Month: September 2023

Thoughts from the Auburn Game

Before I get to anything else on the Auburn game let’s be clear that’s not a good Auburn team. They’re a step up from New Mexico and Louisiana Monroe but they’re a step down from Miami and might be the worst SEC team we play this season.

They went through three quarterbacks without one getting hurt so that tells you the state of their offense. They were trying to find some kind of spark because they didn’t have a quarterback who could move the ball.

Regardless of Auburn’s lack of talent, this was still a good win for the Aggies. Still lots of questions but the Aggies handled the Tigers from start to finish with no real scares. Even when Auburn returned the fumble for a touchdown it wasn’t a real scare. The Aggies were still up by 10 and Auburn’s offense hadn’t done anything all day.

My biggest concern for the day was having to take a timeout on the second play. THE SECOND PLAY OF THE GAME WE’RE TAKING A DAMN TIMEOUT.

How does that even happen? That’s the mark of an ill-prepared team. We’ve seen this way too many times in Jimbo’s Aggie tenure where this team comes out flat, confused, or just not ready to play. It’s a massive concern that keeps happening. This was a game we should have been prepared for. We shouldn’t have been overwhelmed by this Auburn team at Kyle Field.

To make matters worse we get a false start coming out of the timeout. I don’t get it. What gets discussed during the timeout?

It should be crystal clear what personnel group will be going out there, what play will be run, and what the snap count/cadence will be.

Taking a timeout followed by a false start on the second play of the game is an ill-prepared team and that starts with coaching. There’s no defending or excusing that. That’s on Jimbo and it’s a HUGE concern in my book.

Some things need changing and Jimbo isn’t changing them.

The other concern with Jimbo is a bit nitpicky but his being on the field during the fumble return. He claims he thought the play was dead. How the hell did he think that? It was a clear fumble in the field of play and there were no whistles blown. Nobody on the field thought the play was dead.

Why did he think that? What does he see when he coaches a game? How can he screw that up? Did he just stop following the ball?

I don’t get how he thought the play was dead when nobody on the field thought that. How can he be the only one in that instance?

It kind of makes me wonder if he truly sees the game as it’s being played or if he’s still watching theoretical football in his mind disconnected from what’s happening on the field.

I don’t think he should get fined and it’s sort of funny but it makes me wonder what he sees in the game if he thought that play was dead. Nobody else near the field thought the play was dead but him.

Let’s talk about the rest of the football game.

Offense:

This offense didn’t look great for most of the game. Conner Weigman got hurt before the end of the half but he was struggling. He was 8 for 14 and 70 yards before leaving. That’s not terrible but he never looked super comfortable as some of his misses weren’t close.

We were moving the ball with Weigman but stalled out thanks to our inability to establish the run, penalties, and inability to connect on third-down passes. 3 of Conner’s incompletions came on 3rd downs resulting in a field goal attempt and two punts.

Our inability to establish the run in the first half was by far the most concerning thing in the game beyond the apparent lack of preparedness. Outside of Le’Veon Moss’ 34-yard run we only had 29 yards rushing in the first half on 10 other rushes. 2.9 yards isn’t a terrible yard per carry but the problem was 5 of those rushes were for 1 yard or less.

On 11 rushing attempts in the first half not quite half resulted in a zero or one-yard gain. That’s feast or famine and something that has to be improved if we’re going to do well in the SEC.

It’s nice that we can break off good runs here and there but I’d rather establish the line of scrimmage where 50% of your rushing attempts aren’t stalemated by the defense.

Our running backs rushed for 202 yards on 27 carries. That’s certainly not a bad day on the ground with 7.5 yards per carry. However, 2 of those carries were for 114 yards so the remainder of the 25 carries netted 88 yards. That’s 3.5 yards a carry which isn’t terrible but much of came in the second half where we had a margin of error to try and wear down the defense.

I’m being nitpicky here but the inability to establish the run game early is a big concern to me. Maybe I’m too old school but I still believe the ability to establish the line of scrimmage early in the game is a big factor in how much success you’ll have. Especially against equal opponents.

You can’t fully rely on the run game but the ability to establish it puts pressure on a defense. This Aggie offensive line has to get better at establishing the run game much sooner than the second half.

As for the rest of the offense, it was honestly mediocre as well except for 2 big pass plays by Max Johnson. His touchdown to his brother Jake was a great play made possible by his rolling out and keeping the play alive. His touchdown pass to Evan Stewart was one of the most beautiful balls I’ve ever seen at Kyle. Not quite as good as Reggie McNeal to Greg Porter against OU in 2002 but it was up there.

On the day Conner and Max combined for 193 yards completing 15 of 25 passes. That’s not terrible but it’s certainly not dominant. You’d certainly like to have seen more against a team like Auburn at Kyle.

We won comfortably but we did not win convincingly.

Count me in the camp that still has concerns about this offensive line. It’s certainly improved over last year but I don’t think it’s playing near the level that it should be. Still too much confusion via penalties, blown assignments, and just not being dominant.

As for Conner, it looks like we dodged a bullet with him. I saw him hobble to the locker room and it didn’t look good. I suppose it was a decent sign he wasn’t being assisted in any way but it was clear he was hurt and not coming back.

He looked a little like Bisontis did against Louisiana Monroe and Bisontis was out there playing against Auburn the next week. I didn’t think that was possible. I can’t judge injuries from my seat.

