The Texas A&M football team had a late bye week this year, playing football week-by-week through the eighth week of the season. Thus far, it’s been a rollercoaster ride for the Aggies, who have had a two-game losing streak against unranked opponents and the upset of the No. 1 team in the country within a three-week span.
At this point in time, Texas A&M is back on track, though their College Football Playoff hopes may have to be put on hold until next season.
That said, the Aggies are in a better position than many expected them to be at this point. How can they keep working to improve their game on a bye week? Here are three keys to winning the bye week for Jimbo Fisher’s football team.
Key No. 1: The Texas A&M football team needs to see some SEC teams drop
I’m giving this key the half-slide because I’ve already discussed it at considerable length in previous posts. That said, it would seem wrong not to mention it.
The Aggies need some help from other SEC teams if they still want a chance to compete for an SEC Championship. The Aggies need a handful of SEC West teams to lose, including Alabama, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Auburn.
The Tide will have their bye week at the same time, so Texas A&M won’t be able to watch.
That said, Auburn and Ole Miss will be facing off against one another on the 30th. This game will be huge for the Aggies, as they need both teams to lose. In the two weeks following their bye, the Texas A&M football team will have a chance to give both teams a loss. A loss for these squads now would help A&M’s case.
Key No. 2: The Texas A&M football team needs to get organized offensively
The 2021 football season has not been forgiving for the Texas A&M football team. The Aggies kicked off the year with a dominant win, but immediately after, they came down with a case of the injury bug.
This knocked out a handful of offensive linemen, one of whom is still out, and has kept starting quarterback Haynes King out for every game of the season outside of A&M’s season opener.
With these injuries, the Aggies lost a sense of organization. Take offensive lineman Kenyon Green as an example — the Aggie All-American shifted all over Texas A&M’s offensive line in the first few weeks of the season. He excelled, but there was no sense of stability.
Finally, Texas A&M has found a way to avoid injuries lately. Unfortunately, their late bye week has not allowed for them to take time and get completely organized. During their Week 9 absence, they’ll get that opportunity.
While the defense has been relatively injury-free, the offense will benefit immensely from this chance. Even though the offense has already seen improvements, expect the 69th-ranked team in total offense to take another step forward in the coming weeks.
The more Zach Calzada settles in, the better he gets — if the Aggies want to win the bye week, they have to get their quarterback as comfortable as possible. This means preparing the entire offense and getting everybody on the same page.
Key No. 3: The Texas A&M football team would benefit from improved passing defense
In the first few weeks of the season, the Texas A&M football team looked like it had the best passing defense in the country by a mile. Prior to the Arkansas game, A&M led the country in defensive passing yards allowed by a wide margin.
Unfortunately, the team’s poor offense kept the defense on the field far too long in the two following weeks. This seemingly tired out A&M’s corners and caused an Aggie secondary to suffer, allowing huge passing totals of 246 and 408 in its next two games. Even a win against Alabama saw the Tide pass for 369 yards against Mike Elko’s defense.
The Aggies did clamp up against South Carolina, allowing just 30 passing yards through three quarters before garbage time. Still, one game against a team starting a graduate assistant at quarterback is nothing to hang your hat on.
If Texas A&M wants to be the second-best team in the SEC, they have to improve their pass defense.
Specifically, the Aggies’ contest against Ole Miss on November 13th will rely heavily on this pass defense showing up. Jimbo Fisher will be preparing his team for Auburn, but it wouldn’t hurt to get them ready for a Matt Corral-led offense.