WATCH: All Aggies Breaks Down A&M Loss To Ole Miss
The Texas A&M Aggies lost to the SEC West division rival Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday 29-19 and it wasn't that close.
The offense struggled once again and it started with quarterback Zach Calzada.
In a season where Calzada has looked both brilliant and clueless at times, the latter reared its ugly head again in Oxford. Calzada missed open receivers, threw to covered receivers, two of those passes resulting in interceptions, and resorted back to a bad habit he had early in the season by locking on to his primary target from the snap of the ball, tipping off the Ole Miss defense.
That last trend is inexcusable in an offense that has been tailored to fit his strengths.
The Rebels' defense made Calzada look uncomfortable and hurry throws at times. Calzada's overall numbers don't look horrible with 24 completions on 42 attempts for 237 yards, but remember all of his passing success came in the second half after the Aggies were already down 15-0.
And the two most glaring, tell-tale numbers in Calzada's stats line? 0 touchdowns and two interceptions.
The offensive line that looked so good against Auburn the week before failed Calzada and the running game this week, as the Aggies ran for a total of just 141 yards, as Ole Miss held Isaiah Spiller to 41 yards on 15 carries (2.7 average). While Devon Achane showed up for 110 yards on 12 carries (9.2 average), most of those came in the second half, after the game was out of reach for the offense.
In a season where fans are used to seeing the A&M defense hold on to games long enough for the offense to find a way to score and win, that couldn't and didn't happen in Oxford, as the Aggies' poor play away from Kyle Field continued.
While the standings show only one loss "away" from Kyle Field, we know that's misleading as the Aggie lost to Arkansas at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas in a neutral-site game.
Against Ole Miss, the Aggies' defense could not contain the early Rebels' running game, as Jerrion Ealy ran over linemen and linebackers for 152 yards on 24 carries (6.3 average) while Henry Parrish Jr rushed for 58 yards on nine carries (6.4 average). Most of those yards on the ground for the Rebels were early in the game, extending drives that the Aggies defense normally stops.
And while coach Jimbo Fisher and his staff made the necessary halftime adjustments to get the Aggies back within two points of the Rebels at 15-13, the poor offensive play took them right back out of it.
The Aggies have much work to do to keep that loss total at three in this already disappointing season.
In a game that most decreed was for third place in the SEC and for a New. Year's Six bowl game bid, the Aggies were flat, looked unmotivated, and uninspired.
Let's see if the Aggies can bounce back against Prairie View A&M on Nov. 20 and finish the season off strong against an emotionally motivated LSU squad on Nov. 27.
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