No Easy Answers for Texas A&M
How does one judge a game with questionable coaching decisions and just as questionable officiating?
With a defense that was gashed on the ground, but made enough stops to win?
After finding the quarterback of the present and future in Conner Weigman, but watching the offense sputter for more than two quarters?
Such are the conundrums facing the Texas A&M Aggies. The latest loss – 31-28 to No. 15 Ole Miss – can’t be summed up with any simple narrative. In a results-based business, the bottom line is the score and, in that metric, the Aggies are failing miserably.
Jimbo Fisher, in his fifth season in College Station, deserves the blame for all that ails the Aggies right now. The program appears to be in freefall, despite a stockpile of loaded recruiting classes and sky-high expectations.
The past week featured a new set of suspensions and the loss of three offensive linemen to injury. Still, Jimbo continues to believe that A&M is this close. The players, he said, remain bought in.
“You see them in that locker room, and you see them together,” Fisher said. “And they'll like: ‘We’re going to figure this out. We’re going to fight. … We just got to help them find one more play, and they’ve got to help us find one more play to get over the hump.”
That one more play isn’t always at the end of games. Punting near midfield on fourth-and-less than a yard in the second quarter with a chance to build on a 14-7 lead could be that play. Instead of riding a hot Weigman and even hotter Devon Achane, the Aggies punted.
Lane Kiffin didn’t have the same reservations when faced with a much riskier situation. The Ole Miss skipper responded with a fake punt inside his own 20 on the very next possession. The gamble paid off, with the drive resulting in a field goal.
What could have been a two-possession lead for the Aggies going into halftime was 14-10. While that doesn’t seem like much, those points matter for a team and program trying to get over the hump.
The Rebels did rack up a monstrous 390 yards rushing, tearing through DJ Durkin’s defense with ease. But stops were made, only to watch Fisher’s offense go without points from midway through the first quarter until deep in the fourth.
And when stops appeared to be made, such as a key Ole Miss drive early in the third quarter, a pair of debatable pass interference calls were made against the A&M secondary on third down. Those two first downs were huge in the Rebels taking a 17-14 lead.
Amid it all, Fisher and the Aggies found a quarterback. Weigman, a true freshman, played with poise and precision, putting the ball where receivers could do something with it and commanding the offense.
Weigman threw for 338 yards – the most by a true freshman in program history – and four touchdowns. He added a dimension not seen by the Aggies offense this season.
Even if Haynes King and Max Johnson weren’t banged up, there’s no reason to play either again. Asked directly if Weigman is QB1 going forward, Fisher gave the only answer anyone in maroon is willing to hear.
“Yeah, should be,” he said. “Looking for him to be playing next week. And we’ll get the other guys healthy and see where they’re at, but I’m very comfortable with Connor playing and starting for us.”
The Aggies (3-5) have lost four straight and are dangerously close to posting a losing season for the first time in more than a decade. Florida next week, followed by Auburn, UMass and LSU remain in a year gone horribly wrong.
And without any easy answers.
“Just got to get better and find a way,” Fisher said.
You can follow Art Garcia on Twitter @ArtGarcia92
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