The Texas A&M Football team kicked off their season in expected fashion. For a lot of Aggie fans, the game was extremely stressful, particularly in the first half. Jimbo Fisher’s squad likely could have separated themselves earlier, but it seemed like they wanted the offense to get comfortable as a more balanced unit.
It wasn’t until a decent way into the third quarter that this team came alive. Specifically, A&M outscored Kent State 31-7 in the second half with points that included a pick-six and a handful of efficient drives.
The final score was 41-10, and even though it wasn’t the through and through dominant performance that many fans expected, it was a convincing victory for a team with a new offense. Along the way, this team gave us a few reasons to be excited. Today, I’m going to go over those reasons.
Reason No. 1: The Texas A&M Football team’s offensive line looked solid
Something that was a worry coming into this season was whether or not Texas A&M’s offensive line would be up to par. The only returning player was Kenyon Green, who, in a surprising turn of events, actually had a rough night. The likely first-round draft pick finished the game with a couple of holding calls under his belt.
Still, the offensive line as a whole looked solid. Haynes King was pressured at times, but he had time to make throws in the pocket. The unit also blocked extremely well in the run game, allowing the Aggies to rush for 305 yards on the night.
Overall, it was a pleasant surprise.
Reason No. 2: The Texas A&M Football team has an unfair amount of depth at the wide receiver spot
This slide won’t surprise you in any way, even if you didn’t watch Saturday night’s game. In short, the Texas A&M Football team has more depth than we could have ever expected.
When I say depth, I’m not referring to the guys listed as 5th, 6th, and 6th-string on the depth chart. I’m referring to the fact that any one of Texas A&M’s top five pass-catchers could be the team’s number one guy.
In fact, from a statistical standpoint, this team spread the wealth through the air exactly as expected. The only thing that was lacking was touchdowns, which weren’t really necessary when the run game was working so well.
On the night, Ainias Smith led the unit, reeling in 100 yards and the team’s two touchdowns through the air. Under him, you had Caleb Chapman, who had a great game returning from injury with four receptions and 91 receiving yards. Below Chapman, you’ll see Chase Lane and Jalen Wydermyer, both of whom had at least 36 yards and three catches.
It wasn’t the most explosive passing night, but who can complain about Haynes King throwing for 292 yards?
The receivers made King’s job relatively easy and it seemed like he was comfortable passing to any of these guys. There were a couple of early miscommunications which led to Haynes King’s three interceptions, but those are kinks that will be worked out by the time we get deeper into the season.
The best part? There are still more than a handful of players waiting to get their shot on the bench. We only got a small sample size.
Reason No. 3: The Texas A&M Football team’s secondary looked elite
You can say a million things about the Kent State Football team, including the fact that they’re a MAC team. Heck, you can throw around the fact that they haven’t played another non-MAC opponent in years.
Still, there’s one undeniable fact — the Golden Flashes know how to work the passing game.
Last season, the Golden Flashes led the country in yards per game, most of which came via Dustin Crum and their passing game. They averaged 323.5 yards through the air per contest, a number that the Texas A&M football team likely only hoped to slow down.
Well… they did a pretty good job.
The game concluded and Kent State’s quarterback in Dustin Crum only threw for 89 yards. He didn’t reach the endzone and instead, the ball landed in Leon O’Neal’s hands twice on the night. His 0:2 touchdown-to-interception ratio was uncharacteristically bad, especially for a guy who has thrown 34 touchdown passes to just four interceptions in the past two seasons.
Yes, this is a much less talented Kent State team, but there is honor in holding a passing unit that has been elite to that little yardage.