Arky vs aggy Saturday, Sept 25th 2:30pm CT CBS

[kevwun 15,653]

I would venture to say Arkansas is good.  They are a big and physical team.

[TexArcher 37,522]

10 hours ago, MIkeHoncho said:

from Texags:  "It's not a meltdown when we lose to Arkansas the first time in ten years and are no longer in contention for the single purpose of the program" What the fuck?  The "single purpose of the program" is to lick 'Bama taint.  They will still do that more than any other team in America. 

This fucking kills me.  Everyone on that site who's 22 and under has never seen aggy win a conference championship, but now they expect to win a national championship.  Because they managed to go 1-1 against good teams and 8-0 against bad teams last year?  

They might as well say that their single purpose is to put a sheep on Mars.  Dream bigger, fuckwits.

[Elmer_Fudd 22,109]

[Hagbard Celine 10,763]

9 hours ago, LTtxfan said:

I feel like aggy should furnish a gibberish interpreter whenever Jimbo has a press conference...

WTF did he just say here??

in the first 40 seconds there are 3 unintelligible utterances, but i have a solution for aggy.... just hack the feed from the presser and play this:

 

[touchthemonolith 646]

6 minutes ago, Hagbard Celine said:

in the first 40 seconds there are 3 unintelligible utterances, but i have a solution for aggy.... just hack the feed from the presser and play this:

 

Hell of a bluegrass singer, though.

[Hagbard Celine 10,763]

8 hours ago, ousux said:

If I had a car dealership I'd hire Jimbo in a heartbeat.

jimbo would NEVER lose a TruCoat sale

100% conversion rate

[Scooter Monzingo 820]

Jimbo is Chizik 2.0. He can win if he has a personnel advantage like crab legs. Otherwise he is an average coach.

[Elmer_Fudd 22,109]

I posted in the recruiting thread, but on SEC Rant they are saying in Jimbo's PC after the game that he threw Elko and the defense under the bus.

[Hagbard Celine 10,763]

14 minutes ago, Elmer_Fudd said:

 

When-dyagon it'd like you born into this world man and you got — it's like this: dust in the wind man, or like a dang ol' candle in the wind man. You gon — it don matter man it's not the old oldies all th' time man. You know what I think man? It'd like the the dang ol – I think therefore you are man.

[Deej 76,568]

19 minutes ago, Elmer_Fudd said:

I posted in the recruiting thread, but on SEC Rant they are saying in Jimbo's PC after the game that he threw Elko and the defense under the bus.

Smart encouraging Elko to move on with that shit. aggy offense is so powerful, who needs defense?

[VaLonghorn99 340]

Our loss to Arky was due to:

1. Prioritizing potential and future over experience and maturity at the QB position. Our freshman QB displayed text book freshman mistakes in the debacle.

2. No one saw Arky to be a top 25 team this year including us. Arky is a good team this year. Storming the field after beating us in a way shows respect. Maybe we jump started their dormant program. 

Good thing is we learned from our mistake and made the appropriate changes. Now our offense is exploding and the future looks bright. My expectation right now is us being unbeaten rest of the way. HOOK'EM

[LTtxfan 48,980]

51 minutes ago, Hagbard Celine said:

in the first 40 seconds there are 3 unintelligible utterances, but i have a solution for aggy.... just hack the feed from the presser and play this:

 

[Horn Dogg 3,808]

Aggy is not “SEC Ready.”  We will have to break them in when we get there.

[HornsOverIthaca 2,333]

1 hour ago, touchthemonolith said:

Hell of a bluegrass singer, though.

Jimbo can't do this either.

[Bill Lumbergh 7,170]

I posted in the recruiting thread, but on SEC Rant they are saying in Jimbo's PC after the game that he threw Elko and the defense under the bus.

Because I hurt my foot and I'm not allowed to leave bed this weekend so I have nothing better to do, I broke down his critical comments on offense and defense below. It's roughly paraphrased from only his opening comments (I'm not listening to all of it).

Shades of Mack Brown defending Greg Davis when the offense was clearly the bigger issue. They held Arkansas to 20 pts and only scored one touchdown, and most of the blame seems to fall on the defense not helping enough with field position despite not letting them score much.

If I'm Elko, I'm taking all of the calls right now.

Critical comments on the offense:
We get down to the 30 yard line with a shot at a good field goal, miss a block and lose 8-10 yards there
Missed one block on a play we felt really good about
We'd get to midfield and get stalled with a mistake or a penalty

Critical comments on the defense:
They were scoring hot, so it was important for us to match tds, fgs, or something
We gave up too many big plays
They had 300 yards in the first half
We didn't tackle well
They hit big plays
They had 7 completions and 212 yards
Had three scoring drives and went up 17-0
They made one nice stop on the 4th and 1
We didn't give up points in the second half but we were still giving up drives
We had them pinned inside the 25, inside the 20, and we let them pick up some big first downs
They'd punt it and we'd end up with a long field offensively
We didn't feed off of each other and win the field position battle in the second half
We could've shortened the field and got some more points

[WinningIsHard 4,017]

I mentioned this in the Texas v arky thread but that DL they have is pretty fucking good. Tre Williams number 55 dominates the line of scrimmage. With auburn being mediocre, lsu a dumpster fire, those inbred Mississippi teams being who they always are and our favorite sheep fuckers sucking shit through a straw…arky is potentially the second best SEC West team right now. Let’s drag our nuts across a Patterson defense that gave up 41 to Smu. 