Jimbo said the X-rays were negative which is great. I think we’ll likely lose him for a couple of games but we should have him back after the bye week at worst.

I think this is Max’s team against Arkansas but suppose Conner could be back out there.

I have faith in both quarterbacks individually but until I see more from this offensive line I have questions on how much offense we’ll be able to produce against SEC teams that are better than Auburn.

Defense:

For the second week in a row, the Aggie defense gave up zero touchdowns. I don’t care who you’ve played that’s damn impressive to go 8 quarters of football in an offensive era and not give up a touchdown.

In addition, we limited Auburn to 3 first downs on 15 3rd down attempts. That’s also the second week in a row we’ve shut down the opposing offense on 3rd downs.

I’m not sure what to make of this defense because they’ve dominated their opponent in the last two games. It just hasn’t been against an offense that I think is very good and a real test.

To their credit, Jimbo and Durkin decided to apply pressure this game and they did a really impressive job.

According to the stat sheet the Aggies had seven sacks and an additional quarterback hurry.

They should have had two fumble recoveries returned for touchdowns. However, the refs hosed them on a BS replay overturn that was not conclusive if you have half a brain. In addition, Bryce Anderson swatted another lateral pass he should have picked up and ran back for a touchdown. Bryce brain-farted there.

Two scoop and scores would have only added to the domination on Saturday.

The Aggie defense brought pressure in a big way on Saturday. To me, it looked like Durkin decided to do away with gap integrity and just let the defensive line try to dominate the offensive line with the linebackers filling the gaps that were created.

It worked based on the results. The defensive line got a great push into the backfield and the linebackers did an OUTSTANDING job of filling the gaps as soon as they saw them. They weren’t playing on their heels waiting to see what developed and instead went into attack mode when they saw a gap develop.

You can question the ability of the Auburn quarterbacks all you want but the reality is they had no time to pass and the Aggie defensive line and linebackers were disruptive all game long. All of that pressure caused Auburn to hold quite a bit. When SEC refs are regularly calling holding in a game you know you’re dominating the line of scrimmage.

Passing wise Auburn was only 9 for 23 passing for 56 yards. That’s a roughly 40% completion rate for 56 yards. They just weren’t able to pass on us so give credit where credit is due. The defensive players and staff flat-out shut down Auburn’s passing game.

All because of pressure at the line of scrimmage.

I do have a concern with the amount of yards they gave up on the ground. Auburn’s top two running backs rushed for 112 yards on 17 carries. That’s 6.5 yards a carry.

Luckily Auburn was losing the whole game so they couldn’t try and establish the run. Auburn was playing from behind so they had to attempt some passes that weren’t working.

It looks like this defense can only shut down one aspect of an offense each game. As long as you choose correctly it’s fine but it’s a slight concern.

Another slight concern is the Auburn quarterbacks missed some open receivers but to the defense’s credit the Auburn quarterbacks missed them because they had no time to throw.

With all of that being said, I can’t dog on this defense. What they’ve done the last two weeks is impressive. I just hope it can carry over to better opponents.

I’m going to carry trauma from the Miami game until I see this defense do it against a better opponent. Speaking of Miami, if you look at the Aggie’s schedule and the quarterbacks they’ll face this year I don’t think it’s a stretch to say Tyler Van Dyke will be the best passer they face all year.

We’re gonna have some tests with Joe Milton, Spencer Rattler, and Jaxson Dart but we could look back on the Miami game and realize we got picked apart by an outstanding passer. At least I hope we can say that when it’s all said and done.

Just a positive thought for the defense…

Special Teams:

I usually gloss over special teams but there are two things I want to point out in this game.

Nik Constantinou had a horrible game. His first three punts were under 40 yards and he wasn’t trying to pin them inside the 20. They also had no real height. They were just three ugly punts under 40 yards. He had plenty of room to boom a 50-yarder but for whatever reason he kicked three ugly balls.

His fourth punt went 48 yards to the Auburn 22 and then his final punt was 46 yards to the Auburn 10-yard line. His final punt was fine but he could have put more leg into the first four but he didn’t for some reason.

Hopefully, it was just a bad day for him because we should be able to put a punter out there who can boom 50-yard punts.

The other thing I want to point out is a missed opportunity by Jimbo. Coming off the Bryce Anderson lateral bat down we backed Auburn up to their 5-yard line thanks to a penalty by Auburn. It’s 4th and 27 at the Auburn 5-yard line so the punter isn’t as deep as he normally is in his end zone.

PUT TEN MEN ON THE LINE AND SEE IF YOU CAN BLOCK IT!!!!! THAT’S OPPORTUNITY!!!!!

You tell Ainias to fair catch it as we’re trying a jailbreak at the line of scrimmage. Instead, Jimbo just sets up a regular old punt return where Ainias returns it for 10 yards. A smart aggressive coach goes for it in that moment. There’s no reason not to.

Jimbo probably just wanted to get the ball back to his offense to see if they could score. Ironically enough that was the series Auburn picked up the fumble for a touchdown where Jimbo failed to make the tackle. Bad decisions all around by Jimbo for a quick span of the game.

I swear Jimbo sees Special Teams as an annoying event that has to take place to get offenses the ball. Since he’d rather do away with it he doesn’t see a real point in practicing or scheming each week.

