Ad Disclosure
Handing out grades for the Aggies’ 8-5 2014 season:
OFFENSE: B-
It was an up-and-down season for the Aggies. Texas A&M averaged 51 points in a 5-0 start, a stunning number that was unlikely to hold up once SEC play got into full swing. It fell hard, as the Aggies averaged just 22.8 points over their last eight games. While the offense did take a nosedive, there are still some positives. Josh Reynolds emerged as a legit receiving threat, and Speedy Noil showed flashes of why he was a five-star recruit. Kyle Allen played well after replacing Kenny Hill, although he was inconsistent, as expected from a freshman. The offensive line, though, did not live up to expectations or previous years’ standards. The running game was effective when the Aggies used it, but it was abandoned too often when they would fall behind in games. While putting up more than 450 yards and 35 points per game would be a banner season for most, it wasn’t up to par for the Aggies.
DEFENSE: D-
Texas A&M’s defense somehow regressed from its league-worst performance in 2013, once again coming dead last in the SEC in total defense. As many yards as the Aggies racked up offensively, they gave them right back on defense, allowing 450 yards and 28 points per game. The issues were widespread throughout the defense. The Aggies didn’t have any ability to stuff the run, both along a defensive line that got pushed around and a linebacking corps that couldn’t get to the ball quick enough. The secondary was mostly awful sticking with receivers and was even worse coming up to make tackles. One area the Aggies did excel in, especially early in the year, was chasing down quarterbacks, and they finished with 35 sacks, fourth in the conference. When opponents had to throw to catch up and the defensive line could pin its ears back, the Aggies were very capable of getting the pass rush home. That one positive was neutered when the Aggies kept falling behind as the season wore on, though.
SPECIAL TEAMS: A
The Aggies have two of the best kicking specialists in the country in Josh Lambo and Drew Kaser. Lambo was money kicking all season, with his only two misses of the year coming on field goal attempts both longer than 40 yards. While Kaser didn’t match his Ray Guy-finalist season from a year ago, he was still one of the best punters in the country, finishing 11th nationally in punting average. The Aggies were strong in kick coverage, finishing 36th in the country in opponent kickoff return average and middle of the pack in punt return average allowed, while finishing 13th and 22nd in punt and kick return average, respectively.
COACHING: B-
The Aggies were a mess defensively, which led to Mark Snyder’s firing. The offense was mostly effective, but went through spurts where it couldn’t get anything going. The biggest plus from this season is how much player development the Aggies were able to get. Turning the reins over to Allen was the right decision once the season went off the rails, and giving heavy playing time to the freshman defensive trio of Myles Garrett, Armani Watts and Otaro Alaka will only help matters next year.
OVERALL: C+
Sumlin knew this was going to be a rebuilding year, and it was just that. To be able to win eight games with a team built for the future is a strong accomplishment, even if expectations were warped by the early-season fireworks. Texas A&M rode out a rough defensive season and is set up with young, experienced talent going forward.
A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.
