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.

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.

For this week’s blog I thought about doing the same thing Jimbo does with his offense.  Just posting a previous blog and changing the name of the opponent.  It’s essentially the same thing Jimbo is doing with his offense.

I like to think I’m better than Jimbo so you get a fresh blog this week.

Before I get going on the game I know we’re all numb to losing but let me put into perspective what that loss on Saturday in Auburn means:

• We lost to a team with an interim coach.  No offense to Cadillac Williams but teams have interim coaches because they’re bad.  Teams that have one of the highest paid coaches in the game are supposed to be good.  JIMBO LOST TO AN INTERIM COACH!!!!
• Assuming Arkansas beats Missouri we secured last place in the SEC West EVEN with an unlikely win over LSU.  If we lose to LSU then we own last place in the SEC West all by ourselves no matter else what happens.  Jimbo’s FIFTH year as head coach and we’re sitting dead last in the SEC West including Auburn who has an interim coach after firing their head coach because their season is so bad.
• As we stand now we have as many wins in the SEC as Vanderbilt who is also last in their division.  We have one less overall win than Vandy so we currently sit as THE WORST TEAM IN THE SEC ten games into the season.  Let that one sink in.  The worst team in the SEC including Vanderbilt.
• Assuming a win over UMass and an LSU loss along with Vandy losing to Florida and Tennessee we will be tied with Vandy for both SEC record at 1-7 and Overall record at 4-8 when the season is done.  TIED.  WITH.  VANDERBILT.

Jerry Reed once sang, “It all sounds sort of funny but it hurts too much laugh.  Jimbo got the goldmine and we got the shaft.”

I don’t know any other way to put it.  Jimbo got the goldmine and Aggie fans got the shaft.

Let’s talk about the Auburn game for just a little bit.

Auburn:

We didn’t know it at the time but that game was lost before we even ran out of the tunnel before the game.  For whatever reason Moose Muhammed’s decision to wear or not wear sleeves created a major issue in the game.

It’s still all kind of murky because  Jimbo “handled it in house” but Moose Muhammed didn’t play in the game because of sleeves on his arms.  That’s right, a player’s decision to wear sleeves on his arms either before the game or during the game caused him to not take a snap.

WHAT THE EFF???

What is going on with this football team when sleeves on a guy’s arm are either an act of confusion or an act of defiance?  Seriously.  It’s minor in the grand scheme but for whatever reason it created a real issue.

I get having standards that players must live by but this is just foolish.  Who cares if a receiver is wearing sleeves or not if they’re producing?  If they fumble while wearing sleeves then advise them to take them off.  A player’s decision to wear sleeves is a minor thing if they’re producing.  WHO FREAKING CARES???

This seems like the epitome of Jimbo’s problem.  I get game preparation and team standards but how in the hell do sleeves on a receiver matter this much where a guy can’t play in the game?

They couldn’t have an adult conversation in warm up or during the game about the sleeves?  He just got an automatic suspension?  It seems like Jimbo is questioning if he has any control of this team so he’s going over the top.  Straight foolishness.

As the game started the following things happened:

• False start before our first snap.  Auburn is a tough place to play but it’s no different than other stadiums they’ve played in this season.  How in the hell are we still false starting before the first snap in Game 10?
• We took two time outs in the second quarter to avoid a delay of game after already taking a delay of game.  This was all on the same drive and our last offensive possession of the half. 10^th game of the year and we’re still struggling to get plays in and snap the ball before the play clock runs out.  Three times on the same drive.  Unreal.
• The first 10 offensive possessions resulted in 10 punts.

Read that last one again.  The first 10 offensive possessions resulted in 10 punts.  Not a single scoring attempt in our first 10 possessions of the game against Auburn.  TEN OFFENSIVE POSSESSIONS AND TEN PUNTS!!!!

Jimbo can blame injuries, suspensions, and whatever else he wants but 10 punts in 10 possessions is the definition of offensive failure.  Auburn has a decent defense but they aren’t the 85 Chicago Bears that just dismantled every offense they played.

This Auburn defense has given up the following points to the following teams this season:

Penn State – 41
LSU – 17
Georgia – 42
Ole Miss – 48
Arkansas – 41
Miss State – 39

Okay, Auburn doesn’t even have a decent defense.  They’re a bad defense.  In 10 possessions the mighty offensive genius known as Jimbo Fisher couldn’t even muster a field goal attempt.

We had -3 total yards in the third quarter.  NEGATIVE THREE YARDS IN A QUARTER!!!!  To a defense that’s given up close to 40 or more in 5 games this season.

Winners find a way to win and Jimbo didn’t do that.

He ran the same damn offense that hasn’t worked all season that a junior high coach could figure out how to defend.

