Texas A&M had a much-needed off day today after their extremely physical contest with Notre Dame last week. The Aggies were treated to an excellent slate of games— ones which were not only entertaining, but educational.
Here are five things the Aggies learned about their team and opponents over the bye week.
What Texas A&M learned over bye week: Maybe the defense is fine after all
I think most Aggie fans expected Notre Dame to win this week against Purdue, despite playing in a highly emotional and very physical game last week in South Bend. They blew the Boilermakers out of the water, but it didn't quite happen like anyone expected.
There was some weather weirdness, which often creates some strange factors in these games, but the Fighting Irish ended up triumphing over Purdue 56-30. Over these last two weeks, and including the end of the Miami game, the ND offense looks like they've really figured things out and could actually be the strength of the team.
They did end up giving up 30 points to Purdue, but all-American CB Leonard Moore was out of this game and most of the Boilermakers' passing yards were specifically targeting his backup. The defense for the Irish this year isn't what it was last year, but I wouldn't worry too much about that piece of things.
That means the defense, which really only gave up 33 thanks to one touchdown being off of a blocked punt, could be in better shape than a lot of naysayers have opined over the last few days. It doesn't quite look like a finished product right now, but there's a lot to be excited about.
One thing's for sure: they'll need to step up in the coming weeks. Auburn and Mississippi State have both shown that they can score points, but the Florida game may end up being a real slugfest.