A tumultuous regular season has come to an end for Texas A&M. The Aggies head into bowl season at 7-5 overall and 4-4 in the SEC. It’s the second 7-5 regular season in four years. The Aggies haven’t won more than eight games in the regular season since 2012, their first year in the SEC.
It was a season of ups and downs, like every other. But there were some high points and some very low points, beginning with the season opener. But the Aggies fought back and didn’t allow that season-opening debacle to define them. Instead, they moved forward and won their next four games.
Here are 10 of the most memorable moments in the 2017 season for Texas A&M.
1. Collapse on the West Coast
It was an epic loss to be sure. Texas A&M rolled to a 44-10 lead late in the third quarter in the season opener at UCLA. It looked like a big statement for the Aggies under beleaguered head coach Kevin Sumlin. But it ended in a major statement for all the wrong reasons, and a 45-44 loss as QB Josh Rosen rallied the Bruins.
2. Aggies drain The Swamp
The Aggies went to Florida and came away with what appeared to be at the time a huge road victory that was supposed to end their second-half collapses of recent years. Kicker Daniel LaCamera nailed his fourth field goal in the waning seconds for a hard-earned 19-17 victory.
3. Racist letter
It was learned that the Sumlins received a racist, threatening letter at his home after the epic loss at UCLA.
“I get criticism, which is part of the job. I get suggestions, and that’s part of the job,” he said. “In this situation, for that [letter] to come to my home and for her to open it and read that, that is completely different,” Sumlin said.
4. Youth at quarterback
Sumlin went with freshmen QBs Nick Starkel and Kellen Mond over senior Jake Hubenak, who entered the season as the only one of the three with game experience. Starkel looked ready for prime time until his ankle injury at UCLA. Mond stepped up and handled the starting role before giving way when Starkel returned to full strength.
5. Second-half setbacks
As in previous seasons, Texas A&M struggled in the second half of the season. Back-to-back home losses to Mississippi State and Auburn dropped the Aggies to 5-4 and out of contention in the SEC West race.
6. Near miss against No. 1
When Mond scored from 1 yard out in the final seconds, it became a one-score game against top-ranked Alabama. In the end, Aggies fans were once again frustrated by what could have been, losing 27-19 to the Tide.
7. Bowl eligible again
The Aggies became bowl eligible for a school-record ninth consecutive season with a 55-14 victory over New Mexico. It was the 50th win for Sumlin at Texas A&M. The game also featured the return of Starkel at quarterback, his first appearance since breaking his ankle in the season opener.
8. Starkel returns with a vengeance
The Aggies quarterback made his first start since a broken ankle in the season opener. In just one half of play against New Mexico, the redshirt freshman threw for 416 yards and four touchdowns in the Aggies’ 55-14 victory.
9. Another OT thriller with Arkansas
Overtime has come to be expected when the Aggies and Hogs tangle. For the third time in four seasons, the teams played extra football, tied 43-43 at the end of regulation. A 10-yard touchdown pass from Mond to Christian Kirk proved to be the game-winner in a 50-43 victory.
10. Guaranteed winner
Texas A&M defeated Ole Miss for the first time since Johnny Manziel helped the Aggies win in 2012. The win not only snapped a long losing streak to the Rebels but also guaranteed Sumlin a winning record in the SEC. It was Sumlin’s 25th victory in 48 conference games.
Glenn Sattell is an award-winning freelance writer for Saturday Down South.
