The Texas A&M Aggies defeated the UMass Minutemen 20-3 at home. The Aggies were favored by nearly five touchdowns in this matchup, but the game was a low-scoring affair as expected. Now, Texas A&M awaits the LSU Tigers next Saturday for the final game of the season. Jimbo Fisher did seem to make some changes in this game, and that trend needs to continue to give Aggies’ fans some signs of hope. Here’s a quick recap of how A&M fared against UMass on Saturday.
Offense Puts Up Yards, But Hurts Itself
Although UMass is an independent, this game was a great chance for the Aggies to improve in some areas. A&M nearly put up 500 total yards with a good balance between the passing and running game. However, three lost fumbles limited the Aggies from scoring points in UMass territory; some of these unforced errors were due to the bad weather conditions at Kyle Field.
Conner Weigman had a decent game with almost 200 passing yards and a touchdown. He was lethal with his legs, especially at midfield, finishing with 66 rushing yards on the day. Darrell Dickey appeared to call some of the offensive plays today, and it would help if he made more use of the run-pass option. Weigman’s style as a dual-threat quarterback would likely benefit the Aggies with tempo and keeping the defense guessing.
The competition for starting running back between Le’Veon Moss and Amari Daniels will be interesting heading into next season. Clearly, neither one of them is Devon Achane, but they both have shown signs of improvement over the past few games. The Aggies desperately need a running back duo who is effective in different parts of the game. Most championship teams are built in a similar fashion, and that’s the next step for A&M.
Defense Continues to Impress
DJ Durkin initially chose to use a three-man front. That could be the reason that Kay’Ron Adams and Ellis Merriweather combined for over 100 rushing yards in this game. Still, the Aggies’ defense had a complete game by holding the Minutemen to 55 passing yards and less than 20% on third-down conversions. It was a pleasant surprise to see that the defense had few penalties today given previous performances.
Honestly, it’s safe to say that Durkin has earned the right to keep his job in 2023. There were quite a few starters injured on the defensive end once again, notably Fadil Diggs and Jacoby Matthews. The toughest task will be keeping a lot of the young talent on the team for 2023 as mentioned earlier. It’s undoubtedly difficult to find high-caliber defensive playmakers in the portal, especially given A&M’s woes this season.
Concluding Thoughts
Even in a matchup against UMass, it was nice for the Aggies to finally get a win following a six-game skid. The stakes are still there for the last game against LSU to instill confidence within fans and players even with a bowl game out of question. It’s up to Fisher and his staff to figure out a way to keep the squad motivated throughout the week; the 12th man has to come in full strength unlike this past Saturday for Texas A&M to finish off the season strong.
