart had plenty of time to find open receivers when he wasn't on his rear end. Dart threw for 387 yards and two touchdowns on 24-of-33 passing. Receiver Tre Harris was the recipient of 11 of those completions for a whopping 213 yards and one touchdown.
