Texas A&M football: 5 things that went wrong as Aggies guaranteed rare losing season
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Think of it as an expansion team. An expansion team with its share of injuries. Injuries and perhaps a disciplinary problem here and there. I’m not sure how else to describe the Texas A&M program at this point.
Now 3-7 for the season and 1-6 in Southeastern Conference play, the Aggies have guaranteed their first losing season since 2009 during the Mike Sherman era.
On Saturday, the 13-10 loss at Auburn extended the Aggies’ losing streak to 6 games. The last time Texas A&M dropped 6 in a row in the same season was 1972, a 3-8 year in the 1st season for Emory Bellard.
The Aggies won’t go bowling this season. That’s 2 years in a row that Texas A&M won’t make a bowl appearance. It’s the first time since 2008 that the Aggies will not qualify for the postseason. They qualified last year but didn’t go because of COVID-19 and injuries.
Of the many things that went wrong for Texas A&M this season, here are 5 of the biggest.
No balance on offense
Jimbo Fisher’s offense is most effective when the running game can compliment the passing game. The Aggies have not had that this season. They’ve been average in the passing game, ranking 7th among SEC teams, but have had little to no run game.
Entering the game on Saturday against Auburn, Texas A&M ranked 12th in the SEC in total rushing yards (1,126). Only Kentucky (983) and Mississippi State (726) rushed for fewer yards.
The result? The Aggies are last in the SEC in scoring offense. Even before scoring just 10 points on Saturday, the Aggies ranked 102nd nationally, averaging 22.8 points a game. That just won’t cut it in today’s game.
Couldn’t stop the run
No team in the SEC has given up more rushing yards than Texas A&M. Including the 270 piled up by Auburn on Saturday, the Aggies have yielded a total of 2,208 yards on the ground in 2022. You aren’t going to win many games that way.
Injuries and discipline
The Aggies have had more than their share of injuries this season. Nearly every position on the field has been affected, including quarterback where starter Haynes King went down and transfer Max Johnson took over – only to be injured himself.
True freshman Conner Weigman has been inserted into the lineup, probably sooner than Fisher would have wanted. Instead of carrying a clipboard and gaining experience by watching and learning from the sideline, he was thrust into action and is now learning on the job. That’s not the ideal situation for success. Not in 2022 anyway.
Poor quarterback play
None of the 3 quarterbacks who have played this season have had an opportunity for continuity. King started the season but made it through only 2 games before Johnson took over for the next 3 games. Then an injury put him on the sidelines and King returned for a couple of games before giving way to Weigman.
Three consecutive games are the most any of them have played. It’s difficult to gain confidence and continuity, much less gain any sort of rhythm with receivers when there is a revolving door to the Aggies’ quarterback room.
Decision to go young
This isn’t necessarily the reason the season went south, but more the result of it. At some point, during the current 6-game losing streak, it was Fisher’s decision to open the door for the No. 1-ranked recruiting class of 2022.
It wasn’t a move intended to make the Aggies competitive again this season. It was more a move intended to make them the team of the future. It was a move no other coach would dare make; only one with a locked-in contract such as Fisher’s. No other coach would be afforded such a move.
But Fisher made the move and now suffers, along with all of Aggieland, through the growing pains that go with it.
Glenn Sattell is an award-winning freelance writer for Saturday Down South.