[po elvis 2,070]

3 minutes ago, Bill Lumbergh said:

They held Arkansas to 20 pts and only scored one touchdown, and most of the blame seems to fall on the defense not helping enough with field position despite not letting them score much.

Jefferson getting hurt is what held Arky to 20 points. Would have been 34ish. But yeah, Jimbo's offense is horrible.

[Js1 85,114]

1 minute ago, po elvis said:

Jefferson getting hurt is what held Arky to 20 points. Would have been 34ish. But yeah, Jimbo's offense is horrible.

They’re running a worse version of Case McCoy out there. Not even enough moxie and crazy legs to do much. Anything longer than 5 yards tended to miss pretty badly

[Bill Lumbergh 7,170]

They’re running a worse version of Case McCoy out there. Not even enough moxie and crazy legs to do much. Anything longer than 5 yards tended to miss pretty badly

aggy would prefer not talk about the moxie of case McCoy.

[Royale with cheese 1,460]

12 hours ago, JimmyJames said:

Hate to say it but I was rooting for aggy to lose to the pigs and all the while felt kinda bad doing it. They won but it still feels kind of dirty, main difference Is I should have been indifferent. Might bring it up in my next counseling session. 

Bullshit. Piggie win was my counseling session. 

[InkaUtexas 25,523]

16 hours ago, Js1 said:

I think I’d just spontaneously combust 

Damn man, I thought it was going to happen. But glad you did not combust. 

 

[InkaUtexas 25,523]

2 hours ago, pyrohornIII said:

From the outside looking in, you can't understand it.  From the inside looking out, you can't explain it.  Certainly this made perfect sense to aggy.

aggy.... always behind the 8 ball. 

[ousux 5,587]

Our loss to Arky was due to:
1. Prioritizing potential and future over experience and maturity at the QB position. Our freshman QB displayed text book freshman mistakes in the debacle.
2. No one saw Arky to be a top 25 team this year including us. Arky is a good team this year. Storming the field after beating us in a way shows respect. Maybe we jump started their dormant program. 
Good thing is we learned from our mistake and made the appropriate changes. Now our offense is exploding and the future looks bright. My expectation right now is us being unbeaten rest of the way. HOOK'EM

aggys loss is much worse than ours, it's not even close...in spite of us getting pantsed.

We had film for one game..a game in which they didnt exactly blow the doors off a sub par Rice team. aggy had film showing exactly what they did to us and how they did it.

It's very simple, they are convinced we're trash and the arky game against us wasnt an aberration, and they started buying into the idiotic talking heads placing them top 10 in spite of zero real justification for anything other than maybe low top 25.

[williemackgarza 1,826]

Did demas contribute??

[Pato del Muerto 52,342]

3 minutes ago, williemackgarza said:

Did demas contribute??

2 for like 23. 

[ousux 5,587]

2 for like 23. 

Whoop! 5* domination

[coachherman'sgrill 1,982]

 Never forget they gave Jimbo a national title trophy without a year on it. These fuckin people man 

And they quote him as a national championship coach implying he won with aggy

[Lobwedgephil 1,139]

Spoiler

Heading into Texas A&M’s SEC-opening showdown with No. 16 Arkansas, Jimbo Fisher and the Aggies knew that what they’d shown during the first three games of the season wouldn’t be enough. The hope — and belief — was that the Ags, winners of eleven straight games, would walk into Jerryworld prepared for a 12-round heavyweight fight. An old-school, SEC West bare-knuckle brawl. Four quarters of physical football against an Arkansas team led by fiery Sam Pittman and a locker room full of opponents hell-bent on breaking the Ags’ nine-game run in the series.

For the Razorbacks, this was personal.

Inexplicably, the Aggies didn’t get the memo.

Texas A&M — riding a winning streak that spanned nearly an entire season’s worth of games — looked like a team that didn’t have a clue what SEC football was all about. The Ags were overwhelmed early on both sides of the ball and didn’t gather themselves until the third quarter when it was simply too little, too late.

The Ags were overwhelmed early on both sides of the ball and didn’t gather themselves until the third quarter when it was simply too little, too late.

Sure, the guys in Maroon & White showed heart and plenty of pride in stemming the tide, eventually cutting the Razorback lead to 7. Hell, the Ags had the ball with a chance to tie early in the fourth quarter, which didn’t seem remotely possible during an atrocious start to the game. Alas, Pittman’s Pigs were not to be denied on this day at AT&T Stadium. When things got tough, the Hogs closed things in a manner that the Aggies perfected last season. They did it with big plays, stops on defense and grinding out first downs and the clock with a punishing fourth-quarter ground attack.

