Ten Things to do Your Last Semester of College

Ags Run Out of Time

I walked out of Kyle Field on Saturday with a hoarse voice, a sunburn, and a big, goofy grin on my face. The “Game of the Century” certainly lived up to expectations. It came down to the final seconds, and is an instant classic in my opinion; by far one of the most exciting games I’ve ever been to. The atmosphere was incredible. The Aggies traded blows with No. 1 ranked and two-time defending national champion Alabama, but came up short in the college football game of the year, 49-42. While winning would have been huge, there are a lot of positives to take away from this game.

Johnny Manziel is one of the greatest college football players of all time, and he proved that to the world on Saturday. He threw for 464 yards and 5 touchdowns and ran for 98 yards against Alabama. Manziel’s 562-yard performance ranks as the second highest ever by an SEC player. Guess who is first and third on that list? Johnny Manziel. Last year, he broke Archie Manning’s 1969 record of 540 yards by putting up 557 against Arkansas. Two weeks later, he ripped Louisiana Tech for 576 total yards. All impressive performances, except the most recent one wasn’t against a sub-par defense, it was against the best defense in the country. Manziel may never win a national championship, but he has put himself in a very good position to become only the second person ever to win two Heisman trophies.

I thought Mike Evans was going to have a big game against the Crimson Tide. I did not think it was going to be to the tune of seven catches for 279 yards and a touchdown. Evans absolutely abused the Alabama defensive backs, and they simply had no answer for him. He put his talents on display in front of the world and in front of several NFL scouts who were in attendance at the game. After Saturday’s game, Evans is likely to be a first team All-American, is the front-runner to win the Biletnikoff Award (the award for the top college receiver), and may even garner a few Heisman votes at the end of the year. It is very probable that he will go in the first round of the NFL draft whenever he decides to leave Texas A&M. My hat is off to this young man.

The Aggies scored over 40 points on the Crimson Tide, which was just the second time a team has done so against Alabama during Nick Saban’s tenure there. They also put up 628 total yards, the most yards given up in a single game by an Alabama team EVER. Saban probably wasn’t pleased with his defense, but he was certainly relieved when the clock finally hit 0:00. When he and Kevin Sumlin shook hands at midfield after the game, Saban said, “You took 10 years off my life.” This offense has the firepower to keep A&M in any game they play this year. It’s the defense that worries me.

Before we talk about the defense, take a moment and say a prayer for Texas A&M’s Isaiah Golden. Golden, an 18-year old true freshman defensive tackle, lost his two-month old daughter early last week. Losing a child is every parent’s biggest fear. Say a prayer for the big man as he deals with this awful tragedy.

The Texas A&M defense was a lot worse than what I expected to see. I was cautiously optimistic that they would be able to force a few more stops, or at least hold Alabama to field goals on a few drives, but they just got straight up whipped. Here’s an embarrassing statistic: the Alabama running backs averaged 3.8 yards per carry BEFORE contact. That means that they were getting at least four yards before an A&M defender laid a hand on them, which is unacceptable. It starts up front with the defensive line. In the run game, the defensive linemen need to control the line of scrimmage and keep the offensive linemen off of the linebackers so they can make plays. A&M’s D line got pushed around all day. When the Aggie linebackers were free to make plays, they oftentimes took bad angles, or let the ball carrier get a few extra yards before finally bringing them down. In the passing game, the defensive line was never able to get a pass rush. On some plays, the coverage was good, but A.J. McCarron had all day to throw. McCarron may have been touched twice the entire game. If you let any quarterback sit back there for that long, they will torch you all day. On some plays, the coverage wasn’t so good, and McCarron is good enough to make you pay if you leave guys open. The A&M defenders bit on the play-action every single time, leaving Alabama receivers wide open. You can’t win that way. Alabama won on first and second down, which is exactly what A&M couldn’t let them do if they wanted any chance of stopping them.

When it comes down to it, Texas A&M just doesn’t have the horses on defense right now. Alabama is deep, talented, and experienced at every position on the field. Whereas A&M has really talented guys on defense, but they were at their senior prom five months ago. These guys are going to be really good one day, maybe even this year, but you can’t trot out six or seven true freshmen defenders against Alabama and be competitive. A&M has a couple of easier games coming up with SMU followed by Arkansas, and I think you’ll see them move some guys around play a lot freshmen in these games to get them some experience. You may even see some of these freshmen start the rest of the year. It depends on how they play. A&M brought in a lot of talented kids in the 2013 recruiting class, and more help is on the way in next year’s class. The defense is about a year away from being good, and about two years away from being great.

