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Texas A&M Football: Slow Road Start Too Much to Overcome
The Texas A&M football team saw Mississippi State storm out to a 14-0 lead and a big fourth quarter wasn’t enough to escape Starkville with a win.
If you listen to the national media this week… It won’t matter that the Aggies most important offensive and defensive player were knocked out of this game with injuries. It’s not going to matter that Kevin Sumlin took an unranked pre-season team to 7-1.
But it should matter. It should matter that a program that wasn’t expected to be competitive continues to make noise in the SEC West, the toughest division in football. This loss was painful, but it wouldn’t sting unless the team was good enough to make it this far.
Slow Starts
The A&M defense has been sluggish in early morning road games under Kevin Sumlin this season. That was the case again for the Aggies who fell behind 14-0 and then 28-7 early in the first half.
South Carolina running back AJ Turner took a hand off 75 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the game. Auburn jumped out to a 7-0 lead by marching 80 yards down the field on their second drive. Neither offense scored another touchdown for the remainder of the game. That wasn’t the case in Starkville.
A Fallen Knight
Nov 5, 2016; Starkville, MS, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Trevor Knight (8) moves in the pocket during the first quarter against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Trevor Knight was taken back to the locker room after injuring him throwing shoulder on a 19 yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Jake Hubenak took over and the offense went three and out on the Aggies next drive.
Knight would return the next series, noticeably favoring his shoulder while throwing three incomplete passes. His next time on the field he was pulled down out of bounds, falling on that injured shoulder. That would be it for the senior signal caller, who did not return for the rest of the game. The Aggies turned to Hubenak to mount a comeback on the road.
The Christian Kirk Show
Perfect throw + catch = Major ???? #TAMUvsMSU pic.twitter.com/7GAjwpIBTh
— Athlon Sports (@AthlonSports) November 5, 2016
If Christian Kirk gets the ball in space he’s going to make a play. Kirk had seven catches on Saturday for 144 yards including that 54 yard touchdown strike from Hubenak. He also added another punt return touchdown, which I may or may not have said was a possibility. Kirk is a sophomore with at least one more full season in this offense. Buckle up Aggies, this guy is something special and he’s just getting started.
A Hard Day in Aggieland
This team wasn’t able to put it all together and run through the gauntlet of the SEC schedule undefeated. Unless you’re the Alabama Crimson Tide, that’s more or less an expectation.
The Aggies should be a bit embarrassed after losing to an unranked, sub .500 team like Mississippi State, but to consider this season a failure is a laughable notion. Next week they’ll face an Ole Miss team without quarterback Chad Kelly.
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