Instant Reaction: Texas A&M Football Falls vs. Miami, 48-33

Well, that wasn’t very fun!

After a blistering start from Texas A&M football and some great special teams play, the offense really bogged down in the second quarter. Before half, the Hurricanes finished a comeback from being down 17-7, taking a 21-17 lead into the break. Though the Aggies started to move the ball well again after the midpoint of the game, they were stymied again and again by either ill-timed turnovers or red zone struggles. Both proved debilitating for the chances of this Texas A&M football squad, as Miami pressed their advantages.

It just seemed like one thing after another was going wrong for this Aggie team out of halftime. The defense obviously got burned time and time again, but the most surprising thing was the kickoff return for a touchdown that the Aggies surrendered—albeit courtesy of an uncalled hold against Sam Matthews. After what had up until that point been a dominant showing in the third phase of the game, this was a disappointing eventuality.

Texas A&M football needed an immediate response. Their malaise remained, however, until too late. The Hurricanes would add a field goal to go up by 11 points before the Aggies were able to get anything going on offense. A long offensive drive by the Ags culminated in a 19-yard pass to fullback Earnest Crownover. The mistakes reared their ugly head once more, however, with a failed two-point conversion thanks to a bad snap. Things were getting late already for the Aggies, and the Hurricanes would score ten more points to put the game out of reach for good. More points would be scored, but that was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

I’ll say this: I like how the Aggies responded after that. The drive to get to 33 points really showed Weigman’s quality as a passer, with several strikes that were right on target—especially in the face of pressure like we saw on that 4th and goal. I also did not expect near this poor of a performance from the Aggie defense. One of the best defenses in the nation against the pass last year gave up way too many huge plays, to the tune of 12.5 YPA allowed to Van Dyke. It goes without saying that if you give up 41 points (to be fair—7 were on the special teams unit) on the road, you aren’t winning very many games.

We’ll have more reaction and takeaways later tonight and tomorrow. I don’t want to close this article without remarking about the scary scene we saw involving Kamren Kinchens. Prayers for him, and hopefully we will receive good news on his status soon.