The formula is simple – Send your defensive ends straight into the offensive tackles.  Don’t get cute.  Just run as fast you can at the offensive tackles outside shoulder targeting where the quarterback will be three steps back from where he’s standing when he receives the snap.  You both will arrive at approximately the same time.  Then have your defensive tackles and 2 linebackers change up their path and timing headed to the backfield on every play.  You’ll spend the entire night in the Aggie backfield with 6 guys.  If you’re talented enough you can do it with 5.  Then have your other defenders cover crossing routes and the Aggies won’t complete more than 50% of their passes.

Seriously people.  It’s that simple.

Defenses keep doing it over and over again and Jimbo keeps calling plays right into it.

It’s maddening.

Now to the other side of the ball.  While it’s true D.J. Durkin is our defensive coordinator there’s one thing everyone keeps forgetting – D.J. WORKS FOR JIMBO!!!!!

I’m not here to defend D.J. but it’s crystal clear to me that Jimbo is not giving D.J. any guidance or feedback on what’s going wrong.

App State basically broke the code on how to attack this defense – Just run the ball.  We got lucky against Miami because they got behind and thought they had to throw the ball.  We got lucky against Arkansas with the fumble we returned for the touchdown.  This defense did a tremendous job against Alabama with 4 turnovers and against South Carolina with 2.

Other than that teams have run all over this defense.  The last three games against Ole Miss, Florida, and Auburn have really exploited it.

Here’s some rushing stats from those games:

Ole Miss:

Running Backs – 280 yards
Quarterback – 108 yards

Florida:

Running Backs – 180 yards
Quarterback – 93 yards

Auburn:

Running Backs – 242 yards
Quarterback – 66 yards

The last three opponents who aren’t adept at passing the ball rushed for at least 273 yards against this Aggie defense.  Ole Miss racked up 388 yards and lowly Auburn who can’t pass to save their soul gained 302 yards on the ground.  I get there’s injuries and youth but these are one dimensional teams just running it down our throats.

Just running at will and nothing is being done to stop it.

For some inexplicable reason the 3-man front made a regular appearance against Auburn.  I can’t figure out why.  I put this on Jimbo more than I put it on Durkin.  Just like Jimbo gets in a rut with play calls Durkin is clearly in a rut calling his defense.  Jimbo as the Head Coach aka El Jefe needs to tell Durkin he needs to pull out all the stops to slow down the run.  No more 3-man fronts and work with the Front 7 guys on how to scheme to slow down the run.

We’ll worry about the pass when the opponent feels they can’t run on us.  It’s really that simple.

I know it was a 13-10 game so it was technically close.  If you watched that game you know it shouldn’t have been that close.  Sometimes you must make your own fortune and the Aggies did nothing against Auburn to make our own fortune.

That’s why we lost by 3 points.  We put ourselves in that position due to inept coaching.

Press Conferences:

Jimbo is becoming shorter and more defensive in press conferences.  That’s what people do when they have no answerers to what they’re seeing.

Jimbo was asked a question in Monday’s press conference about disarray with the team and recruiting.  His response was this – “We’re not in disarray in recruiting.  We’re not in disarray in our team.”

I got news for Jimbo – Both are absolutely in disarray.  We had a massive de-commit last week with Anthony Hill and since David Hicks we haven’t had a commit for 2023 and we have PLENTY of spots.  We don’t have a quarterback, running back, or wide receiver committed.  We have ZERO offensive momentum and the defensive guys are starting to listen and look.

We’re dead last in the SEC and we had a receiver not play against Auburn because of arm sleeves.

I don’t know Jimbo’s definition of disarray but I will say we’re not in a good state.  If he truly believes everything is fine we’re in big trouble.  Hopefully he’s just giving coach speak to the media. 

I hope behind closed doors he’s being honest to those he reports to with a plan to fix the issues.  I hope those he reports to are asking tough questions he needs to answer.

Things aren’t good, Jimbo.

Here’s What’s Going to Happen:

We’re going to beat UMass convincingly.  Weigman is finally going to break out getting time to throw and to open guys downfield.  He’ll throw for close to 400 yards and 4 touchdowns through the air.  We’ll get another 100 yards on the ground with a score.  Mix in a couple field goals and we’ll score 41 points.

Defensively we’ll keep UMass under 17 so we’ll win by 24 points.  Not sure we cover the 33 points or whatever it is but we’ll win in convincing fashion.

Jimbo and Durkin will think they have everything on track.  They won’t change a thing for LSU.

LSU will roll into town and wipe the floor with us.  They’ll rush for close to 400 yards and put another 150 through the air.  Defensively they’ll attack our offensive tackles freeing up Harold Perkins to make a mockery of everything else we’ll want to do on offense.

