Texas A&M had a white-knuckle battle with Vanderbilt, but the Aggies pulled out a victory on Saturday night, 17-12.

Coach Jimbo Fisher told reporters after the game that the Aggies have their work cut out for them. Texas A&M was just 4-for-10 on third down, and had three turnovers to Vanderbilt’s two. They lost the time of possession battle, and missed a fourth down try.

“We got a lotta work to do,” he said. “Critical turnovers on offense. Defense did a heck of a job in the second half … so much inconsistency, but that’s my fault. I take responsibility for that.”

All areas have work to do.

“A victory is a victory, but all three phases didn’t play how I thought we could or how we can,” Fisher said. “You’ve got to look at yourself and be critical. … It’s a lot easier to fix mistakes when you win.”

Not only did Vanderbilt convert 7-of-17 third down attempts, but several of them were third and long.

“We gotta get that fixed,” Fisher said, and added about the defense overall, “I thought they played well at the end of the game. … We’ve got to get better at stopping the run and on third downs, but big sacks and big turnovers.”

About QB Kellen Mond, Fisher said, “He made some big plays … but he can play much better.”

The competition will ramp up considerably next week when the Aggies take on Alabama.

H/T Aggie Sports and  TexAgs.

Keith Farner

A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.