Great coaches use special teams as an opportunity. Jimbo sees special teams as a gnat he just swats at.

Looking Forward:

I still believe every game left on this schedule is winnable. The talent on this Aggie team is there even with Conner being out however long he’s going to be out. Max Johnson is a more than capable backup quarterback and can win every game he starts.

Realistically though I think we go 5-3 simply because Jimbo hasn’t changed that much. He’s the same old head coach he’s been for 6 seasons in Aggieland. If his boys can out-athlete the other team he’s going to win.

He’s certainly not going to do it with scheme and coaching decisions. He’s going to get outcoached in at least 3 games on the schedule. I hope he proves me wrong but there are just a few things in the Auburn game to give me doubt that Jimbo is a different coach in 2023 compared to the previous 5 seasons.

He’s still the same stubborn coach who doesn’t know how to adjust in games and doesn’t have his team prepared from the start.

As for Arkansas, I think we win this weekend. I think we can bottle up K.J. Jefferson just enough to keep them from running up and down the field on us. I think offensively we’ll look a lot like we did against Auburn where we struggle to finish drives but we’ll score a couple of touchdowns and kick enough field goals.

I feel like both teams will score less than 50 points and probably less than 40 points. It’s going to be equal parts inept offenses and decent defenses with the Aggies having the better athletes to win.

Give me the Aggies winning 20-16.

Just win, Jimbo.

Thoughts from the ULM Game

What a difference a week makes. This time last week you thought Aggie Football was doomed forever. A week later you’re eyeing that maroon Kool-Aid wanting to take a sip or already taken some.

I’ve got news for you – nothing has changed. Other than the opponent which makes all the difference. This is still the same Jimbo Fisher lead team we’ve seen for the last two years.

Over the summer, in my Season Prediction, I mentioned it would be best to wait until after the Tennessee game to get a real feel for what kind of team we have. I still believe that even though it’s so easy to get caught up in the week-to-week emotions.

We’re about to hit a four-game stretch that’s going to give us all indications of what kind of team this 2023 Aggie team is. Auburn, Arkansas, Alabama, and Tennessee are finally going to give this team a true test. Interestingly enough, I think they’re in order of difficulty based on what I’ve seen of each team through 3 games and where they’re being played.

Miami exposed this team’s weaknesses so we’ll see if the Aggies can fix them in time for SEC play.

I do believe the Aggies may win all 4 of these games. However, I think the most likely outcome is we split them based on what I saw on Saturday at Kyle Field.

Offense:

Far and away the most positive takeaway from Saturday’s game was the passing accuracy of Conner Weigman. Holy cow. That kid was slinging the ball.

He was making REALLY quick reads and letting the ball fly with amazing accuracy. He wasn’t just sitting in the pocket waiting for guys to get open. He was quickly deciding what guys would be open and making great passes.

I know it was the Louisiana Monroe secondary which isn’t the same as an SEC secondary but it was great to see him not only processing the offense so quickly but throwing absolute strikes to his receivers.

He was 25 of 29 passing for 337 yards. That’s 86% accuracy. I don’t care who you’re playing. That’s as good as it gets.

If I have one concern about Weigman it’s I think he waits too long to throw the deep ball or he doesn’t have the arm to get it out there. Often he’s throwing it where his receiver has to slow down to catch the ball on deep routes.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather the quarterback throw it where the receiver can adjust to get it rather than throw it too far where the receiver never has a chance. It’s a minor complaint based on everything else but it’s the one thing I’ve noticed.

As for the rest of the offense, there were some bright spots and some concerns.

Evan Stewart did not suit up for some reason and Noah Thomas came out early. Even without those guys, the receivers did fine. Ainias reminded us what he’s capable of and Jahdae Walker stepped up in a big way with Stewart and Thomas out. I like Walker a lot. I think he would have been a big starter on any Aggie team in Jimbo’s first five years. Kind of crazy that he’s second string this season since we finally have talent at receiver. Moose didn’t get a ton of looks but he was productive with the looks he got.

I thought Jake Johnson and even Max Wright looked good catching the ball. Conner spread the ball out between his receiving weapons which was great to see.

At running back I thought Rueben Owens made some strides running with more confidence. He’s the most talented back from an all-around standpoint. He’s shown some hesitation in the first couple of games but as this game went on he seemed to be more comfortable. He’s a guy we need to settle in and lead this backfield even if he’s a true freshman.

My biggest concern on offense remains the offensive line. They weren’t tested and seemed to do fine but it took them a while to establish the run on what should be an inferior defense.

For whatever reason this line is playing musical chairs. Bryce Foster didn’t play so Mark Nabou played center. He had been splitting time at left guard and it looked like he was going to take the left guard spot. I don’t know why Foster was out but it’s not good for an offensive line to keep moving parts around.

In addition to Foster being out Chase Bisontis went out about halfway through the second quarter. He’s our starting right tackle. I saw him go out and it didn’t look good. It was clear he couldn’t go another play. He pulled himself out by going to the ground requiring the trainers to come out. He was able to walk off under his weight but he was moving slowly. They took him to the locker room before the end of the half and I believe he came out in street clothes for the second half.

