Ags hang tough
After opening the vault to hire Fisher, A&M falls just short of reaping first big dividend
COLLEGE STATION — Everything that was missing from the same old Aggies in past years?
Jimbo Fisher’s new team had it Saturday night in an absolute thriller that ended up a couple of plays away from Texas A&M taking down the No. 2 team in the country.
“It’s there, and they know it’s there,” Fisher said, referring to a new toughness that allowed the Aggies to overcome blow after blow before finally falling to Clemson 28-26 at Kyle Field.
Kevin Sumlin’s new team was embarrassed by the University of Houston.
ESPN’s national “College Game Day” TV show set up its familiar Saturday morning stage among all the proud, early tailgaters in maroon and white. Dabo Swinney and the Tigers then barely held on beneath glaring nighttime lights, trying to stay calm within the ear-pounding roar generated by the Aggie faithful.
So, yeah, unranked Texas A&M (1-1) had everything it could have asked for during its first test (and real game) of the 2018 season.
“You’ve got to play hard, you’ve got to play to win. Our kids did that,” Fisher said. “I asked them to get better. I loved the way they competed.”
If the $75 million answer is really going to make all this work, the coach who was outcoached by Tom Herman in the 2015 Peach Bowl — when Herman still was doing the takeover thing with the Cougars and Florida State fell to a smaller, “lesser” team — must consistently do what Sumlin so often failed to do at Aggieland. Win the big game. At home. Beneath the huge American flags that circle an overwhelming stadium. Before 104,794 chanting fans — standing and staying in a late-summer rain — who have been waiting since 2012 for the big-time Aggies to go for the throat again.
Johnny Football now feels like a long time ago.
Herman can’t even beat Maryland, and Sumlin gets thrashed by Houston, whom he was too good for seven seasons ago.
In this gazillion-dollar, College Football Playoff world, going 8-5 and fading when the big games arrive simply doesn’t qualify. Enter Fisher, who was hired away from Florida State to be better than Sumlin and beat the best.
Credit A&M for thinking and spending big.
No one knows what the Longhorns are doing right now. Texas talks big … and just fights for .500.
The potential of the Fisher era was seen on the Aggies’ first drive against the Tigers. A&M’s wide-open offense ripped off 66 quick yards. An attacking defense then ended Clemson’s initial drive with a nasty 8-yard sack.
The only problem: An easy 26-yard field-goal attempt sailed wide right, leaving the scoreboard scoreless and giving the second-best team in the country an early lift.
Kyle Field was ready, even in the pouring rain. Spiraling white towels and white noise forced an un-Swinney-like delay of game.
“I love the passion of the people here,” Fisher said.
But after the Aggies’ second field-goal try barely made it through for a 3-0 lead, A&M again fell short.
Missed tackles. Clemson’s athleticism shining as the sky turned blue-gray. A game-changing third-and-15 from the Tigers’ 20 ending up as a 64-yard connection.
It was 7-3 Clemson as the Aggies let themselves down. Then, on a single downfield pass to start another drive, the separation between the best and the good at College Station was seen yet again.
Second-string quarterback Trevor Lawrence, a true freshman, lofted a perfectly placed offering to sophomore wide receiver Tee Higgins, who brilliantly spun away and sprinted home for a 64-yard touchdown.
That won’t beat Nick Saban and the No. 1 Crimson Tide in two weeks at Tuscaloosa, Ala., or No. 7 Auburn on the road in November.
And when quarterback Kellen Mond, who had the Aggies truly believing throughout a heartpounding second half, went down, A&M cracked again.
A fumble on the next play. A sparkling four-play, 70-yard TD drive for the Tigers, which took just 1:29 and suddenly made it 21-6 Clemson.
The old Aggies would have fractured and collapsed. Fisher’s dug in and fired back. Mond returned and made it a one-possession game in just two plays, pushing A&M 78 thrilling yards in only 37 seconds.
The 12th Man never went away, believing that the real, big one was about to arrive. It has to. The Aggies didn’t go all-in with Fisher to win some SEC games, beat up on early-season home cupcakes and then disappear when it really starts to count.
Pay that much mad cash for a new coach, and you’re supposed to take down the best in the country.
It almost happened Saturday night as the lights glowed brighter.
A late, brutal call — from near touchdown to touchback and Clemson ball — didn’t help A&M’s cause. And even with a relentless Mond throwing for 430 yards and three TDs, the Aggies still fell while a livid Fisher was shown yelling and yelling at a sideline official.
It was all about winning the big one Saturday night in the rain.
It will be as long as Fisher keeps Kyle Field electric.
“We’ve got to line up and do it again next week,” he said. “Do it on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and then Saturday. And do it again the next week.”
The Aggies were a different team on national TV, fighting all evening and never giving in. Now, they just need to lock down the big W’s when the best in the country on the other side are trying to stay alive.