Texas A&M didn’t lose this game solely because of the defense; they lost it for a number of reasons. If you lose the turnover battle when playing a great team, you lose the football game more often that not. Manziel threw two interceptions, and really, neither of them can be blamed on him. When A&M was down on the goal line in the first half, JaQuay Williams ran a bad fade route and stumbled in the end zone, and Alabama was able to intercept the pass. If he runs a good route and keeps his feet, the pass is incomplete at worst. A&M would have more than likely ran the ball on the next play and may have gotten a first down or scored. A field goal attempt should have been the worst outcome of that drive. Instead, Alabama got the ball and went down and scored. On the other interception, Manziel’s pass to Travis Labhart bounced way up in the air off a defender’s helmet, and Vinnie Sunseri got it and took it back for a score. Brandon Williams fumbled a kickoff out of bounds at the 2-yard line, giving A&M horrible field position. On that same drive, Mike Evans was flagged on a questionable offensive pass interference call, which killed a drive when the Ags could have gone up 21-7. After pulling within a touchdown in the 4^th quarter, Taylor Bertolet kicked the ball out of bounds, which is a penalty, and gave Alabama great field position. You can’t pick one play and say, “this play is the reason Texas A&M lost.” Football is a team sport, and Alabama’s team beat Texas A&M’s team.

The TV rating for Texas A&M vs. Alabama was a 9.0/21, the highest rating an afternoon regular-season college football game has had since Miami vs. Notre Dame in 1990. One thing all of those viewers couldn’t experience was how crazy Kyle Field was. After the game, Alabama left tackle Cyrus Kouandjio said in an interview that Kyle Field was, “the loudest crowd I’ve ever seen.” That’s coming from a guy who has played several games at Alabama’s Bryant-Denney Stadium, and played at LSU’s Death Valley. Several sports personalities had great things to say about the atmosphere, with the highest praise coming from ESPN’s Samantha Ponder. During the game, Ponder tweeted, “Not for or against A&M, but I’ve been to all the “big time” stadiums & Kyle Field is my #1 recommendation…” The atmosphere was top-notch, and several of the nations top recruits were there to experience it. As great as Kyle Field is now, it is set to undergo major renovations starting this offseason and will likely be one of the nicest college football stadiums in the country. And finally, I am dang proud of this football team and the mentality they have. After being down 21 points in the second half, they fought back and went toe-to-toe with the top-ranked Crimson Tide, falling just short of pulling off the upset for the second year in a row. One thing is for sure; this team doesn’t have any quit in it. All of these things put together, combined with the fact that Texas A&M will be playing in games of this caliber each year, make me very happy to be a Fightin’ Texas Aggie.

Let me put an interesting thought in your head: Texas A&M could play a rematch with Alabama in the national championship. Crazy things happen every year in college football, and if Texas A&M can manage to win out, things will get very interesting.

After the loss to Alabama, the Ags fell to No. 9 in the Coaches Poll (one of the polls that factors into the BCS poll). Now, the BCS poll is the one that matters, and the initial BCS poll doesn’t come out for a little while. As of right now, there are seven undefeated teams ranked in front of Texas A&M excluding Alabama. Those teams are Oregon, Ohio State, Clemson, Stanford, Louisville, LSU, and Florida State. History shows that it is better to lose early, because if a team loses late, they get jumped by teams that lost early that have the same record as them. In order for there to be a Texas A&M/Alabama rematch:

1. Texas A&M needs to win the rest of their games.

Toughest games: @Ole Miss, @LSU

2. Alabama needs to win the rest of their games.

Toughest games: Ole Miss, LSU, @Auburn (rivalry game), SEC Championship.

3. Oregon needs to lose.

Toughest games: @Washington, UCLA, @Stanford, PAC 12 Championship.

4. Clemson needs to lose.

Toughest games: Florida State, @South Carolina, ACC Championship.

5. Ohio State needs to lose.

Toughest games: Wisconsin, @Northwestern, @Michigan, Big 10 Championship

6. Stanford needs to lose.

Toughest games: Arizona State, Washington, UCLA, Oregon, Notre Dame, PAC 12 Championship.

7. LSU needs to lose.

This one is obvious because A&M needs to beat LSU to win out. It would be preferable if LSU lost only to Alabama and A&M.

Toughest games: @Georgia, Florida, @Ole Miss, @Alabama, Texas A&M

8. Louisville might need to lose.

I say, “might” because they have a ridiculously easy schedule. I don’t think they play a single team in the Top 40. I think a one-loss Texas A&M would jump an undefeated Louisville.