Jimbo has said he’s fine. I’m not buying that. You don’t pull yourself out of a game by going to the ground and then coming out in street clothes for the second half. I get the opponent but nothing about that says he’s totally fine. He came out in the Miami game so he’s got something lingering considering he’s not finished two straight games now.

I don’t know what’s going on with Duece Fatheree but he didn’t take a snap in this game. He played a little in the Miami game but he’s been our starting right tackle for a season and a half. I know he’s been dealing with an injury himself but it’s a little concerning that when Bisontis goes out Fatheree isn’t taking any snaps.

We’re headed into SEC play and I think there are legitimate questions as to who our starting center and right tackle are. Injuries or not you don’t want to be wondering who’s going to be starting for 2/5ths of your offensive line.

I believe that’s where we are.

Beyond the personnel, there are questions about how well this unit can handle pressure on the edge from a legitimate defense. If I’m a defensive coach and I’ve watched film of A&M’s last games against Power 5 opponents I’m applying pressure from both edges to see what the Aggies can do.

Until I routinely see this unit stop pressure from an opposing defense I’m going to have concerns. Secondaries will cover our receivers tighter. Even if Conner is making quick decisions it’s going to be tougher to complete passes with increased pressure and tighter coverage.

I didn’t see enough on Saturday to make me feel confident much has changed from what’s been this offense’s weakness since last year and against Miami.

Defense:

Not sure what to make of the defensive effort on Saturday. Statistically, it was damn good. Louisiana Monroe had 222 total offensive yards and no touchdowns.

The Aggie defense allowed ZERO passing yards in the second half. That’s crazy. It’s impossible to do better than that for a half of football from a pass-defense standpoint.

Louisiana Monroe is a running team and only attempted 17 passes the entire game completing 6. They weren’t trying to pass being down by a large margin. They stayed committed to the run. We won’t see that from another team this season.

From my vantage, the secondary wasn’t tested at all. It’s hard to point to the stats and say our pass defense dominated them. They had a couple of completions in the first half where I saw the same secondary from the week before in Miami.

From a pressure standpoint, we tried a few twists on the line but that was about it. I get because of Lousiana Monroe being a running team it’s hard to attempt some unique blitzes and pressure packages we haven’t tried before.

I just don’t think we can take anything away from this defensive effort and say we corrected the issues we saw in Miami. In a couple of instances, they’re still there.

In a strange twist, I do think this defense will be better at defending the run while struggling against the pass. It’s the exact opposite of last year.

We really need to wait to see what we do against Auburn and Arkansas to see if we corrected the Miami issues. Don’t be shocked at all if both Auburn and Arkansas move the ball through the air as I don’t think the issues have been corrected. It’s hard to correct issues when you’re not tested.

Looking Forward:

I’m assuming no one from an opposing coaching staff is reading this blog so I can say this – Until proven otherwise the way to beat this Aggie team is to pressure the edges with your defense limiting Weigman’s time to throw.

Offensively, Aggie opponents would do well with a lot of intermediate passing routes along with the occasional deep ball. Obviously, you need to mix in some running with draws and play actions to keep the defense honest. I’d also stress the edges with quick sweeps and even misdirection a time or two.

I think this Aggie defense wants to get by on raw talent alone. If you make them defend the whole field as quickly as possible you can move the ball on them.

I hope I’m wrong as I’d love nothing more than to start 4-0 in the SEC.

I just don’t see that happening from what I saw on Saturday.

Just Win, Jimbo.

Jimbo On The Road Es No Bueno

I’m assuming Jimbo is a fan of Willie Nelson. I don’t know how you can exist in Texas and not be a Willie Nelson fan.

Assuming he is, I will wager there’s one song of Willie’s that’s not on Jimbo’s playlist – “On the Road Again.” Based on the results of his tenure in Aggieland, Jimbo hates being on the road again.

The life Jimbo loves is NOT playing road games with his friends.

In fact, Jimbo is on a 7 game road losing streak that dates back to 2021. Ironically enough, this streak was started by a D.J. Durkin lead Ole Miss defense that got the better of Jimbo’s Aggie offense in Oxford, Mississippi.

For Jimbo’s last road victory, you have to go back to October 16, 2021, when the Aggies beat the Missouri Tigers in Columbia.

Here are Jimbo’s remaining road games in 2023 to hopefully end this awful streak:

@ Tennessee
@ Ole Miss
@ LSU

Um, those aren’t the teams I want to be facing on the road if I’m Jimbo Fisher. Those are going to be tough games. The Tennessee game is on October 14th so the best-case scenario has Jimbo going TWO FULL YEARS between road victories. That’s a massive longshot right now though.

Beyond the current losing streak, there’s a greater concern with Jimbo playing on the road in his time as the Aggie head coach. To put it quite frankly – He sucks coaching road games in the maroon and white.

His overall Road Record is 8-14. That’s a 36% winning percentage. He’s basically won every third game on the road. Even if he somehow wins the remaining road games in 2023 he’d be 30% in his last 10 road games. That’s terrible.

Winning those three games would be a REMARKABLE achievement but he’s still in a massive hole from a road-winning standpoint in Aggieland. He just hasn’t won on the road since he got to College Station.

Want more concerning data about Jimbo as a road head coach? His Non-2020 Road Record is 4-13. FOUR AND THIRTEEN IN ROAD GAMES NOT IN 2020!!!! That’s a 24% winning percentage so he’s just winning one out of every four games on the road except for 2020. That season DEFINITELY looks like a massive anomaly right now.