There’s a lot to unpack following the Ags’ first loss in nearly a calendar year, but the biggest issue right now is that it seems somewhere along the path from last year’s 9-1 march to an Orange Bowl victory and top-five finish, the Aggies have forgotten the formula that got them there.

Grit, toughness of the physical and mental variety, winning the fourth quarter and, oftentimes, flat out wanting it more than the opponent. We saw it last year time and time again — the Orange Bowl, at Auburn, versus LSU, Florida and even against Arkansas. Heading into Saturday’s contest, the Ags were somewhere around 14-4 in what I’d consider ‘close’ or four-quarter games under Jimbo, so a “let’s stand in the middle of the ring and trade blows for four quarters” battle sure felt like it would be perfectly comfortable for Texas A&M.

Instead, Arkansas took the fight to the Aggies from the start, and it took A&M far too long to regroup and respond. Pittman’s Pigs were ready for a fight from the opening bell, and Fisher’s crew was not. Certainly not on offense (the Ags scored one touchdown and finished the game with just 272 yards) and not even on defense, where the final numbers were respectable, but Mike Elko’s unit was ambushed on the Hogs’ first three possessions.

USA Today

KJ Jefferson and the Arkansas rushing attack ran for 197 yards against the Aggies

In the early stages of a game on the big stage, the Aggies were pushed around on both lines of scrimmage, missed easy tackles (even pulling up in embarrassing fashion on a long Razorback touchdown run), committed ridiculous penalties, executed incredibly poorly in the passing game and were positively out-schemed on both sides during the week leading up to the game. Everything in the aforementioned list would fall into the “unacceptable” bucket, but that’s especially true when the opponent isn’t Clemson, Alabama or Georgia but rather Arkansas.

Look, Pittman and Co. have built a good team in Fayetteville.

The Hogs can run the ball. They play excellent defense, have some dangerous weapons in the passing game and are a physical, veteran bunch, probably the most experienced team in the Southeastern Conference. They also believe. In a lot of ways, they favor last season’s Aggies.

Still, the reason for saying it’s unacceptable to lose to Arkansas in the manner A&M did is simple: Unlike the other programs I mentioned, Fisher, Elko and the gang have been recruiting at a much higher level, are supposed to have more high-end NFL talent and are paid and have the experience expected to show up big for big games. While it’s not the mortal sin some believe it to be to lose for just the second time in three-plus seasons, let’s call it a less-funded and less-evolved program. In no way is falling behind the Hogs 17-0 three possessions into the game and being physically whipped for four quarters something that should happen in year four of the Fisher Era.

That’s where I end the rant. We all agree, right? I’m fairly certain Jimbo, Elko and any coach or player on the trip back to College Station feel the same. At least you’d damn sure hope so. I mean, we could all be message board maniacs on the first ‘Day After’ in a year or address the real elephant in the room.

And no, I’m not talking about the head coach or the direction of the program.

Fisher is as culpable and probably more so than any individual player for the product the Aggies trotted onto the field at AT&T yesterday, but he’s also the guy who won 11 straight games heading into the 20-10 loss. That’s the longest such streak Texas A&M has seen in roughly 30 years. I’m an Aggie and a fan just like every one of you, so believe me, I get it. Very high after the wins and questioning everything after the losses, however infrequent they’ve become around here.

USA Today

Following Saturday’s action, Sam Pittman’s team is now ranked No. 8 in the AP Poll, while Fisher’s team has dropped to No. 15.

However, if you’re questioning where this program is headed by focusing on yesterday’s showing/outcome and choosing to ignore what’s happened over the past year, well, have fun with that.

On Saturday, the Aggies ran into a buzzsaw in Arkansas. The Hogs are one of the hottest teams in the country right now. They also happen to be one of the most experienced, and the talent level, while not on A&M’s level top to bottom, is pretty damn strong at the top. The Hogs have “super seniors” dotting the roster, something the Ags have used to their benefit on defense this season and could use on offense right about now.

Imagine if Carson Green, Jared Hocker and Ryan McCollum would have opted to return for one more run. The Aggies are virtually devoid of experience along the offensive line. They were down a pair of starting receivers on Saturday and are without the player who created most of the offseason excitement and anticipation on offense in starting quarterback Haynes King.

Those aren’t excuses, folks. Those are facts, and while a deeper dive into the Ags’ offensive issues is certainly necessary, a big part of the reason A&M lost yesterday is that they lack experience where it matters most to any team, along the offensive line and at quarterback, where six of seven of those guys (plus a couple of receivers) were playing their first meaningful snaps in an SEC game in an intense, big-game environment at the Death Star. That’s especially true for a Fisher-coached squad. Look no further than last season, when Jimbo rode a poised four-year starter at quarterback and an offensive line consisting of four seniors to a top-five finish.

The finish. That’s Fisher’s primary concern today and in the days and weeks ahead.