Toughest games: Rutgers, UCF, @Cincinnati

9. Florida State needs to lose.

Toughest games: @Clemson, Miami, @Florida, ACC Championship Game.

10. Keep in mind that there are undefeated teams ranked behind Texas A&M, and they would also need to lose, but there are too many of them to go into detail about right now.

Is this very likely to happen? No. Is it within the realm of possibility? Yes. Is it way too early to even be talking about this? Yes, but I figured I would let you know anyway. In 2011, the chips fell perfectly to set up a rematch between undefeated LSU and one-loss Alabama in the title game. Most of the country was upset with this because they had already seen that game and it was boring. However, this is different because I think everyone in the country not named Nick Saban would LOVE to see Texas A&M and Alabama play a rematch for the national championship. Again, it is extremely early to think about this happening, but it’s just something to file away and keep an eye on throughout the year. Until then, sit back and enjoy the college football season.

Thanks and Gig’em.

TAMU/BAMA 9/14/13

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TAMU/BAMA

The wait is over. The most anticipated game of my life, that some have proclaimed to be the “Game of the Century”, kicks off this Saturday, September 14, 2013 at 2:40 CT on Kyle Field. Alabama has played in plenty of big games in recent years. They’ve won three of the last four BCS National Championships. In 2011, undefeated Alabama faced undefeated LSU in Tuscaloosa in a game that was also dubbed “Game of the Century”. But this game is different. The game that occurred in 2011 pitted two established powerhouses and defensive juggernauts against each other. Both teams had won at least one championship in the previous 5 years leading up to that game. Offense was hard to come by for both the Tigers and the Crimson Tide; not even a single touchdown was scored in that contest. Two outstanding football teams played that day, with national title hopes involved, and everyone watching, but THIS game is different. Alabama claims fifteen national championships. They rank 7^th in all-time FBS Division I football wins. They’re old school. They play conventional football, with an offense that is committed to the ground game, and a stout defense. Texas A&M claims three national championships, none of which were won during my lifetime or my parents’ lifetimes. They have a tradition of winning, ranking 18^th in all-time football wins, but today, it would be a stretch to call them an established powerhouse. After mostly lackluster seasons since 1998, last season, they went 11-2 and finished 5^th in the polls, and everyone that doubted Texas A&M’s move to the SEC quickly changed their tune. The resurgent Aggies have now returned to national relevance, but they are far from conventional. Texas A&M runs a fast-paced, spread offense, with perhaps the most unconventional quarterback to play the game: Johnny Manziel. A win in this game would cement Texas A&M as a prominent college football contender, and show the world that last season’s win in Tuscaloosa wasn’t a fluke. Not to mention, it would put the Ags in the drivers seat of the SEC West and in a very good position to make it to the conference championship game, as well as the national championship game in Pasadena, CA in January. Winning this game isn’t the be-all end-all for Texas A&M, but it is the definition of a statement game. For Alabama, a win on Saturday paves the way for them to reach the national championship for the fourth time in five years. Kevin Sumlin, one of the most brilliant offensive minds in football, versus Nick Saban, the best college football coach in the game today. This game isn’t just big because of national title implications, but for image and recruiting. There is an abundance of nationally top ranked recruits set to be at Kyle Field this weekend, and a win for Texas A&M would go a long way in landing a good amount of them. Since he’s been at Alabama, only one team has beaten the Crimson Tide in back-to-back seasons, and that was LSU in 2010 and 2011. They have this aura around them that makes everyone thinks they are invincible. If the Aggies beat them for a second year in a row, it will send a Texas-sized message to the world that they are for real, and they are here to stay. Great offense vs. Great defense. Sumlin vs. Saban. The Champion vs. The Challenger. This game is big. It’s huge. But, if you asked anyone in the A&M program, they would tell you that it’s, “just another game.”

I said this last year during the week that A&M was set to play Alabama, and I’ll say it again: Alabama is human. They’re not this big, bad, invincible team that they are oftentimes made out to be. They showed more than once last year that they were a beatable team. Against LSU, AJ McCarron completed zero passes in the second half prior to their last drive of the game when he went 4/5 and hit T.J. Yeldon on a screen pass that he took to the house for the go-ahead score. Alabama would win 21-17. In the SEC Championship game, Georgia had the ball with 1:08 left to go and down 32-28. Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray put together one heck of a drive, but came up 5 yards short of the end zone as time ran out. And of course, Texas A&M went in to Tuscaloosa last year and knocked off the defending champs 29-24. Alabama is a great football team and is very well coached. Can they be beaten? Yes.