Want EVEN MORE concerning data about Jimbo as a road head coach? Take a look at his 8 road wins and the regular season record for each school.

Road Wins:

2018 South Carolina (7-5)
2019 Ole Miss (4-8)
2020 Miss St (3-7)
2020 South Carolina (2-8)
2020 Auburn (6-4)
2020 Tennessee (3-7)
2021 Colorado (4-8)
2021 Missouri (6-6)

Look at the list again.

Notice anything interesting? That’s right, only TWO of those EIGHT teams have a winning record and even then they’re both just one game above .500. Not an 8-4 team or better in Jimbo’s eight road wins as the Aggie head coach. 22 tries.

Jimbo hasn’t beaten a single team that a normal person would define as a good team in the year he beat them. He’s simply beaten crappy teams on the road. That should be expected for ANY coach much less a man with a 10-year, $95 million contract.

There is certainly no road upset in his 5+ years as Aggie Head Coach. He could have had one last year in Tuscaloosa had he given the ball to Devon Achane but you’ve heard that from me enough. Jimbo outsmarted himself that day.

He has yet to beat an 8-4 team or better on the road in his Aggieland tenure. Read that again and let it soak in. That’s a pitiful showing in 22 attempts. 22 attempts and he hasn’t beaten an 8-4 team in their house.

I know the SEC is tough but that’s pretty damn bad. That’s simply a man who has no clue how to handle road games.

Tennessee and LSU are almost certain losses this year. I felt that way before the Miami game and feel it even more after that game.

If Lane Kiffin finds out this information Ole Miss will be an even tougher game. I do feel Ole Miss is beatable this year but Lane likes to take it up a notch against Jimbo. He doesn’t need any more reason to want to beat Jimbo.

Jimbo is going to have to either buck a serious road game trend or be perfect at Kyle and JerryWorld to go 8-4 in 2023. Even then that’ll be a massive disappointment yet again.

I’d be curious if anyone at A&M has discussed this with Jimbo. This is VERY concerning since the schedule requires us to go on the road and play games against good teams in the SEC.

How in the hell are we ever going to win the SEC West if we can’t beat 8-4 teams or better in their house? We can’t and we won’t. It’s that simple.

I’m sure Jimbo thinks it’s just some weird data and there’s nothing he needs to do to address it. It’s the ref’s fault, the painted turf, a faked snap cadence, the pH of the water in road stadiums, bed bugs, or whatever else he likes to blame. It sure as hell couldn’t be the fault of the head coach who’s had 22 opportunities.

Unlike Willie I have to imagine deep down inside Jimbo would rather not get on the road again.

Maybe we all need a little of what Willie keeps on his tour bus so the pain of Jimbo’s ineptitude isn’t so sharp…

Shut Up and Win, Jimbo.

Thoughts On The Miami Game

R.C. Slocum once famously said that half the teams in college football lose every week. That comment infuriated me at the time but now in Year 6 of Jimbo Fisher I realize how prophetic R.C. was.

The Aggies are just going to lose important games here and there. Stop thinking things are going to change.

Silly me. Here I was thinking yet again that things would FINALLY change with Aggie Football. In Week 2 of Jimbo Fisher’s sixth season, we all got a dose of reality. Some of the names associated with Jimbo’s time in Aggieland may change but the results are going to continue.

I mean, half the teams in college football lose every week. Sometimes it’s going to be the Aggies.

As for the game itself, I don’t know where to start.

I’ll start with the fact if you told me the Aggies would score 33 points while limiting Miami to under 100 yards rushing with no rushing touchdowns I would have been certain the Aggies won. I wouldn’t have even questioned it.

That’s what happened and somehow the Aggies lost.

I’m not going to do my usual breakdown of groups on both sides of the ball because the issue on Saturday afternoon was coaching. Sure, there were certainly miscues by players at times but by and large coaching lost the game on Saturday.

HC Jimbo didn’t do anything different than OC Jimbo. Jimbo didn’t see what Miami was doing and made enough adjustments on both sides of the ball. We’ve seen this same movie several times now. It just has a different title and names from time to time.

Miami did two things on Saturday that Jimbo and his staff refused to address during the game:
1) Apply pressure off the edges on defense.
2) Attack the Aggie defense through the air.

Miami’s Defensive Pressure:

Miami did an obvious job of watching film from last year and even last week. The Aggies are susceptible to pressure from the edge. It was the Achilles Heel last season and even against New Mexico, we struggled to pick up pressure via the blitz.

The Miami staff likely realized they have much better athletes than New Mexico and they could apply pressure. They were right. Time and time again Miami brought pressure from the edge where Conner could never get comfortable.

I thought Conner played a decent enough game but he was barely a 60% passer. He could have been a much more effective passer if the coaching staff had addressed the pressure off the edges.

Most importantly, the backside pressure that Miami applied all night long. There were several times we let a Miami defender run untouched from the left side of our line. We weren’t even chipping him with our running back. The running back was flaring out into the flat as a safety valve but Conner never hit him.

I don’t know why Conner never hit the running back right out of the backfield to see if they could slow down that backside pressure. It seemed obvious when that pressure was coming and that defender was allowed to run free. We never took advantage of the space they were leaving even though it seemed obvious they were coming. We hit that back flaring out a couple of times for decent gains and that pressure likely goes away. At least slow it down some.

