In what was a dominant second half of football for the Texas A&M Aggies, the offense answered big time after a 75-yard touchdown run by Robert Henry Jr. It seems fans are still riled up about that, but for good reason.
The Aggies defense simply cannot play like they did in the first half against some of the SEC's best and get away with it. Mike Elko made it clear in his postgame presser that he does not want to repeat the same mistakes we saw last season. On the other hand, the new faces on offense certainly made an impact, and they showed fans why they are worth the price of admission.
Here are three risers and one faller for Texas A&M's win against UTSA.
Riser: Mario Craver
This was about the easiest riser of all. Mario Craver finished with eight catches, 122 yards and two scores in his Texas A&M debut. Fans were expecting big things from this offense this season, and Craver fits the billing of everything we've been waiting for.
Even though he stands at 5-foot-9, his speed is something fun to watch. He will be a stud hopefully lots of times this season.
Riser: KC Concepcion
It wouldn't be fair if the other WR wasn't on here. KC Concepcion went for an 80-yard touchdown on a punt return to light up Kyle on the first score of the season. Concepcion was one of the best all-around players on the field Saturday night, going for a total of 166 yards.
He also scored on a 31-yard touchdown catch where he beat all of his defenders going down the far sideline. This shows that the offense isn't playing around, and the two new receivers made sure we got the message.
Faller: Texas A&M run defense
This doesn't go to any player in particular, so, we'll take it easy for this first week. The defense eventually cleaned themselves up, but they have to do some soul-searching after giving up a 75-yard touchdown run to Henry Jr.
Elko and Taurean York made it clear that things will need to change come next week and beyond, and there were lapses on the defensive end, now was the time to make those mistakes.
Riser: Marcel Reed
QB1 answered the critics. Marcel Reed passed for 289 yards and threw for four touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed the ball eight times for 39.
This was a game where Reed felt like he had to prove himself to all the haters. The only critique was an overthrow on a bomb where Concepcion completely broke free.
Other than that, Reed looked about as cool and calm as we expected him to be. He is ready to be the QB1 of the Aggies for the future, and he answered that on Saturday.