Enough about last year; let’s talk about this year. This game is all about matchups. It is going to be a chess match between these two coaching staffs. It is going to be a war.

Texas A&M Offense vs. Alabama Defense

In the SEC, games are won and lost in the trenches. The Texas A&M offensive line is among the nations best this season, even after losing no. 2 overall draft pick and Outland Trophy winner Luke Joeckel, and a 4-year starter on the interior in Patrick Lewis. With two future first-rounders at tackle, the only “weak spot” you might could find would be new starters at center and guard. Last season, the Aggies were breaking in a new offense, and while last years line was incredibly talented, they didn’t play well as a unit at the start of the season. In year 2, the O line doesn’t seem to have missed a beat and has been nothing short of dominant so far this year. Texas A&M needs to run the ball better this year against the Tide, and that starts with the big guys up front.

Alabama’s defense returns five starters in the front seven. They are big up front, and have big, physical linebackers that are dominant against the run. Last year against Alabama, if you take away Manziel’s rushing yards, the A&M backs ran for a combined 77 yards and only 2.9 yards per carry. This year’s A&M backfield is loaded with talent. Ben Malena and 230-pounder Tra Carson do a phenomenal job of running the ball between the tackles and are automatic when the Ags need a couple of yards. Brandon Williams is a burner and a threat to score anytime he touches the football. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention 6’6 270-pound tight end Cam Clear, who has been fantastic in run blocking this year, along with fellow tight end Nehemiah Hicks. The A&M O line vs. the Alabama D line is going to be a war, but I give a slight edge to A&M. I think the Ags will run the ball more effectively this year than last year.

As far as the Texas A&M passing game goes: people are going to be shocked when they see how much better Manziel is at throwing the football. Last year, he was frantic in the pocket, and was quick to tuck it and run once the pass rush got to him. So far this year, Manziel has been reluctant to run. He still scrambles and makes people miss, but he has been staying behind the line of scrimmage and picking teams apart. He is much more calm and poised in the pocket, and can make every throw with great accuracy. Manziel lost three of his top targets from last year, including record-setting wide receiver Ryan Swope. However, the young guys taking their places may be more talented. Mike Evans was Manziel’s top target last year, hauling in 82 passes for 1105 yards and 5 TD’s on a bad hamstring for the better part of the season. Now, fully healthy, the sure-handed Evans is looking like an All-American. Guys like Malcome Kennedy, JaQuay Williams, Sabian Holmes, and Ricky Seals-Jones have looked promising thus far, and will be key on Saturday. Don’t forget about Cam Clear, the big tight end, who is a mismatch anywhere on the field. All of the aforementioned weapons plus the Aggie tailbacks in the screen game make this A&M passing attack very potent.

The Alabama secondary lost All-American cornerback Dee Milliner and 3-year starting safety Robert Lester off of last year’s defense, and looked a little vulnerable in their opener against Virginia Tech. VA Tech would sometimes have receivers running wide open, and the quarterback couldn’t hit them. When the quarterback would make a good throw, the receivers would oftentimes drop it. I really like the way that A&M matches up with the Alabama secondary. Plus, as good as Alabama’s defense is, they don’t have a dominant pass rusher on their roster. To get pressure on Manziel last year, Bama had to bring extra guys from the second level, and when they did force him out of the pocket, he went 6 for 6 when passing.

Interesting though: Texas A&M led the country last season in 3^rd down conversion percentage, and has continued that trend so far this season. If the A&M offense has similar success against Alabama, they could tire that big, strong defense out and end up putting a lot of points on the board.

Alabama Offense vs. Texas A&M Defense

Don’t look at the Alabama/Virginia Tech score and think that Alabama had a great day offensively. The score was 35-10, but only two of Alabama’s scores were from their offense; the rest came from defense and special teams (more on that later). I have watched the 2012 A&M/Bama game more than a time or two, and I cannot tell you enough how glad I am that Eddie Lacy is in the NFL now. Last year, Alabama had one of the most dominant offensive lines that college football has probably ever seen. Add in a physical runner like Lacy, and a very talented true freshman in T.J. Yeldon, and they had an incredibly powerful running game. However, not only is Lacy gone to the NFL, but so is right tackle D.J. Fluker (1^st rounder), Chance Warmack (1^st rounder), and Barrett Jones (All-American, 2011 Outland Trophy winner) are also gone. These guys were absolute maulers on the offensive line and each of them is very significant loss, but I figured the Crimson Tide would simply reload at the position. This was not the case. A solid Virginia Tech defensive line got the better of them. Their future first round tackler drew two holding penalties and was consistently beaten around the edge; their starting left guard got whipped more than a few times; the unit didn’t communicate very well at all. T.J. Yeldon is one of the top backs in the country, and Alabama has depth at running back. With a couple weeks off, the Bama O line may have worked out the kinks, but it remains to be seen.