I was also hoping Conner would have stared that pressure down giving him a juke to buy more time. He never did that. I think Conner can juke a blitzer and buy more time but for some reason, he never tried it.
Instead, all he did was let that pressure dictate how quickly he got rid of the ball. That edge pressure never let our offense settle in and make the plays we wanted. We simply passed the ball sooner than we wanted to.

At least that’s what it looked like. Way too many Miami defenders running untouched and unaccounted for in the backfield.

Some of why Conner went from an 80% passer to a 60% passer in one week is because of the Miami athletes but a big part of it was Miami’s scheme. The Miami defense simply did what other defenses did against us last year. Make the Aggie quarterback throw before they want to.

Jimbo and Petrino have to address this pressure off the edges and cause teams to stop doing it. That happens through scheme and coaching.

Lack of Aggie Defensive Pressure:

Conversely, because A&M under D.J. Durkin rarely blitzes or applies pressure the Miami coaching staff smartly realized they could attack downfield because Van Dyke would have more time.

The ironic thing about all of this is Miami is a running team at heart. Durkin got ripped last season for not stopping the run. The Aggie team did a REMARKABLE job of stopping the run against Miami.
It was clear the Aggie defense was committed to not letting Miami run the ball. They succeeded in doing that.

The problem is Miami adapted by attacking the Aggie defense through the air. Jimbo and Durkin never adapted to that threat.

The Aggies had two sacks but had exactly ZERO quarterback hurries. Not a single one. At least according to the stat sheet on the A&M website.

Van Dyke attempted 30 passes and wasn’t hurried on a single one.

Durkin was so focused on stopping the run he had NOTHING in his arsenal to apply pressure or confuse the Miami offense to make mistakes in the passing game. A lot of that is on Durkin but at some point, Jimbo needs to ask on the headset if Durkin has any unique blitzes he can call.

Don’t forget Durkin works for Jimbo and Jimbo needs to be held accountable for what happens on defense as well. Jimbo has a set of eyes and can question the in-game planning.

All the Aggie defense did was send their four down linemen upfield while the linebackers waited to see where the ball was going. I feel like we sent a linebacker a time or two but we sure as hell didn’t disguise anything with our secondary at the line of scrimmage to make it look like we might blitz.

We just had our four down linemen and two linebackers in position all game long while the secondary stood back waiting to see what happened. We did nothing to confuse or pressure the Miami passing attack.

We have a TON of defensive line talent and I thought Cooper and York were fine at linebacker on Saturday. However, you have to scheme against good teams to give them looks they’re not prepared for. I didn’t see any of that on Saturday.

I simply saw a defense that thought they could be very basic and out talent the opponent. It didn’t work. Miami has enough talent to overcome a basic defensive plan.

Coaching Mattered:

Miami did the exact opposite of Jimbo and his staff by scheming and adjusting during the game. Cristobal got the best of Jimbo.

I know that’s not a lot of analysis on the game but if you watched the game it was the Same Old Jimbo that’s stubborn as hell at in-game adjustments. I don’t know if he can’t see it or just isn’t prepared for it.

I’ll give Jimbo and his staff credit the original game plan worked. We moved the ball for a quarter and a half and shut down the Miami run. The problem is Miami realized that and adjusted.

It’s like Jimbo walks into a game with a set plan and if it’s not working or stops working then he’ll be damned because he’s going to force it to work. Yet time and time again it doesn’t.

Saturday was no different. There are now at least 10 games in the last three seasons where Jimbo could have made a few adjustments to win a game but he didn’t. He just comes in with a plan and keeps repeating it hoping it’ll work rather than adjust it.

Meanwhile, the coaching staff on the other side of the field is making adjustments to their plan of attack.
It’s getting really old.

Looking Forward:

I had this Aggie team at 9-3 in 2023. I think that’s a little ambitious at this point. There are probably three to four more losses based on what we saw on Saturday. That will put us at 7-5 or 8-4. It’ll be better than last year but it’ll still be a VERY frustrating season.

The good news is the SEC and especially the SEC West looks down this season. The Aggies have the talent to run the table. I’m not kidding. This team has enough talent and there’s not a team the Aggies can’t beat.

I said earlier this year that until we were done with Tennessee we won’t truly know what we have for the 2023 season. I still feel that way but what I saw on Saturday doesn’t make me feel any better.

Jimbo and his crew will decide how many games the Aggies win for the rest of the year.

This is still a VERY talented team. Talent isn’t the issue at all. It’s all coaching and it starts with the man with the title of Head Coach.

It’s up to you, Jimbo. Aggie fans will just be here sitting on our hands hoping you can figure out something that’s different than the last two seasons and what we saw on Saturday.

A few names have changed on your staff but the product on the field hasn’t changed much.
It’s getting old, buddy.

Just Win, Jimbo.

Thoughts From the New Mexico Game

Overall:

I’m beginning with the most obvious thing from Saturday night – For the first time in a long time, it seemed like an Aggie football team was prepared for their first opponent of the season.

I know it’s just New Mexico who’s not that great but this Aggie team came out with a plan and executed it to damn near perfection. It was refreshing to see.

