Texas A&M trying to shake its annual November woes
It’s a theme Texas A&M’s football program is accustomed to experiencing this time of year.
“They came alive, and we didn’t.”
Senior fullback Cullen Gillaspia offered that remark following Saturday afternoon’s 28-24 loss at Auburn, a game his Aggies led 24-14 with the ball at Auburn’s 42-yard line midway through the fourth quarter. Texas A&M lost despite outgaining the Tigers 421-278 and holding them to 19 rushing yards on 21 carries.
The Aggies endured a heartbreaking 28-26 home loss to Clemson in September, but last Saturday’s collapse was the toughest pill to swallow in Jimbo Fisher’s debut season.
“Learning to win is a learned behavior,” Fisher said Monday during his weekly news conference. “Learning to dominate a game is a learned behavior, and we have to put ourselves in these experiences as much as we possibly can to understand how to do that. I think we have made great improvements, but we are not improving in that area to where we can totally stay in a dominating mode.
“It’s not that we let up. Our kids played hard and very physical and played very well in one of the toughest environments in the SEC, but we got out front and we have to learn to stay there and not give hope to the opponent.”
Hope for Auburn came in the form of a Noah Igbinoghene interception of Kellen Mond at the Tigers’ 29-yard line and Auburn awakening offensively after six straight three-and-outs to zoom 71 yards in eight plays to pull within 24-21. The Aggies drove to midfield on their ensuing possession before stalling, and a 28-yard punt return by Christian Tutt followed by a 47-yard pass from Jarrett Stidham to Ryan Davis set up Stidham’s game-winning 11-yard touchdown toss to Seth Williams.
Of Auburn’s 278 total yards, 129 came on the final 10 snaps.
“It’s a tough way to lose, to dominate the whole game like that,” Texas A&M senior defensive lineman Landis Durham said. “We preach and preach to finish, and we fell short of that. Now we’re hurt.”
Adding to the hurt was Mond getting sacked on the final play — his fifth sack of the contest. Mond has completed 171 of 292 passes this season for 2,252 yards with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions, and the sophomore’s efficiency rating of 132.1 ranks 70th nationally and 10th within the SEC.
Fisher said Monday that he is “1,000 percent” behind Mond moving forward, but moving forward is just something the Aggies haven’t been able to do during the back halves of recent seasons.
Since Texas A&M made its brilliant SEC debut in 2012 with an 11-2 record that included a 29-24 win at top-ranked Alabama and a 41-13 blistering of Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl, the Aggies repeatedly have produced fast starts before stumbling. Texas A&M has a sparkling 24-4 mark in August and September games since the start of the 2013 season, which includes the losses to top-two Clemson and Alabama this year.
The Aggies are 10-10 in October games during this stretch, and Saturday’s loss added to their November woes that now stand at 9-12.
Texas A&M has invested 10 years and $75 million into Fisher after firing predecessor Kevin Sumlin, who was making $5 million annually in College Station and received a $9.9 million buyout. Fisher is assembling a stellar 2019 signing class, but his chore of guiding the Aggies up the SEC West ladder will be arduous, given that Texas A&M has yet to defeat LSU since switching leagues and has lost six consecutive years to Alabama, three straight to Mississippi State and two straight to Auburn.
The 5-4 Aggies host 5-4 Ole Miss this week.
“It disappoints me like it does everyone else, because you know you’re very close,” Fisher said. “It’s like when Michael Jordan had to learn to beat the (Detroit) Pistons. The top of the mountain is the hardest thing to climb, because the differences are learned behaviors with people who have been there a long time and can handle these situations.
“You saw it with the (Green Bay) Packers and the (New England) Patriots 17-17 in the fourth quarter. (Patriots quarterback Tom) Brady hadn’t really played real well, but they don’t change. They just keep playing.”
“... The top of the mountain is the hardest thing to climb, because the differences are learned behaviors with people who have been there a long time and can handle these situations . ... ”
– JIMBO FISHER