Aggies get reality check before Bama game
Warhawks put up a fight in first half before falling behind
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M has cleared the decks for its ballyhooed trip to Alabama, after first driving through LouisianaMonroe — although the Aggies’ drives against the Warhawks at Kyle Field were a bit more bumpy than they had anticipated in the first half.
The Aggies defeated the Warhawks 48-10 on Saturday night in setting the table for their Southeastern Conference opener against the Crimson Tide next weekend. At times, however, the Warhawks appeared bent on yanking the tablecloth out before A&M could climb on a plane for Tuscaloosa later this week.
The Aggies led 24-10 at halftime, in a contest that would have been closer at the time were it not for defensive tackle Daylon Mack’s stretch and linebacker Tyrel Dodson’s opportune field placement.
With 1:21 left in the first half, Mack reached out while being blocked on the line during a short ULM field goal attempt and got a hand on the ball, which caromed right into the waiting hands of Dodson on the outside.
Without hesitation, Dodson turned and sprinted 78 yards untouched for a touchdown, in lifting A&M to what appeared would be a 24-3 lead at the break. The Warhawks had other ideas, and marched 75 yards on five plays, a drive that was capped by a 2-yard touchdown pass from Caleb Evans to R.J. Turner.
“I was kind of surprised it came to me, but I was ready for it, with me being ‘the scoop and score’ player,” Dodson said, adding the Aggies regularly work on blocking field goals in practice.
“But it’s never come to me in practice,” he said with a smile.
The pass plays that really caught the Aggies’ collective attention, however, occurred on successive plays earlier in the drive, when Warhawks receivers hauled in tosses of 34 and 36 yards. A&M’s secondary struggled at times in the first half, a cause for concern for first-year coach Jimbo Fisher with league play beginning in earnest.
“In the first half they gave us all kinds of problems,” Fisher said. “We’ve got a lot of room to work on things.”
The Aggies were without two starters who wore medical boots on their left feet — kicker Daniel LaCamera and receiver Kendrick Rogers. LaCamera apparently twisted his ankle on an attempt last weekend in the Aggies’ 28-26 home loss to No. 2 Clemson.
Rogers had a career night with seven catches for 120 yards and two touchdowns against the Tigers. When he suffered his foot injury isn’t known. LaCamera’s setback appeared more serious, considering he was accompanied by a cart that helped keep the pressure off of his left leg.
“I think we have one of the best defenses in the nation,” A&M linebacker Tyrel Dodson said. “We weren’t playing like it in the first half.”
Backup safety Keldrick Carper also missed the game with an undisclosed injury. In LaCamera’s absence, Fisher turned to scholarship kicker Seth Small of Katy. Small, in his first college action, turned in a solid first three quarters before the game was completely out of reach. He made all four of his extra-point attempts in that span, along with both of his field-goal attempts (40 and 36 yards) over the first three quarters.
“We had the ball nine times in the game and scored on seven of them,” A&M receiver Jhamon Ausbon said. “But we still have things to clean up.”
The Aggies now turn their attention to Alabama, and Fisher’s first encounter with his former boss at LSU, Nick Saban, with both men coaching in the same league. Last season Fisher’s team at the time, Florida State of the ACC, opened the year with a 24-7 loss to Alabama in Atlanta.
Fisher served as Saban’s offensive coordinator when both were at LSU for a few years following the turn of the century, including when LSU won a national title in 2003.
The Aggies’ home crowd on Saturday bid farewell to a team that will play five of its next six games away from Kyle Field. After visiting Tuscaloosa, the Aggies play their annual neutral-site game against Arkansas at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.