In addition to the overall execution, it seemed Jimbo may have changed as a coach. The most telling of this was at the end of the first half when he was calling preserved timeouts to get the ball back with less than a minute to go in the game.

I feel like “OC Jimbo” would have let New Mexico run out the clock and get to halftime. “HC Jimbo” was wanting the ball back for another possession already up 35-7. Those timeouts resulted in a blocked field goal but that was a smart use of timeouts. It gave us an extra field goal attempt in a game situation. You can’t simulate that in practice.

The kick got blocked so we obviously needed the practice.

The worst part of the game was the opening possession of the second half. The Aggies got the ball to start the second half and immediately got a substitution penalty before they ever took a snap. How the hell does that happen coming out of halftime? The Aggie offense then had a 3 and out resulting in a punt. I saw flashes of 2022 Aggie Football all over again.

They got the ship righted and scored 17 points in the second half so that drive seemed like just a blip. I was worried for a moment. Decades of Aggie Football will cause trauma to a person.

It’s only one game against New Mexico but I felt Jimbo managed this game as a true head coach. Of course, it’s easy to manage when your units are having their way for the most part. However, Jimbo seemed to be a true head coach and not just an offensive coordinator moonlighting as a head coach as well.

Offense:

Play Calling:

The main thing I remember about great Bobby Petrino’s offenses is his ability to not complicate things and attack obvious opportunities. That’s exactly what he did on Saturday night. New Mexico was essentially daring the Aggies to pass by loading up the box and committing to the run. They weren’t giving their defensive backs any help so Bobby decided to just go at them. No need to complicate it.

If they’re going to give you something then take it.

If I have one complaint about the playcalling on Saturday night it’s that I didn’t see any creative play designs. They weren’t needed so I do agree with why call them if they’re not needed.

As we face tougher teams I hope we have unique playcalls that haven’t been seen before to surprise a defense.

One game at a time…

Quarterback:

Not much to say about Conner Weigman other than he looked OUTSTANDING. I was SHOCKED to learn he only threw for 236 yards. It felt like he was constantly lighting up the New Mexico defense. That’s a testament to our defense for the field position our offense started with.

He was 18 for 23 passing which is almost 80%. I know it’s New Mexico but he was accurate as hell.

His best pass by far was his final touchdown pass to Evan Stewart. He hit Stewart in perfect stride running away from his defender in the end zone. It wasn’t an easy pass but Conner put it right on the money. That’s the photo above so you can see the perfect placement.

You can critique some of his throws as he probably should have let them go a little sooner but by and large, he threw passes only his receivers could catch and defenders couldn’t defend. Once again, I know it’s New Mexico but it’s always good to see a quarterback not only make smart decisions but execute on those decisions. Conner saw the obvious plays early and executed them quickly.

From a running standpoint, he had a nice scramble but it seems the plan for Weigman is to use his arm over his legs. I’m good with that.

I know a lot of Aggies want to compare him to Johnny but I think he’s more of a Patrick Mahomes-type quarterback. He has elite decision-making and accuracy with above-average scrambling ability. If we get the second coming of Patrick Mahomes in college I’m not going to complain about it one bit.

He’s likely not going to put up gaudy numbers like some quarterbacks but he’s making smart decisions leading his offense to points. That’s WAY more important than gaudy numbers.

Zero complaints about number 15 on Saturday night.

Running Backs:

The running backs split carries about as equally as you can on Saturday night. New Mexico was focused on not letting the Aggies get loose on the ground containing the Aggie running game for the most part.

The Aggies still managed to gain 102 yards on 20 carries with their three running backs which is 5 yards a carry. That’s not a bad yards per carry at all.

Individually they all look different. Amari Daniels looks like the most explosive back by far. His issue is that he doesn’t seem to have much patience to watch holes develop. If there’s a hole he’s going to get a chunk of yards but if there’s not a hole he’s getting stopped.

Laveon Moss looks like he’s lost a little weight but is definitely the physical back of the three. He converted a nice 3rd and 1 at the 2-yard line for a touchdown. He looks like the short yardage back. His problem is he seems to get banged up quite a bit. He limped off the field a couple of times and even went to the locker room once. He seemed to be fine though as he kept going back out.

Rueben Owens got 7 carries for 26 yards which isn’t spectacular but he is a true freshman playing in his first college game. He’s got the most talent but just needs to get some experience.

It’ll be interesting to see how things develop. It seems like Petrino is willing to use all three until a hot hand emerges.

Receivers:

The night at receiver belonged to Evan Stewart and Noah Thomas. We all know about Stewart’s talent and Thomas came on strong last year.

They both had a night scoring 5 touchdowns between them. Much like Weigman it’s a little shocking to learn Stewart only had 115 yards receiving and Thomas 74 yards. It seemed like they had 300 yards between them.

As mentioned earlier New Mexico dared the Aggies to beat them one-on-one and that’s exactly what Wiegman and his pass catchers did. These guys are dialed into one another when it comes to throwing and catching.

Ainias had a couple of nice catches as did Moose late in the game.

The surprise of the night was Jahdae Walker. I heard he had a good camp but he made a couple of nice catches to show he can carry practice over to a game. He looks like he’s going to add some solid depth to our receiving group.