We’re no longer talking about last year’s team. That was a special group that had it all working in terms of chemistry, experience and having a keen grasp on what it took to win at the highest level of college football. The Ags showed very little to get fired up about in their first three games, but there was hope that with some battle-tested veterans and star players, the Maroon & White would get it together in time for Saturday’s SEC opener on the big stage. Instead, what we got was stage fright and a four-hour lesson that one season does not carry over into the next, even for individual players.

We’re now a third of the way through the 2021 season, and the Ags are still a very flawed and vulnerable team. A top-20 outfit thanks mainly to a strong defense but certainly not the title-contender everyone inside of Bright and throughout the 12th Man had hoped.

For all the talk yesterday about the program Pittman is building in Fayetteville — and it is a remarkable story — what Jimbo and the powers-that-be at A&M have their sights set on is a long run of excellence. What many of us have forgotten is that there are going to be bumps in the road, and the Ags have already had their fair share this fall. The climb to emerging as a true college football power is a perilous one, and no one knows more than Fisher how a small slip can lead to a long, painful tumble if you’re not careful.

Jimbo has to right the ship in a hurry to keep momentum on the Ags’ side on the recruiting trail and also to continue to build a championship culture.

The point being: One loss doesn’t make or break a program, but a season full of frustrating or even ugly setbacks can.

Jimbo has to right the ship in a hurry to keep momentum on the Ags’ side on the recruiting trail and also to continue to build a championship culture. Remember, the guys in the A&M locker room tasted losing for the first time in a while yesterday. Hopefully, it’s something they don’t want to experience again anytime soon.

Big picture stuff aside, what Fisher is trying to figure out today is how to fix all of the issues — and there are many — that led to yesterday’s outcome.

One loss is just that, but the fact of the matter is the Ags haven’t played well at all this season. The things that kept them from being competitive throughout the first half versus Arkansas and from completing the comeback will result in several more losses if the Ags don’t start looking like a completely different team. Four games in, the Aggies look shaky as hell.

As is always the case, it starts with the head coach and his staff.

The Ags have been dealt a pretty brutal hand offensively in the early going. First King, then Caleb Chapman, then Chase Lane and injuries that have led to zero consistency along the offensive line. While the ‘why’ is understandable, Fisher and Darrell Dickey have to figure out the ‘what.’ As in what do they to fix it because two touchdowns in two games versus Power 5 opposition is absolutely outlandish.

While defense certainly hasn’t been the issue, the Ags were cut through with ease early against Arkansas, and an honest eyeball test tells you that Elko should probably start considering making some subtle personnel changes before a couple of leaks in the dam turn into something bigger.

The coaches have to put players like Zach Calzada — who looked visibly flustered throughout most of his first SEC start — in a better position to succeed. Just one example, but when Isaiah Spiller rips off a 67-yard touchdown run midway through the third to cut the Razorback lead to 17-10 and then Devon Achane steps off eight yards on first down to open the next drive, how on earth do the Ags not run the ball a single time the remainder of the contest?

Defensively, a veteran group looked on their heels and confused early, as Kendal Briles and KJ Jefferson were in all-out attack mode to start the game. Fisher and Dickey will have to get very creative and less predictable in the run game moving forward while figuring out how to turn Calzada into a more aware and decisive quarterback. Improvement along the offensive line is obviously a must, but that’s the one thing that should come as a talented group gets more and more playing time.

USA Today

Isaiah Spiller’s electrifying 67-yard touchdown run that cut Arkansas’ lead was among the very few Aggie highlights.

Perhaps Fisher’s most significant challenge this week will be figuring out how to convince his team to start playing football with the sense of urgency shown last fall.

Watching the Ags through four games, it’s just not there. What’s more alarming is that we’re seeing many plays where guys in Maroon & White are being beaten in the effort department. Too many penalties, too many missed tackles, too many lazy routes and an embarrassing showing yesterday (and all season, for that matter) from the wideouts and tight ends blocking on the perimeter. Isaiah Spiller being the obvious of only a few exceptions, the Aggies did not look like a team that wanted it nearly as badly as Arkansas did yesterday, and that might be the toughest fix of all. It’s also not what we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from a Fisher-coached team. This is where more veterans than just Spiller — who was very vocal during practice last week and backed it up on the field — need to step up, start making plays and lead. Things should begin to get very uncomfortable beginning Monday.

We’ll dive deeper into the offense and defense tonight and tomorrow in the ‘Game in Review’ segments, but the fact of the matter is that the 2021 Aggies have reached a fork in the road earlier than expected. Three of the next four heading into the mid-season bye still look very winnable, at which point the Ags will have Haynes King back and, hopefully, a more experienced and confident group blocking for the dual-threat signal-caller. That said, nothing on the SEC schedule looks like a given at this point, not a Mississippi State team that can play a little defense and score some points on Saturday and not a road game against Connor Bazelak and Missouri. Fisher and his staff have little margin for error and will have to be on top of their Xs and Os and motivational game, and the guys taking the snaps on Saturday need to ask themselves today if they’re okay with being thoroughly outplayed and ultimately being viewed as one of the country’s most disappointing teams. Or would they rather start playing with the type of grit, focus and determination that the program’s foundation under Fisher was built on and begin the challenging but far-from-impossible climb back into New Year’s Six bowl contention?