It’ll look like we’re playing Auburn all over again with punt after punt after punt.

I’m expecting a 35-10 beatdown.  It won’t be pretty.

Jimbo will look stunned and confused with his glasses staring at his Trapper Keeper.  Durkin will be slinked off on the sideline.

The misery that is the 2022 Aggie Football season will end with absolutely ZERO momentum and a host of questions that can’t be answered for another 9 months.  Questions can only be answered on the field against opponents.  If 2022 taught us anything it’s that.  Practice doesn’t matter.  Performance with live bullets matters.

While most of the teams in college football will get an extra month of practice our young guys will get an extra month to explore the portal.  4-8 with a single SEC win will do that to a team.

All thanks to a stubborn head coach who couldn’t see what was happening to his team or refused to see what was happening and adjust.

My Greatest Concern with Jimbo:

There’s lots of talk over Jimbo hiring an offensive coordinator.  That’s obvious but I’m not sure what it’s really going to do.

Jimbo became Offensive Coordinator at LSU in 2000.  He’s been on the sideline with his trusted Trapper Keeper for 23 seasons now.  Can he stand on the sidelines without his woobie and manage the whole game?

That’s a massive question we have no clue the results because he’s never done it.  He honestly doesn’t appear to have any desire to do it.

Does he really want to hire an Offensive Coordinator or is he doing it because it’s being forced on him?  If it’s being forced on him then it’s pointless.  It’s just doing something to do something and it’s not really going to take hold.

It sounds good in theory and it should keep us from going 4-8 in future seasons but I don’t think it’s going to help us win an SEC West title which should be the goal.

I don’t think Jimbo can be a true head coach.  I think he’d already be there if he wanted to.  We certainly wouldn’t be 4-8 if he can truly see the issues with this 2022 Aggie team.

His offensive staff is full of his closest friends that won’t challenge him.  He already did musical chairs with them and the results got worse from previous years.  He hired an offensive line coach that’s been a massive failure.  That’s on Jimbo because he hired him.

I think Jimbo has been a glorified offensive coordinator for the last 13 seasons since he took over as Head Coach at Florida State.  He’s never adapted his offensive and college football passed him by.

He caught lightening in a bottle in 2013 and in 2020.

He’s not a terrible coach as he can recruit but he’s in a time warp from 15 years ago I don’t think he really wants to get out of.

If he’s truly on board with becoming a different head coach then it’s worth a shot.  If he’s just going to stand around and do nothing or meddle with an offensive coordinator then any staff changes is pointless.

I don’t think Jimbo truly wants to change who he is a head coach.  He’s stubborn and stuck in his old ways.

Maybe I’m wrong.  Actually, I hope I’m wrong but we’ll see.

What I Would Do:

I’m making this decision based on these four things. I have no more insight into any of these than you do but I’m basing my decision on these four items being true because I believe they are:

1. Jimbo is fighting having to hire an OC and massive offensive staff changes.
2. Jimbo doesn’t understand he himself has to make massive changes and become a true head coach.
3. We lose to LSU
4. We can get the coach I mention

If all four of those things are true I fire Jimbo the morning after the LSU game.  If any of those 4 aren’t true then I give Jimbo one more year.

The remainder of what I write is based on those four factors being true.  If any of those factors are false then I’m not advocating to fire Jimbo.  Let’s be clear on that.

Sure, it’s going to cost us a ton of money but going 8-4 every year is going to cost us even more.  We’ve seen that play out.  I think it’s pretty obvious we have a perennial 8-4 coach in his current form.  There will be a couple of peaks and valleys but I don’t think Jimbo is on the level with Saban, Smart, Kelly, Heupel, Leach, and Kiffin.  That’s his competition.

He’s an NFL coach trapped in a college game he doesn’t understand anymore.

The ONLY thing saving him right now is the struggles in Austin and Norman so recruiting still looks decent.  If that gets turned around in either of those places our recruiting is going to drop like a rock.

If we keep Jimbo and he’s not truly interested in embracing a different college game then he’s a dead man walking.  Offensive coaches won’t want to come here nor will recruits.  Everyone will know it’s not a matter of “If” he gets fired but a matter of “When”.

Same thing happened with Kevin Sumlin which is why he struggled to hire an offensive coordinator after Jake Spavital failed.  Decent offensive coaches knew Sumlin was destined to get let go and didn’t want to take the job.

Unless we have the next offensive coordinator already locked down I don’t think it’s going to be easy to hire someone.  Coaches like some level of stability and Jimbo is going to be clearly on the hot seat.

His contract should be moot on making the decision if we don’t feel he’s committed to being different.  Pull the damn trigger and get it over with.  This isn’t living out some more time with a dog that you love.  This is a football coach that isn’t what we thought he was.  Pull the trigger and move on.