All of these guys are going to get used differently week to week depending on what the defense does. When it’s man you’re likely going to see Stewart and Thomas shine. When it’s zone coverage I think we’ll see a lot of Ainias, Moose, and the tight ends.

Just let the defense decide how they should be attacked.

Offensive Line:

THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS GROUP WAS NO FALSE STARTS AND NO HOLDING PENALTIES.

These guys looked like an actual unit on Saturday night. They weren’t dominant by any stretch as the running game couldn’t quite get going and Weigman had pressure from time to time. That was mainly due to numbers but there were a couple of snafus so they weren’t perfect.

However, for the most part, they played like an actual unit which was a far cry from last year when they were flat out lost at times.

They’ll have a big test against Miami this weekend but this was a good first step for this unit.

Defense:

Overall:

This unit wasn’t completely dominant as they gave up 255 yards but they looked impressive for most of the night save for a few passes and one run. They seemed to play better as the night wore on.

A lot of guys got significant playing time so looks like we might have legit depth across the whole defense. Hope I didn’t say that too early…

I did see us in a 3-man front a few times. It’s obvious Durkin doesn’t read Aggie message boards. Or maybe he does…

All in all, it was a good night.

If I have one complaint it’s the lack of pressure resulting in sacks but the New Mexico quarterback wasn’t holding the ball very long. He didn’t seem comfortable and was letting the ball fly. Their starting quarterback was a 60% passer for 115 yards. He was just letting the ball fly as soon as he could so not a lot of sack opportunities.

Defensive Line:

This group played a TON of guys on Saturday night just like you would have guessed.

Walter Nolen looks like he’s ready to take that next step. McKinley Jackson looked solid.

Everyone who played had moments where they looked great. It’s hard to single out everyone’s play because so many guys played and looked great together. You want to see these guys playing as one on every snap and that’s basically what they did.

The most impressive play of the night was when Shermar Stewart ran down New Mexico’s running back for a 7-yard loss. He unfortunately grabbed the running back’s facemask but his display of speed for a man his size was unreal. If he misses his facemask it’s a total highlight reel play.

We know what this group is capable of. On Saturday they showed they have a ton of depth and talent and it’s going to be hard on offensive units going up against this group.

They’ll get tested in a big way on Saturday as Miami is going to want to impose their will. We’ll find out real quick if they’re up for the challenge.

Linebackers:

Ladies and gentlemen, the Fightin’ Texas Aggies may have a rotation of linebackers for the first time in I can’t remember when.

Edge Cooper, Taurean York, JD Davis, and Chris Russell all got snaps at linebacker. Cooper looked like his 2021 self making a lot of plays. Davis seemed to be around the ball quite a bit.

A little hard to fully judge this group on Saturday night due to the opponent but it looks like we do have depth and talent at the linebacker position for the first time in a long time. Damn. That feels good to say.

I’m interested to see if two guys separate themselves from the rest of the group. I think Cooper is on his way but curious if Davis or York start getting the majority of the snaps next to Cooper.

We’ll also find out more about these guys in Miami. They’re going to have to step up and stop the run. They can’t blow assignments or Miami will gash us on the ground.

Secondary:

I’m repeating myself but I’m not sure what else to say about this group. These guys showed up spending most of the night in the right places.

They too played a ton of people and they all looked really good.

The safety trio of Demani Richardson, Bryce Anderson, and Jardin Gilbert looked as expected. These guys are legit.

Tyreek Chappell was solid as usual.

For me, the surprise of the night was Josh DeBerry. We’ve been wondering who was going to take the other corner across from Chappell. If Saturday night was any indicator that question has been answered by Josh DeBerry.

He’s a fifth-year senior from Boston College but he was all over the place on Saturday night. He leads the team with 7 solo tackles, a sack, an interception, a pass breakup, AND a quarterback hurry.

It’s just one game but it was a hell of a performance.

True freshman Dalton Brooks even flashed on a couple of plays.

Like the rest of the defensive unit, I feel good about this group based on what happened on Saturday night.

Special Teams:

You saw it. We botched a field goal attempt and nailed the other attempt. Our punter only punted twice. Not much to talk about with field goals and punting.

Ainias looks like he’s still fearless on punts which isn’t a bad thing.

We covered kicks and punts well.

Looking Ahead to Miami:

I watched a good portion of “The Battle of Miamis” on Friday night.

The U didn’t do anything special and just leaned on the Ohio Miami. Their quarterback, Van Pelt, looked decent but he didn’t look spectacular by any stretch. He looked like he did last year. He’s a decent enough quarterback but I don’t think he’s going to light the world on fire.

I think we’re going to see a similar Miami from last year with a little more talent. They going to try and establish the line of scrimmage and keep our offense off the field.

Defensively they’re going to see if they can expose our offensive line by shutting down the running game and applying pressure to Weigman. I have no idea if they can.

If this is a close game then I think Miami wins it simply because that’s the kind of game they want. I think HC Jimbo is going to want to apply pressure from a scoring standpoint early and often looking to make a statement. I don’t think HC Jimbo will want to grind this one out as it’ll work in Miami’s favor.

If we can grab an early lead I think the Aggies cruise to a victory.

If it’s a slugfest I think Jimbo’s second game struggles in Aggieland continue with a loss.

Either way, I can’t wait until Saturday at 2:30 so we can learn more about HC Jimbo.

College football is back, y’all.