Texas A&M lost four starters from their front seven. In all honesty, the defense looked bad in the first game. They improved in the second game, but still gave up too many big plays. Here’s the thing though: the A&M defense that we see against Alabama won’t look anything like the defense we’ve seen the past two games. Six starters on defense were out against Rice, and five were out against Sam Houston. Also, against both of those teams, A&M stayed in nickel the whole game (3-3-5 and 4-2-5). Against Alabama, I would bet that you’ll see A&M run a 4-3 and walk a safety up, except for on obvious passing downs. That, plus getting both starting defensive ends back, and their best linebacker, will make the front seven look a lot different. Does different mean better? We’ll see. Aggie defensive coordinator Mark Snyder has been very vanilla with calling blitzes so far this year, so expect to see him dial up the pressure on A.J. McCarron.

Speaking of putting pressure on McCarron, if you get him on the move, he’s not that good. Two weeks ago, Virginia Tech was able to get pressure on him and sacked him four times. McCarron was 10/23 for 110 yards in that game, a lackluster performance, to say the least. But McCarron is still a very solid quarterback, and he’s got some pretty good weapons at receiver. Sophomore Amari Cooper is preseason All-SEC and is one of the best in the country. Kevin Norwood is a quick, and very polished receiver. Christion Jones is a burner. Alabama may have the best receiving corps that A&M will face this year.

The Aggies lost Demontre Moore, who led the team in sacks by a wide margin last season. A&M doesn’t really have a guy who can go out and get double-digit sacks this season, but collectively, they can still get a few sacks a game. In the secondary, Devante Harris, who is A&M’s best cover corner, will be back this week. Deshazor Everett, who has looked fantastic in what little game time he has gotten, will be available for a full game. I like how A&M’s corners match up with the Alabama receivers. Let’s keep in mind that A.J. McCarron didn’t throw an interception last season until he played A&M, and both of those can be accredited to the scheming and coaching of Aggie DC Mark Snyder.

The Alabama offense played bad in their first game, but don’t mistake them for a bad offense. They are very talented, and if they play like they are capable of on Saturday, we could be looking at a shootout.

Special Teams

Alabama return man Christion Jones stole the show in Week 1 when he scored on a kickoff return, punt return, and had a receiving touchdown. Jones is very dangerous with the ball in his hands, but Texas A&M has the guys that can neutralize him. Against Rice, A&M punter Drew Kaser had a fantastic day. He had three punts and they all landed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, including one that was a 77-yarder. Against Sam Houston, 8/9 of Bertolet’s kickoffs went for touchbacks. The best way to defend a deadly return man is to not give him a chance.

LaQuivionte Gonzalez has been handling kickoff return duties and has done an okay job. He might be the fastest guy on the team. Walk-on Travis Labhart has been returning punts, but that may change with Devante Harris, the expected starter, coming off suspension. Labhart has been sure-handed so far this season, so it will be interesting to see who is back there against Alabama.

Perhaps the most important aspect of the special teams is the placekicker. Alabama’s Cade Foster is 4/9 and 2/9 the past two respective seasons, but he has been used almost exclusively for long-range field goals his whole career. With Jeremy Shelley gone, Foster will be attempting all of Alabama’s kicks. He hasn’t attempted a field goal so far this season.

Several people know of Texas A&M kicker Taylor Bertolet, and if they do, it’s for the wrong reasons. Bertolet was just converted just 13 of his 22 attempts last season, and was an abysmal 1-6 from the 30-39 yard range. I’ve read a lot of good things about Bertolet and how well he is doing under new special teams coach Jeff Banks. He’s 2/3 so far this season, with his one miss coming during slippery weather conditions. Bertolet missed one field goal and one extra point in Tuscaloosa last season. Every point is going to matter against Alabama, and A&M can’t afford to leave points on the board like they did last year. Bertolet needs to come up big when called on.

Here is one last thing that I think can have a huge effect on the game: it’s at Kyle Field. The players on this Alabama squad have played in hostile environments before. That’s nothing new. But none of them have ever played at Kyle Field. There were more student tickets sold for this game than any game in A&M history. This game could very well break the attendance record at Kyle Field. The Aggie fans are going to start out loud and momentum shifts are going to be huge. Alabama’s green offensive line is going to have a lot of trouble trying to communicate.

