Well, that wasn’t the “turn the page” statement that A&M was hoping to make. At least not defensively.

On national TV, it wasn’t that the A&M offense that looked like a liability. It was the defense, which was trucked 48-33 by Miami at Hard Rock Stadium.

Here are the 3 takeaways from A&M’s loss at Miami:

1. Conner Weigman running the Bobby Petrino offense passed the test, even in a loss

If you were in “wait-and-see” mode with the second-year A&M starting quarterback, you shouldn’t be anymore. He was phenomenal for the Aggies. His willingness to hang in the pocket and fire on-target throws kept A&M in that game. That was the most points A&M scored in a road game since the 2021 Mizzou game.

The mobility, the anticipation, the toughness … it’s all there. That’s the type of game that A&M fans have been waiting to see from the passing game for far too long. Even Weigman’s first interception wasn’t his fault. Ainias Smith slipped on the turf and Weigman threw his first career pick (he had another pick on the last play of the night in a 15-point game).

If there was a silver lining with Saturday’s loss, it was seeing the Weigman-Petrino dynamic click away from the friendly confines of Kyle Field.

2. Goodness, that DJ Durkin defense needs work

Awful. Just awful.

Not to take anything away from Tyler Van Dyke, who had 5 touchdown passes and 374 passing yards, but Miami in a new offense, danced circles around A&M in Year 2 of the DJ Durkin defense. There were coverage busts galore. It felt like every time A&M failed to get home, Miami was a big play waiting to happen. McKinnley Jackson, Fadil Diggs and Miami native Shemar Stewart can only do so much. A year removed from A&M having the No. 1 pass defense in America, that group is a major weakness without Antonio Johnson and Jaylon Jones.

Give Miami credit for taking advantage of an inexperienced A&M secondary. If the Aggies are going to be that much of a liability on the back end, they’ll be in no shortage of shootouts in 2023.

3. It’s not the end of the world, Aggie fans. Remember last year?

It’s weird to say, but hear me out. Last year, A&M “bounced back” from the Appalachian State loss by beating the Canes 17-9 at home. At the time, though, we saw the offensive warts against a flawed Miami team. Beating Miami wasn’t pivotal last year. Dare I say, losing to the Canes won’t be pivotal this year?

A&M had obvious limitations last year. You’re not gonna win a whole bunch of games with a porous run defense and an offense that can only score 21 points. Not in this era of college football. This year’s team doesn’t have that ceiling. It can hang in a shootout with Weigman and those receivers.

Perhaps Saturday’s showing was a sign that A&M’s biggest question mark was answered. Now it just needs a “bend-don’t-break” defense.

That’ll be easier said than done.