Report Card for Texas A&M Football: Grading Every Position after Ole Miss
Grading Every Position for Texas A&M Football
This week will be a bit of a change for Texas A&M football, as it was the offense that stepped up more so than the defense. In the last few weeks, it’s been the defensive side of the ball that’s gotten straight A’s, while the offense has been somewhat incomplete. Even so, the lopsided nature of the grades in this column has remained from week to week, and that’s a bad sign for this Texas A&M football team. Let’s get into the grades.
Quarterback: There’s not too much more you can say about Max Johnson’s toughness. The guy is clearly fighting through some injuries (though hopefully nothing as serious as what has been rumored), and is still tossing dimes. By PPA, this was his second-highest graded game as a starter for Texas A&M football. He completed 73.8% of his passes for 7.3 YPA, exceeding 300 passing yards for the first time since Conner Weigman went down for the season. The one major mistake he made was the red zone interception, but it’s hard to know exactly who shoulders the fault there. Still, though, that play ended up as the difference between a top-10 win on the road and a 9th straight road loss. GRADE: B
Wide Receiver: Texas A&M football was short handed at the receiver spot coming into the day, due to Evan Stewart’s absence. Stewart is reportedly dealing with a pretty nasty thigh bruise, so hopefully that doesn’t hold him out for any more time. In any case, though, the receiving corps for Texas A&M football stepped up even without Stewart—I wrote about how well Jahdae Walker, in particular, acquitted himself in this one. Ainias Smith was himself, picking up some great YAC almost every time he touched the ball. We got to see some more Moose in this one. You really can’t complain about how these guys played. GRADE: A
Running Backs: The three-back rotation the Aggies are using is still yielding as good of results as you could hope, with one guy or another stepping up every week—more often than not, that guy is Le’Veon Moss. Moss had another big day going on the ground before taking what looked like a helmet to a knee, but Amari Daniels stepped up in his stead. You can see the potential with Rueben Owens, but he needs to develop a bit more strength before he truly breaks out. Overall, though, a decent day for the backs, even in pass protection. GRADE: B
Offensive Line: This was the best surprise of the day: more often than not, the offensive line did a decent job at giving Max time to throw the ball. The Ags only surrendered one sack and three TFLs on the day, giving Aggie fans a taste of how effective the offense can be when they stay ahead of the chains, especially late in the game. The explosive play was less of a factor in this one, but Ole Miss could hardly stop the offense from churning up and down the field after the first quarter. Max faced pressure from time to time, but it definitely felt like less than it had in previous weeks. GRADE: B