This is going to be a fantastic football game. Texas A&M should have scored 34 on Alabama last season, and this A&M offense is better than last year’s, and they’re playing at home. I think A&M can get enough stops and force enough field goal attempts to stay in it. I think you’re going to see both teams show up and play hard. This game is going to be a 15-round boxing match. But in this heavyweight contest, I’m taking the underdog.

Down goes Bama.

TEXAS AGGIES – 41 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE – 34

Rice Analysis

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Texas A&M kicked off what might be the most anticipated football season in the school’s history on Saturday with a 52-31 victory over the Rice Owls. After a long, drama-filled offseason, Aggie fans, and especially the Aggie players, were ready to just get back to football. However, the performance that Texas A&M displayed on Saturday has some fans concerned. Let’s jump right in to the analysis.

Offense:

One thing we learned about the A&M offense on Saturday is that we have a serviceable backup quarterback in Matt Joeckel. He was timid right out of the gate, but got into a groove in the second half and I thought he moved the ball very well. He finished the day 14/19 for 190 yards and one touchdown.

We got to see what Tra Carson, the Oregon transfer, is able to do in his first game wearing the maroon and white, and that is run the ball very well between the tackles. Carson, who stands 6’0 and weighs 230 pounds, punched it in twice against Rice, and is going to be a huge asset in short yardage situations and in goal line sets this fall. Ben Malena is still Ben Malena. He was the Ags’ do-it-all back last year, but he looks even better out there this year. Ben isn’t the biggest guy, but he is a downhill, physical runner, he can pick up blitzes, he is excellent catching the ball out of the backfield, he has a nose for the end zone, and he holds on to the football. He is a workhorse back, and will continue to be A&M’s starter. Though Malena is the starter, he will be splitting carries with Tra Carson plus two very explosive backs, in Brandon and Trey Williams, if they can stay healthy. Brandon Williams, a transfer from Oklahoma, was in a boot all of fall camp and didn’t dress out on Saturday. He is expected to make his Texas A&M debut this Saturday against Sam Houston and is absolutely electric when he gets the football. Keep an eye on him this weekend. Trey Williams has finally become what Coach Sumlin described as a “complete back”. He’s always been a homerun threat whenever he touches the football, but he now has a firm grasp of Kevin Sumlin’s offense. However, Trey tweaked his ankle in the first half, but he did return later in the game. I have read that he will sit out this week and will hopefully be ready to go against Alabama.

I thought the wide receivers performed well against Rice. Mike Evans caught six balls for 84 yards and two scores on Saturday. He had a hamstring problem down the stretch last season, so it was good to see what he could do at 100%. Evans is going to be even better in year two of his eligibility. Malcome Kennedy, who had an impressive fall camp, caught four passes for 54 yards and is looking like a worthy successor to Ryan Swope in the slot. Everyone finally got to see what true-freshman phenom Ricky Seals-Jones is capable of doing on Saturday as he took a Matt Joeckel pass 71 yards for his first collegiate touchdown. Seals-Jones is a physical freak and is becoming more and more polished as a receiver. He will make some big plays for the Aggies this year.

The tight ends didn’t receive any targets against Rice, but they both excelled in blocking. My favorite play that the A&M offense ran on Saturday was when they put tight end Cam Clear (6’6 270) in the slot with Mike Evans (6’5 225) out wide, and ran a screen with Ben Malena to that side. Evans put his guy on the ground, Cam drove his man clear off the television screen (see what I did there?), and Ben made one guy miss on his way to the end zone.

The offensive line was very impressive against Rice, despite losing a 4-year starter on the interior in Pat Lewis and the 2^nd overall pick from the NFL Draft, Luke Joeckel. Some could even argue that this year’s offensive line will be even better than last years. Senior left tackle Jake Matthews is a lock to go in the first round of next year’s draft, and junior right tackle Cedric Ogbuehi could show enough on the field this fall to garner a first round grade as well. Jake’s little brother Mike Matthews (center) and Germain Ifedi (right guard) were both impressive in their respective first starts. This offense relies on the center to push the tempo. Last year, Pat Lewis did an excellent job of getting to line quick after each play, getting set, and making the offensive line calls, so the offense could move at a fast pace. Mike Matthews did a pretty darn good job of that on Saturday, and he’s going to be a good one for the next three years. I mean, his last name IS Matthews. The offensive line seems to have already gelled as a unit. Look for them to do an outstanding job of opening up holes for the running game, and keeping last years Heisman trophy winner upright throughout the season.