I don’t like a coaching carousel as I do believe Jimbo has had a bad hand dealt to him this season.  However, he’s proven to be a stubborn head coach with ZERO adaptability.  He’s blaming everything but him as the head coach for our failures.  He blames himself with words but his actions say otherwise.

Remember one of Jimbo’s favorite sayings is – “Your actions speak so loud I can’t hear what you’re saying.”

A head coach with some sense of reality pulls off 6-6 even with the issues we’ve faced this season.

At 6-6 or even 5-7 I’m not advocating to fire him.  He’s certainly had a bad hand dealt to him this season but he’s also had his hand in MULTIPLE losses that shouldn’t have happened.

Remember this is the same guy that felt Haynes King was our best option for 2 games and we have a loss to App State to show for that decision.  This is the same coach that for whatever reason didn’t have his team ready after a bye week and we went down 17-0 in the first five minutes at South Carolina.  This is the same coach that held halftime leads at Kyle Field to Ole Miss and Florida only to squander them away.  This is the same coach that couldn’t even attempt a field goal in his first 10 offensive possessions against an Auburn team with an interim head coach.

Decisions he made led to losses in every single one of those games.  I won’t even get into his decision on the last play at Alabama.

It seems weird to say but there seems like a MASSIVE leap from 5-7 to 4-8.  If he runs the same old tired offense and defense out there and gets wiped up by LSU and those other factors are true he needs to be gone.  We will have seen enough. 

He needs to wake up and act like he’s coaching for his job these last two games.  We’re staring down SEVEN consecutive SEC losses.  If he can’t see how he’s contributing to that there’s no point expecting different results in future seasons.

It sucks but it’s true.  We need to correct a massive mistake.

I would go hire Mike Elko as head coach.  Offer him a 5-year $40 million deal.  I’m not sure what he’s making at Duke but I’d guess it’s 5 years for $25 million or in that ballpark.  I believe his mother lives in that area of North Carolina but surely he’d want the keys to the Aggie gig considering what he’d be walking back into.

We send Durkin down the road and can keep our existing defensive staff for the most part.  Defensive recruiting shouldn’t miss a beat.

Let Elko hire an exciting offensive staff along with an ace recruiting staff and we’ll be off to the races.

In case you haven’t noticed Elko is quietly 7-3 at Duke this year.  Duke.  They went 3-9 last season losing their final 8 games.  There’s a good chance he goes 9-3 with losses against Kansas at full strength, an overtime loss to Georgia Tech on the road, and a 3-point loss to North Carolina who’s currently leading their division with no losses.  Elko is 4 points from potentially going to the ACC Championship game with Duke.

That’s one hell of a turnaround.

Mike Elko is a football coach.

If Jimbo is fighting change don’t overcomplicate the decision and extend the misery.  Pull the trigger and make the move.  If he truly realizes the issues with wins and losses are at his feet and he’s willing to change then he can stay.

Based on what Jimbo has said after each loss his look in the mirror is different than everyone else’s.  Sure, he says he blames himself but he clearly blames everything else.  His actions in the last 7 games have told us that.

We got caught up in the coaching salary spike of 2021 and just need to own it.  We made a bad decision and need to correct it sooner than later.

Well kids, another week, another Jimbo Special.  It wasn’t pretty and it looked bleak at times but Jimbo pulled out another victory like only he can.  Get just enough offense and pray the defense can hold on.  It worked thanks to Jerry Jones’ super tall field goal uprights.  I have no clue what the call would have been had that ball sailed over the uprights but I don’t care.  A win is a win.

Every year I go to the Arkansas game wishing it was a home and home instead of at JerryWorld.  Nothing against JerryWorld as it’s a wonderful stadium but I just feel college games should be played on college campuses.  However, I leave JerryWorld after an entertaining game with an Aggie victory and wonder if we should just leave well enough alone.

I can’t recall another series like this where it’s been a decade of bizarre games and plays.  Somehow, the Aggies have come out on top most of the time.  We’ve certainly got our share of breaks in JerryWorld.  I’m not complaining one bit.

A win is a win.

Ainias Smith:

Before I get going on the game I have to give a shout out to Ainias Smith.  As most of you know he suffered a broken bone in his leg and will miss the remainder of the season.  I feel horrible for the kid.  He came back for his senior year hoping to prove more on the field only to have this happen.  It’s a horrible literal and figurative break.

For four seasons he’s been the one constant of Jimbo’s offense.  Jimbo has plugged in and played parts with a lot of people that never developed.  Ainias was the one constant every season the last four years.  Obviously there’s Spiller and Achane but for three plus seasons Ainias carried a pretty anemic passing attack.

