Rapid Reaction: Not letdown for Texas A&M, which trounces New Mexico State
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Texas A&M won the battle of the Aggies, breezing past New Mexico State at Kyle Field. No surprise there. It was a nice victory coming on the heels of a disappointing conference loss to Alabama.
The victory puts Texas A&M back in a positive frame of mind as it heads into the home stretch of the season, which includes key SEC West games with Mississippi State on the road and home games with Ole Miss and LSU.
Here’s a closer look at the Aggies’ 52-10 victory:
What it means: Texas A&M gets back in the win column against an inferior non-conference opponent. With upsets taking place on Saturday, the Aggies’ victory will no doubt find them figuring prominently in the first College Football Playoff selection committee’s rankings, which will be revealed on Tuesday night. At 7-1, Texas A&M looks to be among the best one-loss teams in college football.
What I liked: Intensity. How many times have we seen a team lose its biggest game of the year and come out flat in the next one? Texas A&M was primed to fall into that trap: a tough and disappointing loss to Alabama, followed by a Group of Five opponent. All the factors were there for Texas A&M to sleepwalk through Saturday’s game. But it didn’t. Instead, Texas A&M brought it on both sides of the football, took care of business and came away with a decisive victory.
What I didn’t like: It’s picky, and there isn’t much to dislike about the victory, but allowing New Mexico State to score a touchdown on its defense early in the fourth quarter would be just about the only negative to an otherwise extremely positive game by Texas A&M.
Who’s the man: Christian Kirk returned two punts for touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass in the rout. Kirk returned a punt 70 yards for a first-quarter score and then added a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown in the third quarter. In between that, he hauled in a short, 3-yard touchdown pass in another highlight to this outstanding effort. Kirk returned two punts for touchdowns last year. Prior to Saturday, he had not returned one for a touchdown this season.
Key play: After scoring a touchdown on its first possession of the game, Texas A&M forced a New Mexico State punt and Kirk returned it 70 yards for a touchdown. The 73-yard return was also his longest since a 79-yarder last season. Kirk also had a team-high 5 receptions for 36 yards to go with his short score. He entered the week with an SEC-best 49 receptions on the year.
What’s next: The Aggies return to SEC play next Saturday when they travel to Starkville to take on Mississippi State in a noon ET kickoff.
Glenn Sattell is an award-winning freelance writer for Saturday Down South.