Speaking of last years Heisman trophy winner, Johnny Manziel picked up right where he left off. After his first half suspension was up, Manziel came in and only played about a quarter and a half, going 6/8 for 94 yards and three touchdowns. He complete SIX passes and THREE were touchdowns. Not bad, Johnny. It seemed like he was trying to stay in the pocket and throw the football, and was very hesitant to take off and run. This, and a rare miscommunication on the offensive line, is probably why we saw him get sacked a time or two on Saturday. I wouldn’t think too much of that, and I expect that we will see Johnny being Johnny again when Texas A&M lines up against the Crimson Tide in a little over a week.

ESPN has made a big deal this week about Johnny “ignoring” Sumlin after he drew a taunting penalty for pointing at the scoreboard and was benched for the remainder of the game. Sumlin said, “He came off the field and I made two statements to him, neither one of which should he have responded to. What amazes me is the perception that he ignored me. The worst thing that could have happened is for him to reply, based on what I told him.” Long story short, Coach Sumlin gave Johnny an earful and Johnny, doing what 99% of athletes would do in a similar situation, kept his mouth shut and went and sat down on the bench.

You didn’t see the Aggies run anything too complex offensively because Kevin Sumlin isn’t about to show all of his cards to Nick Saban prior to their much-anticipated contest on September 14^th. However, I would expect both coaches to pull out all the stops and throw the kitchen sink at each other on that day. Then, we will get a good look at what this Aggie offense is really capable of. Until then, Texas A&M has a home game against Sam Houston this Saturday, which will serve as their final tune-up before Alabama comes to town.

Defense:

Now onto what everyone is worried about: the defense. There’s no two ways around it: the A&M defense did not have a good showing on Saturday. However, the defense that Texas A&M fielded against Rice is not anything close to the defense we will see for the remainder of the year. The amount of inexperience the Ags had on that side of the ball was ridiculous. Two true freshmen (cornerback Alex Sezar and defensive tackle Hardreck Walker) started on defense, and nine true freshmen got playing time. A positive way to look at that is that nine true freshmen played meaningful snaps on defense, when last year, roughly fifteen players total played meaningful snaps defense. Getting those young guys meaningful reps in a live game is a good way to build depth.

Here is a recap of who was/is suspended and for how long: LB Steven Jenkins, DB Devante Harris, and DE Gavin Stansbury received a suspension for the first two games for violating team rules. They will be back for Alabama. DT Kirby Ennis was suspended for the first game of the season for flashing a firearm in traffic back in February, and he will play this Saturday. DB’s Floyd Raven and Deshazor Everett received different lengths of suspension (Everett received half a game and Raven a full game) for the same altercation they got into at an apartment complex in College Station back in April. Floyd will be back this Saturday, but Deshazor is suspended for the first half of this Saturday’s game due to a questionable targeting penalty that was called on him against Rice. True freshman DE Daeshon Hall will be suspended for the first half against Sam Houston for throwing a punch at a Rice player. I think that about covers all of the guys who were out on the defensive side of the ball.

Now, it’s very rational to say that four of those guys (Harris, Ennis, Everett, and Jenkins) are four of the top five defenders on this Aggie defense. Jenkins is the teams leading returning tackler. Ennis is the most seasoned defensive lineman and he is the anchor of that unit. Harris had a strong fall camp and is the teams best pure cover corner. Everett was able to play the second half and held Rice’s Jordan Taylor to two catches for seven yards after he racked up five catches for 61 yards and one score in the first half. The whole defense seemed to step it up it a little just from having Everett on the field.