I wish we could have seen what Ainias could have done with more offensive threats around him.  He was the receiver that defenses keyed on and he still made play after play.

I don’t know what his future holds but I wish him the best.  Get well my man.  You’ve served and represented A&M well in every regard.

Coaching/Mental Mistakes:

There’s a lot to take away from this game but the coaching and mental mistakes are the most mind boggling to me.

We had 9 penalties for 65 yards.  Well prepared players get fewer penalties.  You’re going to have mistakes here and there but 9 penalties is unacceptable.  It really does start with coaching.

Jimbo placed some blame on the players after the game but the reality is it starts with him.  Penalties happen because a player is not prepared or motivated.  That starts with the head coach.  Smart and prepared football teams don’t get 9 penalties at key moments of the game.

The most glaring penalty was the delay of game after receiving the ball from the kickoff.  That’s THE LAST PLACE you should ever get a delay of game.  I have no clue how that happens and that’s squarely on Jimbo.  The other team scores and you know you’re getting the ball.  You have PLENTY of time to prepare your offense and have the play called.  The Aggies didn’t.

The only way that happens is complete indecisiveness by the coach or confusion by the players.  Either way that’s on the coach for not having the play or players ready.  This is squarely on Jimbo’s shoulders.

The other massive mental mistake wasn’t even a penalty.  It was the failed extra point after the amazing defense fumble return.  That also failed because of coaching.  Extra points in college are a free point.  It should be muscle memory.

For some reason the Aggie extra point team was hesitant to snap the ball and everything was out sync.  The snapper, holder, and kicker weren’t aligned.  What exactly happened I don’t know but it’s on coaching because something was off. 

There’s no reason for this because it should be repetition.  The second Demani Richardson crossed the goal line the coaching staff should have been yelling “EXTRA POINT TEAM!  EXTRA POINT TEAM!” 

I’m not kidding.  It’s that basic.  The whole focus of the coaching staff should have been getting the 11 guys out there to kick the extra point.  It didn’t look like that was the case because we waited so long to snap the ball.  That doesn’t happen to a well-prepared football team.  A well prepared and coached team trots out there, lines up, snaps the ball, and nails the extra point.

A team that’s not well prepared is a failure of the coaching staff.  That was a free point and we botched it because we weren’t prepared.  That’s on coaching.

The other concerning coaching decision and execution was at the end of the first half.  Thanks to an Arkansas penalty we got the ball down to the Arkansas 42 with a few seconds left.  We tried a pass that was incomplete to Moose Muhammad leaving us with 4 seconds on the 42-yard line.

Jimbo runs a kicker out there to attempt a 59-yard field goal.  I couldn’t see but I’m guessing it was Caden Davis.  Davis has enough leg to make that distance.  Accuracy is in question but he has the leg to get the ball through the uprights that far out.

I don’t have a problem with that decision because I felt like it was the best opportunity to get points.  Sure, it could get blocked and returned but Davis has enough leg to get it up.  Apparently Jimbo felt it was worth the try at that moment.

Before we snap the ball Arkansas calls a timeout.  After the timeout Jimbo trots his offense out there where we fall on our face in a botched hail mary attempt.  Max didn’t even heave it down field.  He got pressured and just kind of threw it away.  It was completely botched.

Based on what I’d seen so far in that game I had ZERO confidence in a hail mary.  Max wasn’t going to get enough time to throw a ball 50 yards downfield to our receivers.  Nothing in that game up until that moment told me that was a good idea.

At least Davis has the leg to make a 59-yarder if he hits it right.  Maybe it even gives him some confidence.

Here’s my biggest problem with that sequence – What did Jimbo see in that stack of papers in his hand during that timeout he didn’t see once the pass was incomplete to Moose?  Did he find the sheet with the hail mary play so he could show his offense?  Did he find a picture of Auburn and the Kick Six against Alabama?

What changed during that timeout to switch to a play that seemed like a low percentage based on what we’d seen in the game so far?

There’s other examples during the game but those are the three most obvious to me.  When we have the ball there is ZERO sense to do what I call “Urgently Execute”.  There’s a whole lot of standing and looking around trying to decide what to do while the play clock just ticks away.

George Patton once said, “A violent plan executed today is better than a perfect plan executed next week.”  Someone needs to post this in Jimbo’s office.

I like Jimbo as a head coach.  I do have my concerns that being head coach and playcaller are too big for him.  I’m afraid these are more examples.

Defense:

I’m starting with the defense again because these guys won the game for us.  I know a lot of people are disappointed with our defense but they held Arkansas to 21 points.  That’s a damn fine accomplishment.

Arkansas is a damn good offense in their third year of Kendall Briles.  Yes, Art’s son.  The dude knows how to coach an offense.  Unless you’re the 2020 Georgia team you’re not shutting this offense out.