As outlandish as that may sound today, it’s certainly still on the table for a team that played about as poorly as it could yesterday yet still found themselves down by a score with the ball in the fourth quarter against a team that is now in the top-ten.

Fisher and the Aggies aren’t alone in what has already been a wild season. Clemson is already a two-loss team after losing to NC State. Ohio State looked every bit as shaky as A&M did a couple of weeks ago in losing to Oregon. Preseason No. 7 Iowa State is finished, and Oklahoma and Notre Dame look incredibly vulnerable. A couple of these teams will right the ship and end up having championship or New Year’s Six type seasons. For the Ags to fall on the right side of that cut line, a lot has to change, and Saturday’s showing needs to stand out in December as Texas A&M’s worst of the season.

In the postgame presser, defensive end DeMarvin Leal said the Ags “have to get back to grabbing every single crumb.” It’s a mindset that served the Ags well throughout last fall and something that’s been missing so far this year. If the Aggies need a reminder of what that mentality and approach looks like, they need not watch tape of last season but rather give Saturday’s loss another look and focus on the team wearing Red & White.

 

 

 

[DigglerontheHoof 21,065]

Lotta words to say “oh no, we suck again!”

[Scholz 11,934]

Wow what a load of crap

[ousux 5,587]

I only wanted hog to win so everyone would realize we didnt get our asses handed to us by the worst SEC team. Now that national narrative shifts and it helps Texas. Aggy played like warmed over shit today. Their offense sucks, their line sucks, their QB sucks, and they will strike fear into the heart of nobody the rest of the year.

The fact we're still outside the top 25 today says the narrative hasn't really changed, but I'm ok with that. If we hang an L on fat Gare's sweaty forehead next week the national media won't be able to further write us off.

[RabidM 2,664]

In case you missed the game:

 

 

[Bullneck 18,987]

 

[LTtxfan 48,980]

8 hours ago, WinningIsHard said:

I mentioned this in the Texas v arky thread but that DL they have is pretty fucking good. Tre Williams number 55 dominates the line of scrimmage. With auburn being mediocre, lsu a dumpster fire, those inbred Mississippi teams being who they always are and our favorite sheep fuckers sucking shit through a straw…arky is potentially the second best SEC West team right now. Let’s drag our nuts across a Patterson defense that gave up 41 to Smu. 

I think the wear and tear of consecutive games playing aggy/Jawja/Ole Miss/Auburn will really show up for Arky over next few weeks.   Arky still has depth problems that Coach Pittman will be working to improve in the future... 

 

[Aqua Buddha 14,522]

4 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

I think the wear and tear of consecutive games playing aggy/Jawja/Ole Miss/Auburn will really show up for Arky over next few weeks.   Arky still has depth problems that Coach Pittman will be working to improve in the future... 

 

I was surprised at the lack of QB depth.  After Jefferson, it’s really just Hornsby and he evidently can’t throw at all.

Surprised they didn’t hit the portal.

[Bullneck 18,987]

Quote

Ag_09

1:06p

 

AG

 

I agree. He has checked out. He adds nothing to the team at this point. It looks like he's given up. No leadership, apparent lack of effort, bad routes. He's doing nothing to help out our less than average qb. He needs to wake up.

 

3

 

 

threemeat

1:16p

 

 

The whole team is gonna check out of they keep that no talent hack at QB. Why should anyone else even try at all if Calzone is gonna continue his quest to total abomination. I can't even stand to watch this trash. I can't imagine if I was actually part of this disaster. Only 1 win left on the schedule this year. Prepare your bunghole.

 

3

 

 

SinKiller

1:20p

 

 

He has definitely been playing half-ass. This dude ain't playing in a bowl game, that's obvious. This is just a pre-cursor of how it's gone be with these guys getting paid.

 

[Burt Macklin 18,998]

26 minutes ago, Aqua Buddha said:

I was surprised at the lack of QB depth.  After Jefferson, it’s really just Hornsby and he evidently can’t throw at all.

Surprised they didn’t hit the portal.

It's pretty dififcult to hit the portal for a backup QB, and the staff brought in a transfer QB last year, so they probably would've lost Jefferson if they did that two years in a row.  It's just not easy to have QB depth if you have a clear starter with all the transfers. 

[Mileslong 4,715]

Spoiler

Heading into Texas A&M’s SEC-opening showdown with No. 16 Arkansas, Jimbo Fisher and the Aggies knew that what they’d shown during the first three games of the season wouldn’t be enough. The hope — and belief — was that the Ags, winners of eleven straight games, would walk into Jerryworld prepared for a 12-round heavyweight fight. An old-school, SEC West bare-knuckle brawl. Four quarters of physical football against an Arkansas team led by fiery Sam Pittman and a locker room full of opponents hell-bent on breaking the Ags’ nine-game run in the series.
For the Razorbacks, this was personal.
Inexplicably, the Aggies didn’t get the memo.
Texas A&M — riding a winning streak that spanned nearly an entire season’s worth of games — looked like a team that didn’t have a clue what SEC football was all about. The Ags were overwhelmed early on both sides of the ball and didn’t gather themselves until the third quarter when it was simply too little, too late.
The Ags were overwhelmed early on both sides of the ball and didn’t gather themselves until the third quarter when it was simply too little, too late.

