The Texas A&M Aggies re-ignited their ailing season with the huge win last Saturday over Auburn. The Tigers were aiming to finish in the playoff committee’s top four despite their loss to Mississippi State on the road.
The Aggies went into Jordan-Hare Stadium as huge underdogs but jumped out to 14-0 lead and also led 35-17 at halftime. It’s fair to say they were fortunate at the end with two uncharacteristic fumbles by the Auburn offense but they took full advantage in recovering both to close out a famous win.
The key for the Aggies now is to build on the confidence and good feeling from the win. Not many teams have had as up-and-down a season as Texas A&M has endured this year. They were riding high at 5-0 with what was seen as big wins away from Kyle Field against South Carolina and Arkansas but after three straight losses, including a 59-0 defeat at Alabama, the season looked lost. This is the opportunity for them to finish the season strongly and set themselves up for what should be an important season next year.
The Aggies are young on both sides of the ball this year and one of the main aims this season was for these players to get experience and improve. The hot early start meant there was talk of the four team playoff and even suggestions of Kenny Hill being an early Heisman candidate. But Allen’s excellent four touchdown performance at Auburn is something we hope to see him build on in the two remaining home games against Missouri and LSU.
The improvement mentioned above is something that applies to the coaching staff as well as the players. Head coach Kevin Sumlin and offensive coordinator Jake Spavital are renowned for their work in developing quarterbacks in the Air Raid system but the running game was one of the real keys to the win. It’s an area which the Aggies have largely neglected in recent years, except maybe for the win at Arkansas in 2013. When you have Tra Carson, Trey Williams and Brandon Williams as options in the backfield it’s important to use them and that really helped take the pressure off the true freshman quarterback Allen. All three running backs averaged over five yards per carry in the win against Auburn and should be the backbone of the offense over the final two games. It’ll be interesting to see how they are utilized in the final two games.
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