Arkansas is going to score points.  K.J. Jefferson runs the system perfectly and I wouldn’t be surprised if 21 points is the lowest amount of points Arkansas scores all season.

The Aggie defense slowed down the Arkansas offense just enough to win that game.  Would I like a more dominant effort?  Sure.  I’ll take holding Arkansas’ offense to 21 points all day long because that gives your team a chance to win.

The 3-Man Front:

I’ve seen a lot of griping about A&M’s 3-man front.  Perceptionally I don’t like it because the defensive line should be the strength of our defense.  We should be able to run 4 guys out there and just destroy the opponent’s offensive line.

Unfortunately, that’s not really the case and can be used against you in an Arkansas type offense.

Arkansas’ offense is meant to read the defense and exploit gaps and holes.  With a quarterback like K.J. Jefferson and running back like Rocket Sanders it works well.  Those guys generally crank out the yards. 

It’s not a power rushing attack but more of a patient running attack looking for gaps and seams to get to the next level where they can really chew up yards.

I believe Durkin’s reason for running the 3-man front was to see if he could consume the offensive line with 3 defensive lineman and then have the linebackers and safeties fill the gaps that are created.

I think it worked because we held Arkansas to their least amount of yards all season and Antonio Johnson, Chris Russell, and Jardin Gilbert lead the teams in tackles.  That’s two safeties and a linebacker which leads me to believe those guys were constantly sticking their nose in those gaps.

The last thing you want is to have Jefferson and Sanders hitting the second level where there’s no safety or linebacker.  That’s how Arkansas’ offense will destroy you.  The Aggie defense wouldn’t let them do that as they held Jefferson and Sanders to their combined lowest total of rushing yards against any team this season.

I think Durkin wisely made sure he had plenty of safeties and linebackers in the second level so Jeffeson and Sanders didn’t rip off long runs.  It wasn’t perfect but it worked pretty well for the most part.

Do I wish the Aggie defense could have definitively shut down the Arkansas rushing attack with a four-man front?  Absolutely.  However, I’m not going to gripe too much if the end results are an Aggie victory.

Now, I do have a concern if Durkin trots out the 3-man front against Mike Leach on Saturday.  You have to apply pressure to the Mississippi State quarterback or he’ll tear you apart.  He’s not really a threat to run so I’m not as worried about those little gaps.  If the 3-man front was for one game to slow down the Arkansas rushing duo of Jefferson and Sanders then I’m good with it.

Defensive Line:

I talked about 3-man front already but regardless of Durkin’s reason the defensive line did what they were asked to do.  For the much of the night they occupied the 5 Arkansas lineman allowing other defenders to make plays.

The defensive line won’t get any of the individual glory but they’re the guys that made that defense really work on Saturday night.

There were some pretty obvious holding calls that didn’t get called but these guys never relented all night long.  They just lined up and took on the Arkansas offensive line.

This will likely be one of the best offensive lines they face all season so I think it’s a very promising sign for the rest of the season.

Linebacker and Safety Play:

I touched on it briefly talking about the 3-man front but I thought our linebacker and safety play was pretty damn solid this game.  The Arkansas offense loves to exploit linebackers and safeties out of position and for most of the game our guys were where they needed to be.

We all know about the abilities of Antonio Johnson and Demani Richardson but Jardin Gilbert is really playing some good football.  Chris Russell, Jr. played the best game of his career at a time we needed it most.  I’ve been a little concerned with him as he’s been out of position some in the first three games but he stepped up in a big way against Arkansas.

Bryce Anderson again showed he’s likely to be something special.  It looked like he went out with an injury so I hope he’s okay and bounces back for this week.

The defensive line is the heart and soul of this team even with a 3-man front but the linebacker and safety units are proving to be nice complimentary units.

Coverage:

The entire secondary seemed like a swarm of defenders all night.  They had one massive brain fart on the 56-yard touchdown pass.  Other than that I thought they played really well.  That one pass counted for 33% of Arkansas’ total passing yards.  If that play never happens then Arkansas has a total of 115 passing yards and 14 points.

Arkansas doesn’t have the best receivers but we’ve seen plenty of Aggies games where marginal receivers got the better of us.  I feel good about this unit when it comes to covering.  It’s not going to be without errors from time to time but I do like the depth and talent Jimbo has assembled with this group.

Offense:

Devon Achane:

I talked about Ainias and I don’t want to take anything away from him but Devon Achane once again proved he’s the hands down MVP of the 2022 Aggie Football team.  It’s not even close.

What he did on Saturday night was overshadowed by so many things such as the fumble return and the “Oink Boink.”  If Devon Achane doesn’t suit up for the Aggies those aren’t even discussion points.  We’re just talking about Arkansas beating the Aggies in back-to-back seasons.