Sure, the guys in Maroon & White showed heart and plenty of pride in stemming the tide, eventually cutting the Razorback lead to 7. Hell, the Ags had the ball with a chance to tie early in the fourth quarter, which didn’t seem remotely possible during an atrocious start to the game. Alas, Pittman’s Pigs were not to be denied on this day at AT&T Stadium. When things got tough, the Hogs closed things in a manner that the Aggies perfected last season. They did it with big plays, stops on defense and grinding out first downs and the clock with a punishing fourth-quarter ground attack.
There’s a lot to unpack following the Ags’ first loss in nearly a calendar year, but the biggest issue right now is that it seems somewhere along the path from last year’s 9-1 march to an Orange Bowl victory and top-five finish, the Aggies have forgotten the formula that got them there.
Grit, toughness of the physical and mental variety, winning the fourth quarter and, oftentimes, flat out wanting it more than the opponent. We saw it last year time and time again — the Orange Bowl, at Auburn, versus LSU, Florida and even against Arkansas. Heading into Saturday’s contest, the Ags were somewhere around 14-4 in what I’d consider ‘close’ or four-quarter games under Jimbo, so a “let’s stand in the middle of the ring and trade blows for four quarters” battle sure felt like it would be perfectly comfortable for Texas A&M.
Instead, Arkansas took the fight to the Aggies from the start, and it took A&M far too long to regroup and respond. Pittman’s Pigs were ready for a fight from the opening bell, and Fisher’s crew was not. Certainly not on offense (the Ags scored one touchdown and finished the game with just 272 yards) and not even on defense, where the final numbers were respectable, but Mike Elko’s unit was ambushed on the Hogs’ first three possessions.
USA Today KJ Jefferson and the Arkansas rushing attack ran for 197 yards against the Aggies In the early stages of a game on the big stage, the Aggies were pushed around on both lines of scrimmage, missed easy tackles (even pulling up in embarrassing fashion on a long Razorback touchdown run), committed ridiculous penalties, executed incredibly poorly in the passing game and were positively out-schemed on both sides during the week leading up to the game. Everything in the aforementioned list would fall into the “unacceptable” bucket, but that’s especially true when the opponent isn’t Clemson, Alabama or Georgia but rather Arkansas.
Look, Pittman and Co. have built a good team in Fayetteville.
The Hogs can run the ball. They play excellent defense, have some dangerous weapons in the passing game and are a physical, veteran bunch, probably the most experienced team in the Southeastern Conference. They also believe. In a lot of ways, they favor last season’s Aggies.
Still, the reason for saying it’s unacceptable to lose to Arkansas in the manner A&M did is simple: Unlike the other programs I mentioned, Fisher, Elko and the gang have been recruiting at a much higher level, are supposed to have more high-end NFL talent and are paid and have the experience expected to show up big for big games. While it’s not the mortal sin some believe it to be to lose for just the second time in three-plus seasons, let’s call it a less-funded and less-evolved program. In no way is falling behind the Hogs 17-0 three possessions into the game and being physically whipped for four quarters something that should happen in year four of the Fisher Era.
That’s where I end the rant. We all agree, right? I’m fairly certain Jimbo, Elko and any coach or player on the trip back to College Station feel the same. At least you’d damn sure hope so. I mean, we could all be message board maniacs on the first ‘Day After’ in a year or address the real elephant in the room.
And no, I’m not talking about the head coach or the direction of the program.
Fisher is as culpable and probably more so than any individual player for the product the Aggies trotted onto the field at AT&T yesterday, but he’s also the guy who won 11 straight games heading into the 20-10 loss. That’s the longest such streak Texas A&M has seen in roughly 30 years. I’m an Aggie and a fan just like every one of you, so believe me, I get it. Very high after the wins and questioning everything after the losses, however infrequent they’ve become around here.
USA Today Following Saturday’s action, Sam Pittman’s team is now ranked No. 8 in the AP Poll, while Fisher’s team has dropped to No. 15. However, if you’re questioning where this program is headed by focusing on yesterday’s showing/outcome and choosing to ignore what’s happened over the past year, well, have fun with that.
On Saturday, the Aggies ran into a buzzsaw in Arkansas. The Hogs are one of the hottest teams in the country right now. They also happen to be one of the most experienced, and the talent level, while not on A&M’s level top to bottom, is pretty damn strong at the top. The Hogs have “super seniors” dotting the roster, something the Ags have used to their benefit on defense this season and could use on offense right about now.
Imagine if Carson Green, Jared Hocker and Ryan McCollum would have opted to return for one more run. The Aggies are virtually devoid of experience along the offensive line. They were down a pair of starting receivers on Saturday and are without the player who created most of the offseason excitement and anticipation on offense in starting quarterback Haynes King.
Those aren’t excuses, folks. Those are facts, and while a deeper dive into the Ags’ offensive issues is certainly necessary, a big part of the reason A&M lost yesterday is that they lack experience where it matters most to any team, along the offensive line and at quarterback, where six of seven of those guys (plus a couple of receivers) were playing their first meaningful snaps in an SEC game in an intense, big-game environment at the Death Star. That’s especially true for a Fisher-coached squad. Look no further than last season, when Jimbo rode a poised four-year starter at quarterback and an offensive line consisting of four seniors to a top-five finish.
The finish. That’s Fisher’s primary concern today and in the days and weeks ahead.
We’re no longer talking about last year’s team. That was a special group that had it all working in terms of chemistry, experience and having a keen grasp on what it took to win at the highest level of college football. The Ags showed very little to get fired up about in their first three games, but there was hope that with some battle-tested veterans and star players, the Maroon & White would get it together in time for Saturday’s SEC opener on the big stage. Instead, what we got was stage fright and a four-hour lesson that one season does not carry over into the next, even for individual players.
We’re now a third of the way through the 2021 season, and the Ags are still a very flawed and vulnerable team. A top-20 outfit thanks mainly to a strong defense but certainly not the title-contender everyone inside of Bright and throughout the 12th Man had hoped.