Let’s breakdown how the players that were able to play fared on Saturday, starting with the defensive line. The Ags ran a lot of 3-man fronts against Rice, with true freshman Hardreck Walker getting the start in the middle. Walker wasn’t awful, but he did play too high and didn’t generate much of a push. He went down with an injury, but was able to walk off under his own power. From what I have read, it doesn’t sound serious. Sophomore Alonzo Williams and true freshmen Isaiah Golden and Jay Arnold also played some snaps on the interior, with Arnold being the surprise of that group. Arnold was recruited as a defensive end, but moved inside after he arrived on campus. He has a strong MMA background, which helps him in using his hands when going against offensive linemen. He was in on more than one fourth down stop on Saturday. Golden, who is 6’2 and just north of 300 pounds, was highly touted coming out of Carthage and has done well so far. He is incredibly quick off the ball for a guy his size and got a good push against the Rice offensive line. Alonzo Williams, who wore number 90 on Saturday to honor his fallen teammate Polo Manukainiu, led the A&M D-line with 6 tackles. Daeshon Hall is 6’6 and 245 pounds and looks skinny. He showed some of his potential on Saturday before getting ejected, and will earn himself significant playing time this year. He will be a terror off the edge when he fills out his long, athletic frame. Julien Obioha played decent, but he wasn’t able to generate much of a pass rush. Tyrone Taylor recorded a sack and two tackles for a loss, but whiffed on a few more he could have had. With Demontre Moore gone, getting a consistent pass rush is going to be difficult this season. Defensive Coordinator Mark Snyder is going to have to shuffle a lot of guys around and bring different blitzes to get after opposing quarterbacks. As a whole, the defensive line had an average day. I’m hoping they step their game up this weekend and have a good performance to build on leading up to the Alabama game. I think they will perform much better with the return of Kirby Ennis this weekend, and once we start running a 4-man front regularly.

The linebackers were less than stellar on Saturday, which is the main cause for concern. On the 57 yard-run Rice quarterback Taylor McHargue had in the first quarter, Tommy Sanders was responsible for the quarterback and wasn’t where he should have been to make that play. He was pulled shortly after that, but would return later. Donnie Baggs had a pretty rough day. He was out of position a lot in the first half and had his fair share of missed tackles. True freshman Darian Claiborne led the team in tackles with 11, but wasn’t always in the right spot when he needed to be. Fellow true freshmen Jordan Mastrogiovanni and Shaan Washington got a lot of playing time on Saturday and they, along with Claiborne, played a little better than the first string guys. These freshmen are young and they are going to make mistakes, but they are going to push these older guys for playing time. Darian Claiborne might be starting sooner rather than later.

In the secondary, Tremaine Jacobs and true freshman Alex Sezar got the start at the corners, Toney Hurd manned the nickel, and Howard Matthews and Clay Honeycutt started at the safeties. Jacobs had a rocky first half, but came down with an interception on the first drive of the second half. Honeycutt wasn’t very impressive, though he also had an interception in the second half. The unit as a whole didn’t play well the first two quarters, but everyone in the secondary elevated their play when Deshazor Everett stepped on the field. When Everett, Harris, and Raven are all available for good, the secondary will be the strength of the A&M defense.

The entire defense had a problem with wrapping up on Saturday, but they’re going to look a heck of a lot better in the coming weeks. After the season opener against Florida last year, there were concerns about our tackling. Then the next game, we held SMU to three points. If you took six starters off of any defense in the country, including Alabama’s, you would see a significant drop off. I’m not trying to say that the A&M defense will be one of the top defenses in the country, I’m just saying that you shouldn’t expect another outing like the one we just saw against Rice. Take a deep breath and say to yourself, “It’s just one game.”

Special Teams:

Our special teams probably performed the best out of anyone on Saturday. Taylor Bertolet sat out the first couple weeks of fall practice due to a hernia injury. He’s still not 100%, which is why you didn’t see him booming kicks through the end zone on kickoffs. If you’re like me, every time Bertolet lined up to kick an extra point or a field goal, you had your fingers crossed. After getting to watch him in a live game this season, I think Taylor Bertolet is a changed man. New special teams coach Jeff Banks was a punter and a kicker at Washington State back in his prime, and that allows him to relate to our specialists and be able to coach them really well. In the spring, he talked about changing Bertolet’s kicking technique to where it involves less thinking, so he can just go out and kick. Bertolet was 7/7 on extra points against Rice, and made his only field goal attempt of the day, which was a 44-yarder. He didn’t just make all of these kicks; he split the uprights on every one of them. Taylor Bertolet and punter Drew Kaser are similar in the fact that they both have NFL legs, but have been inconsistent since they arrived on campus. Until now, that is. Drew Kaser lost out to Ryan Epperson for the starting job last season because of his inconsistency, causing him to redshirt. In practice, one of his punts would go 60 yards and the next would go 30. Those days are over for Drew, who averaged 62.7 yards on his punts in the season opener, with one of those being a 76-yard bomb, and all three of them pinning Rice behind their own 20-yard line. On TexAgs Radio Monday morning, we had a guy call in and say, “I was surprised to see that Shane Lechler still had some eligibility left.” Shane Lechler is a former Aggie punter who has been an all-pro nine times in his career. Drew Kaser could be the next great Aggie punter in the NFL, but before they get to the pros, Kaser and Bertolet are going to be outstanding assets for the Fightin’ Texas Aggie football team.