Achane was without the doubt the heart and soul of this offense on Saturday night.  The dude averaged 8.4 yards per carry on 19 carries.  For a team that sputters offensively that is an insane amount of yards per carry.  He’s the only real threat to the defense and they still can’t bottle him up.

While that yards per carry is impressive this is the most impressive stat for Devon Achane – Out of 60 total offensive snaps for the Aggies he was in on 58 of them.  58 of 60 offensive snaps!!!!

After his 63 yard run he didn’t even come off the field.  He just lined up and took the next two snaps for runs of 5 and 10 yards.  No timeout or anything.  Just hauls ass for 63 yard, hands the ball to the official, and lines up for two more carries for 15 yards.

How many running backs in football do you know that rip off a 63-yard run and don’t come out of the game?  Jimbo just lined Achane up and handed the ball to him two more times for 15 more yards and a first down.  THAT IS INSANE.

Everybody is talking about our missed field goal against App State, Miami’s botched punt return, and the Arkansas plays.  None of those things are being discussed if there’s no Devon Achane.  If Devon Achane is not on this team we might be 1-3 and I’m not kidding.  He’s not the sole reason we’re 3-1 as the defense has played well but without Devon Achance there’s no offense to get a few more points than the defense has allowed.

We all know about his elite level speed but the more he touches the ball I’m amazed at how elusive he is.  It’s not flashy either.  He’s just so damn smooth that he has great vision and ability to cut and then that homerun gear if he gets free.

He is special special and I don’t think most football fans including Aggies realize just how special he is because he looks so effortless in what he does.

Max Johnson:

While Achane is carrying this team Max Johnson has made sure there’s no additional burdens for Achane to carry these last two games.

Max Johnson has not been great by any stretch of the imagination but he’s done exactly what he’s needed to against Miami and Arkansas.  He hasn’t made any massive mistakes and has allowed others around him to make plays.

The best play to showcase this was the touchdown pass to Evan Stewart.  Arkansas’s defensive strategy this year has been very clear – we don’t trust our secondary but we’re not going to give you enough time to test them if we can help it.  Arkansas blitzes like crazy and did all night against A&M.

On that touchdown pass to Stewart Arkansas didn’t disguise the fact they were going to force Max Johnson to throw before he wanted to.  We had an empty back set and Arkansas lined up six guys on the offensive line.  No tight ends.  That’s a math of six defenders to five blockers.  What that means is at least one guy is going to break through and apply immediate pressure to the quarterback.

Max recognized this.  On the snap two Arkansas guys broke free and ran immediately for Max.  Max waits as long as he can and calmly lofts the ball in the air towards Evan Stewart who was able to turn around and make a play for a touchdown.

It was the only play to make.  Max recognized before the snap and after the snap while calmy executing it.  It looks like a lucky pass but if you go back and watch the play it was the perfect call executed perfectly.  That was a big game changer.

The featured image of this post is the photo of Max throwing that ball to Evan Stewart.  Max has two defenders barreling down on him and he releases as perfect of a throw as he can.  It’s actually a very impressive play on Max’s part.  Great job by Stewart looking back to get the ball but a lot of QBs would have scrambled rather put the ball in a spot for their receiver to make the play.

In addition to that play Max had to deal with bad snaps all night long and calmly corralled them while looking to make plays down the field.

Statistically he didn’t do anything impressive as he was barely a 50% passer for 151 yards against one of the worst secondaries in football.

I don’t necessarily like getting excited about a game manager at quarterback but perspective is a funny thing.  I think the only quarterback in the Jimbo era that would have beaten Arkansas on Saturday night was 2020 Kellen Mond.  2018 Kellen, 2019 Kellen, Haynes King, and Zach Calzada lose that game.

Sometimes it’s not what you do at quarterback it’s what you don’t do.  Max didn’t do anything to put the Aggies in a worse position than what they already were from a scheme and talent standpoint.

Max is never going to be Johnny Manziel or even Trevor Knight.  His pocket awareness is pretty good though and he avoids trouble well for a guy his size and without blazing speed.  More than anything as trouble is coming he’s already assessed what’s going on downfield and acts accordingly.  That’s a big key for what you want in a quarterback.

Max isn’t going to be the reason we win football games but considering the 14 games before he took over I’m gaining some confidence he won’t be the reason we lose football games either.

Offensive Line:

This is a tough one for me to assess.

On one hand the offensive line finally did enough to spring Achane.  In addition Arkansas was bringing pressure the entire game.  These guys had their work cut out for them.

On the other hand we didn’t do anything in our first four possessions.  We also didn’t score a point when we really needed points on our only fourth quarter possession that mattered.  We did miss a field goal on that possession but 53 yards from the Arkansas 36 is hardly a chip shot.  We needed to be deeper in Arkansas territory on that drive.