For all the talk yesterday about the program Pittman is building in Fayetteville — and it is a remarkable story — what Jimbo and the powers-that-be at A&M have their sights set on is a long run of excellence. What many of us have forgotten is that there are going to be bumps in the road, and the Ags have already had their fair share this fall. The climb to emerging as a true college football power is a perilous one, and no one knows more than Fisher how a small slip can lead to a long, painful tumble if you’re not careful.
Jimbo has to right the ship in a hurry to keep momentum on the Ags’ side on the recruiting trail and also to continue to build a championship culture. The point being: One loss doesn’t make or break a program, but a season full of frustrating or even ugly setbacks can.
Jimbo has to right the ship in a hurry to keep momentum on the Ags’ side on the recruiting trail and also to continue to build a championship culture. Remember, the guys in the A&M locker room tasted losing for the first time in a while yesterday. Hopefully, it’s something they don’t want to experience again anytime soon.
Big picture stuff aside, what Fisher is trying to figure out today is how to fix all of the issues — and there are many — that led to yesterday’s outcome.
One loss is just that, but the fact of the matter is the Ags haven’t played well at all this season. The things that kept them from being competitive throughout the first half versus Arkansas and from completing the comeback will result in several more losses if the Ags don’t start looking like a completely different team. Four games in, the Aggies look shaky as hell.
As is always the case, it starts with the head coach and his staff.
The Ags have been dealt a pretty brutal hand offensively in the early going. First King, then Caleb Chapman, then Chase Lane and injuries that have led to zero consistency along the offensive line. While the ‘why’ is understandable, Fisher and Darrell Dickey have to figure out the ‘what.’ As in what do they to fix it because two touchdowns in two games versus Power 5 opposition is absolutely outlandish.
While defense certainly hasn’t been the issue, the Ags were cut through with ease early against Arkansas, and an honest eyeball test tells you that Elko should probably start considering making some subtle personnel changes before a couple of leaks in the dam turn into something bigger.
The coaches have to put players like Zach Calzada — who looked visibly flustered throughout most of his first SEC start — in a better position to succeed. Just one example, but when Isaiah Spiller rips off a 67-yard touchdown run midway through the third to cut the Razorback lead to 17-10 and then Devon Achane steps off eight yards on first down to open the next drive, how on earth do the Ags not run the ball a single time the remainder of the contest?
Defensively, a veteran group looked on their heels and confused early, as Kendal Briles and KJ Jefferson were in all-out attack mode to start the game. Fisher and Dickey will have to get very creative and less predictable in the run game moving forward while figuring out how to turn Calzada into a more aware and decisive quarterback. Improvement along the offensive line is obviously a must, but that’s the one thing that should come as a talented group gets more and more playing time.
USA Today Isaiah Spiller’s electrifying 67-yard touchdown run that cut Arkansas’ lead was among the very few Aggie highlights. Perhaps Fisher’s most significant challenge this week will be figuring out how to convince his team to start playing football with the sense of urgency shown last fall.
Watching the Ags through four games, it’s just not there. What’s more alarming is that we’re seeing many plays where guys in Maroon & White are being beaten in the effort department. Too many penalties, too many missed tackles, too many lazy routes and an embarrassing showing yesterday (and all season, for that matter) from the wideouts and tight ends blocking on the perimeter. Isaiah Spiller being the obvious of only a few exceptions, the Aggies did not look like a team that wanted it nearly as badly as Arkansas did yesterday, and that might be the toughest fix of all. It’s also not what we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from a Fisher-coached team. This is where more veterans than just Spiller — who was very vocal during practice last week and backed it up on the field — need to step up, start making plays and lead. Things should begin to get very uncomfortable beginning Monday.
We’ll dive deeper into the offense and defense tonight and tomorrow in the ‘Game in Review’ segments, but the fact of the matter is that the 2021 Aggies have reached a fork in the road earlier than expected. Three of the next four heading into the mid-season bye still look very winnable, at which point the Ags will have Haynes King back and, hopefully, a more experienced and confident group blocking for the dual-threat signal-caller. That said, nothing on the SEC schedule looks like a given at this point, not a Mississippi State team that can play a little defense and score some points on Saturday and not a road game against Connor Bazelak and Missouri. Fisher and his staff have little margin for error and will have to be on top of their Xs and Os and motivational game, and the guys taking the snaps on Saturday need to ask themselves today if they’re okay with being thoroughly outplayed and ultimately being viewed as one of the country’s most disappointing teams. Or would they rather start playing with the type of grit, focus and determination that the program’s foundation under Fisher was built on and begin the challenging but far-from-impossible climb back into New Year’s Six bowl contention?
As outlandish as that may sound today, it’s certainly still on the table for a team that played about as poorly as it could yesterday yet still found themselves down by a score with the ball in the fourth quarter against a team that is now in the top-ten.
Fisher and the Aggies aren’t alone in what has already been a wild season. Clemson is already a two-loss team after losing to NC State. Ohio State looked every bit as shaky as A&M did a couple of weeks ago in losing to Oregon. Preseason No. 7 Iowa State is finished, and Oklahoma and Notre Dame look incredibly vulnerable. A couple of these teams will right the ship and end up having championship or New Year’s Six type seasons. For the Ags to fall on the right side of that cut line, a lot has to change, and Saturday’s showing needs to stand out in December as Texas A&M’s worst of the season.
In the postgame presser, defensive end DeMarvin Leal said the Ags “have to get back to grabbing every single crumb.” It’s a mindset that served the Ags well throughout last fall and something that’s been missing so far this year. If the Aggies need a reminder of what that mentality and approach looks like, they need not watch tape of last season but rather give Saturday’s loss another look and focus on the team wearing Red & White.
   
