The Texas A&M Aggies are probably still reeling from the 59-0 blowout loss in Tuscaloosa to the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday, 18th October. The Aggies struggles against Mississippi State and Ole Miss gave us an indication that they weren’t on the same level talent-wise as the top sides in the SEC West. But this humiliating loss could have a real negative impact on the confidence of this very young team.
Aggies Re-Grouping
Fortunately a bye week came at just the right time to give head coach Kevin Sumlin the opportunity to work on some key fundamentals and prepare this team for the final four games of the season. The Aggies still have the opportunity to improve and finish the season well, they currently sit at 5-3 (2-3 in the SEC) so the possibility to get to eight or even nine wins is there. I think many Aggies fans would have been more than happy to take eight wins before the season started.
This Saturday, Louisiana Monroe come to Kyle Field for the Aggies final out of conference game. This should be a routine victory for A&M and give them the opportunity to build some confidence before the final three SEC games. After that they have a very difficult trip to face Auburn who are in the thick of the SEC West title race, they then follow that with back to back home games against Missouri and LSU. It’s certainly not unfathomable that the Aggies could win three of their final four games to reach eight wins. Both Missouri and LSU have had their problems with consistency this season and both games are being played in College Station
The main takeaway from the Aggies bye week is that offensive co-ordinator Jake Spavital has re-opened the Quarterback competition between Kenny Hill and Kyle Allen. Hill has started all eight games so far this year and was seen as a possible Heisman candidate after a flawless performance against South Carolina in the season opener. But as the Aggies began to face tougher defences, his deficiencies have been exploited. The receivers haven’t helped Hill with a large number of drops. At this point though, true freshman Kyle Allen has the chance to take the starting job. Both players got an even split of the reps at practice on Monday and Tuesday so we’re expecting to know the starter for the game against Louisiana Monroe by Thursday.
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