Texas A&M Football 2017: 5 takeaways from loss to Auburn in Week 10

Texas A&M football finds themselves facing a daunting November slate once again. What did we learn from their loss to Auburn in Week 10?

The Aggies were riding high following a  Week 7 win over the Florida Gators. It marked the first win in the Swamp in school history and put the team back in the thick of the SEC West race. Following a bye week the team came out flat and fell to Mississippi State. All the positive vibes dissipated and Kevin Sumlin was once again back on the hot seat.

Texas A&M  5-3 (3-2) hosts the Auburn Tigers 6-2 (4-1) in Week 10. Auburn is coming off a blowout win over the Arkansas Razorbacks and checked in at No. 14 in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season.

This game saw a flurry of big plays and blocked kicks but when the final whistle sounded it was Auburn that came away with the road victory – the sixth win by the road team in this series in six SEC games.

Here are five takeaways from Texas A&M’s Week 10 loss against Auburn.

1. The potential is there

It was far from a perfect game from the Aggies, especially on offense. But even with the frustrations there was plenty of glimpses of what this team could be. Whether or not the Aggies will reach their potential under Kevin Sumlin is a loaded question in itself, but the proof of the possibility was evident on Saturday.

Christian Kirk made some big plays for the first time in what seemed like eons and Trayveon Williams busted his biggest run since Week 1 against UCLA. The defense played with the hair on fire and the crowd was more involved than they had been at any point during the Mississippi State debacle.

There’s plenty of blame to throw around and excuses to be made for why this team hasn’t been able to reach their ceiling this season. But those saying this team isn’t good enough to do it are dead wrong. The talent and fight on this team is more evident than it has been at any other moment this year.