 

I quit reading after “hell, the ags…”

[Valmy77 13,094]

10 hours ago, VaLonghorn99 said:

2. No one saw Arky to be a top 25 team this year including us. Arky is a good team this year. Storming the field after beating us in a way shows respect. Maybe we jump started their dormant program.

Don't put that evil on us!

[Scooter Monzingo 820]

Jimbo is pretty much Chizik 2.0. Without a generational type player like crab legs, he is pretty pedestrian.

[Colonel Sanders 1,332]

SIAP.  However, I imagine most won't be too upset to have to watch this again.   So much fail in a 14 second clip.

[Scholz 11,934]

I know #9 Sloneal is a bad football player but WTF #1 Hansford? Guess he was trying to shove him out of bounds when he gave him the Bush push towards the end zone? Lulz. 🤣

[pops 6,974]

Nsiap

 

[sith_horn 2,370]

5 hours ago, ousux said:

On 9/25/2021 at 11:52 PM, Vertigo said:

I only wanted hog to win so everyone would realize we didnt get our asses handed to us by the worst SEC team. Now that national narrative shifts and it helps Texas. Aggy played like warmed over shit today. Their offense sucks, their line sucks, their QB sucks, and they will strike fear into the heart of nobody the rest of the year.

The fact we're still outside the top 25 today says the narrative hasn't really changed, but I'm ok with that. If we hang an L on fat Gare's sweaty forehead next week the national media won't be able to further write us off.

TCU is unranked and just lost to SMU, so a win over TCU may not move the needle either, which is perfectly fine. Beat TCU and OU both, then Texas gets ranked.

[immamac 42,521]

Poll rankings matter 0. They are never even close to the CFP rankings. 

That being said Texas blowing out TCU by 30+ in their house is gonna be very good for rankings. 

[El Squared 1,793]

22 hours ago, Fletch said:

 Never forget they gave Jimbo a national title trophy without a year on it. These fuckin people man 

They are fairly skilled at mounting faux titles.

[tbone_ 14,026]

Poll rankings matter 0. They are never even close to the CFP rankings. 
That being said Texas blowing out TCU by 30+ in their house is gonna be very good for rankings. 

Win games and it will all fall in line.

[Modessit 5,596]

 

The fact that they only put on the first two digits for the year proves they don't expect a "natty" until at least 2030.

[NOOBSDUDE 583]

The fact that they only put on the first two digits for the year proves they don't expect a "natty" until at least 2030.

Or maybe 2099.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Patricio Swayze 17,058]

TCU is unranked and just lost to SMU, so a win over TCU may not move the needle either, which is perfectly fine. Beat TCU and OU both, then Texas gets ranked.

Who gives a rat’s ass about the rankings?!? I just want Texas to destroy everyone, especially TCU and OU. The rest will sort itself out.