The offense needed to do more on that possession and they didn’t.

During the second and third quarter this offensive line did take the fight to a tough Arkansas defensive front.  They deserve major props for that.  Maybe they would have responded on the final drive if Arkansas made that final kick.  We don’t know and quite frankly I’m glad we didn’t have to find out.  I’ll take the win from the “Oink Doink”.

I hold out some hope maybe this is like the 2020 Florida game where the offensive line finally found some level of identity.

I’ve complained about Jimbo’s decision making in this game but he along with the offensive line deserve massive credit for realizing and executing the run game as the only real hope of moving the ball.  Achane is special but this offensive line executed the play calling to spring him to make some amazing plays.

Now that we seem to be settled on the five guys going forward I’d like to think this unit can only improve and not regress.  Especially as Bryce Foster gets stronger.

We’ll find out more against Mississippi State but it was great to see this unit finally give Arkansas a fight after not doing anything at all for four possessions in the first quarter.

Wide Receiver:

Ugh.  This is where I have to remind everyone that Ainias Smith is out for the year and there’s no clear replacement.

I have no clue what to think with this group.  There’s some flash with Evan Stewart and Donovan Green for sure.

Those two guys lead the team in receptions with 3 each and totaled 86 yards.  Green had 50 yards and Stewart had 36. 

That’s a pretty pitiful showing against one of the worst secondaries in the country.  At least statistically. 

They didn’t light it up but they did make a couple very tough catches at key moments.  Great to see them step up and make plays in moments you need it most.  They are true freshman adjusting to the college game.

I’m disappointed Jimbo didn’t run more hot routes trying to get the ball to these guys in some space to see what they can do.  I think Jimbo realized he had a hot hand in Achane and decided to ride it which I have no problems with.  Jimbo failed to ride the hot hand in a couple games last year and it cost us victories.

Like the offensive line this group is kind of hard to judge because Arkansas wasn’t going to give us time to pass.  I also believe Jimbo didn’t have as much confidence in his passing game as he did his run game.

Unfortunately, I also have to bring up Moose Muhammed who probably contributed to the lackluster performance of this group more than anyone else.  Moose played about as terrible of a game as a receiver can play.  He had 3 penalties but most importantly he dropped a certain touchdown pass where he was wide open.  He completely botched the catch not being in proper position and then kind of jumping where the ball bounced off his hand.

A competent receiver positions himself where he runs under that ball in stride and cruises to the end zone.  It’s the route and pass every receiver dreams of where it’s an easy six points.  The moment was too big for Moose and he botched it. 

We wound up getting a field goal on that drive so it wasn’t a 7 point swing but it was a 4 point swing.  I believe if Moose catches that ball it completely changes the outlook of the game.  I certainly don’t think the “Oink Boink” happens.  Arkansas wouldn’t have been kicking at that moment because it would have been a six point game if Moose caught that ball like he should have.

Like the offensive line we’ll see what happens against Mississippi State this weekend.  Evan Stewart was targeted 7 times against Arkansas so it’s pretty clear it’s in the works for him to be an integral part of our passing game.

I’m not worried about Stewart and I feel confident about Green with him getting more experience.  I’m also hopeful Yulkeith Brown and Chris Marshall can develop as they get more experience.

Paint me optimistic that Max, the line, and the young receivers can develop a serviceable passing game as the season wears on.

Looking Forward:

Since the App State loss I’ve said we’ve got to really take one game at a time.  There was a legit chance we were staring down a 1-5 record.  As it stands we won’t be worse than 3-3 going into our bye which seems like a massive accomplishment.

I’m hopeful we can get by Mississippi State so the worst case going into our bye is a 4-2 record.  That would be remarkable considering how we looked in the first two games.

Mississippi State won’t be easy at all.  Just like we somehow have Arkansas’ number Mississippi State has ours.

We are 3-5 against Mississippi State since 2014.  That’s our first year without Johnny.  We’ve won one game in Starkville in that time and that was the 2020 team in Mike Leach’s first year there.

It goes without saying that Starkville is not our favorite place to play.

This will be a tough game because the Mississippi State defense is better than people think.  We all know what Leach can do offensively but Durkin does have some success against him.  Durkin slowed Leach down last season when Ole Miss beat Mississippi State in Starkville.

As I write this Mississippi State is favored by 3.5.  Vegas doesn’t always get these lines correct but they’re generally a better guide than anything else.

This won’t be an easy game and Jimbo has his work cut out for him.

Let’s just hope he plans to urgently execute on Saturday rather than sift through his stack of papers looking for the perfect play or a good diagram to show his team.