Despite progress, Aggies not quite there
Fisher’s bunch falls 2-point try short in quest to upset powerhouse at energetic Kyle Field
COLLEGE STATION — A handful of Clemson’s players showed up to Texas A&M this weekend wearing cowboy hats, and for nearly four hours Saturday night, early on in a driving rain, the Aggies tried knocking the second-ranked Tigers off their collective high horse.
They came within a failed twopoint conversion with 46 seconds remaining of pushing the hyped contest to overtime, before falling to the Tigers 28-26.
“That was one heck of a football game,” A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said. “They made one more play than we did. It’s not a moral victory, but our guys got better today. … There are some guys on this team who can make plays that I’m very proud of.
“That was a physical football team that we played, and we didn’t back down.”
Clemson, which won the national title in 2016, has methodically developed into one of the country’s top programs under coach Dabo Swinney, while the Aggies are in their first season under Fisher, late of Florida State.
Fisher won a national championship at FSU in 2013, but it was evident here and there Saturday the Aggies are still a work in progress in hanging with the big boys — with a handful of those big boys residing in the Southeastern Conference West Division.
Meantime on Saturday, 104,794 fans braved the first-half rains and the stadium appeared more full in the second half than it did in the first. One thing was evident: The Aggies refused to roll over with the highest-ranked nonconference team to ever visit Kyle Field in the house, and that should give A&M fans hope that the Aggies will indeed, as ESPN analyst Rece Davis said this weekend, eventually win championships under Fisher.
“We’re a force to be reckoned with — we’re just laying the foundation,” A&M center Erik McCoy said. “There was just no quit. That was something we put an emphasis on all through camp — there was no quit.”
A&M sophomore quarterback Kellen Mond, who overall turned in an exceptional game, connected with Kendrick Rogers for a 24yard touchdown with 46 seconds remaining. The Aggies’ two-point conversion attempt failed, however, and Clemson ran out the clock to escape College Station with the victory.
Clemson owns what’s considered the nation’s top defensive line, and at this time a year ago they sacked Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham 11 times in a nonconference contest, most in a college game all of last season. They didn’t have the same success against the Aggies, in collecting four sacks for a loss of 19 yards.
The Aggies trailed 28-20 with 4:03 left when receiver Rogers skied for a 30-yard reception from Mond, pushing A&M to its own 45. A play later, Mond found tight end Jace Sternberger across the middle for 28 yards, and new life on the Tigers’ 27-yard line.
Two plays later on a thirdand-8, Mond tabbed Quartney Davis for a 25-yard gain, and Davis dove for the end zone. The ball popped out, however, and officials ruled it flew through part of the end zone for a touchback. Officials said a review confirmed the call, setting off Fisher on the sideline. The fired-up coach had to be restrained by his assistants after going after the referee.
“Those are the ups and downs of the game,” Fisher said afterward.
The Aggies now turn their attention to Louisiana-Monroe, which they host on Saturday before opening SEC play at Alabama on Sept. 22. While A&M will play a couple of alleged pushovers in Northwestern (La.) State (a 59-7 Aggies victory to start the season) and Louisiana-Monroe in two of their first four games, the other two involve the last two national champions, and the current No. 2 and No. 1 teams in the nation.
Throughout Saturday’s game, yells of “Jimbo! Jimbo!” rang out from fans realizing the Aggies are in it for the long haul with their new coach — and any early triumphs are bonuses in his process of trying to build a winner.
“We’ve got to build on this and not let it be a negative,” Fisher said of the close call. “It hurts, no doubt, when you lose that close of one to the No. 2 team in the country. I’m very proud of the team, and we’ve got some work to do.”
Mond finished 23-of-40 for 430 yards with three touchdowns passes, two of those to Rogers and one to Davis.
“You saw a team that plays together and is going to fight all four quarters,” Mond said. “We played our hearts out tonight.”