The Texas A&M Football team managed to get back on track in Week 3 against New Mexico. This came on the heels of a close call against Colorado where the Aggies stumbled to a 2-0 record.
Some fans will argue that only beating New Mexico by 34 points is bad. To those people, I ask — what on earth are you talking about?
Bend, twist, and mold this win into anything you want; one fact will remain true — the Aggies got a dominant win and played their best football on both ends of the field. They didn’t allow a single score from a New Mexico team that was 2-0 coming into the game.
The best part, perhaps, was that there wasn’t a single part of the team that shined. Everybody did their job, and although the defense may be a step ahead of the offense, this team was working with perfect cohesion.
Today, I’m going to grade each position group on how they played against New Mexico. I will be skipping special teams, but the unit had a great day. The punting unit had a great day, the field goal unit performed well, and Ainias Smith had a strong day as a punt returner.
Texas A&M Football Week 3 Positional Grades: QB
Quarterback (Zach Calzada): The only quarterback that we saw on the field on Sunday was Zach Calzada. This is partly due to Haynes King’s injury, though it’s a bit surprising that we never saw Eli Stowers take the field. Calzada played a strong game — specifically, he was great when he had a clean pocket and time to set his feet.
The worrisome part about the backup QB’s game is the fact that he isn’t a particularly great passer in improvisational situations. He did have some strong plays in these types of situations, but one of them resulted in a really bad interception. This is the opposite of what we were used to with Haynes King.
Grade: B+
Texas A&M Football Week 3 Positional Grades: Offense
Runningback: All things considered, Texas A&M’s runningbacks had a great day on Saturday. Isaiah Spiller had his first complete performance of the year with 15 carries for 117 yards and a touchdown, while Devon Achane did what Devon Achane does. The second-string back only had 29 yards on the ground but did collect 45 through the air on three receptions — one of which resulted in a touchdown.
It was a strong showing, though these runningbacks have left a bit to be desired this season. That said, it’s not entirely on them. You’ll see what I mean later.
Grade: B+
Wide Receiver: This position group could make the argument for best on the team on Saturday. Generally speaking, wideout is one of the positions that dominates in games against teams with less talent on their roster. Week 3 was no exception, with the unit as a whole reeling in 275 yards.
Seven different receivers caught passes, six of whom pulled in at least two receptions. One player did stick out in Demond Demas, who made his first catch in an Aggie uniform and had his first 100-yard day in the same outing. He could be a huge threat down the road.
Grade: A
Offensive Line: As strange as it is to say, the offensive line may have had the worst performance of any position group. Zach Calzada was sacked three times and the offensive line allowed an additional three tackles for loss. This is worrisome considering the significant talent gap between A&M and New Mexico.
The Aggies’ run game also struggled again (relatively speaking), with the offensive line unable to create consistent holes for Spiller and Achane. 4.5 yards per carry isn’t bad for A&M, but you’d expect much more against NM.
Grade: C
Texas A&M Football Week 3 Positional Grades: Defense
Secondary: The secondary, by far and away, had the best day of any positional group in this game. Heck, the Aggies’ secondary had one of the best performances of any secondary in college football this past weekend.
Prior to his trip to College Station, Terry Wilson had thrown for 555 yards, six touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He did this while completing 73% of his passes. Against A&M, the Lobo quarterback managed to complete ten passes for just 33 yards and an interception. It was a dominating game for this secondary.
Grade: A+
Defensive Line: It almost seems criminal not to give the defensive line the best grade of the day. The unit was excellent from start to finish, with nine different players recording at least a half tackle for loss. We finally saw a dominating performance from DeMarvin Leal, and considering the Lobos’ lack of passing attack, this defensive line stifled New Mexico.
The team had 11 tackles for loss, including four sacks, on the day. Even when the secondary wasn’t suffocating New Mexico’s receivers, Terry Wilson didn’t have time to find his guys without being rushed by A&M’s defensive line.
Grade: A
Linebackers: The linebackers did everything that they were supposed to do plus some. Aaron Hansford was the star player in this unit with two tackles for loss and a sack. Everybody else was there to do their job when the defensive line wasn’t. There weren’t too many reasons to knock this unit.
Grade: A-