‘CLOSE’ DOESN’T CUT IT
Aggies looked good against Clemson, but Alabama loss shows they need work
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — There were moments when the Aggies almost looked like they belonged on the same field with the No. 1 team in the country.
There were times when Texas A&M kept it close when they headed to Tuscaloosa for a game against the ultimate measuring stick, Alabama, on Saturday.
“Almost” and “close” were good enough a couple of weeks ago when No. 2 Clemson escaped College Station with a win.
On the road against the best team in college football, though, “almost” and “close” didn’t come close to cutting it.
A&M had a handful of good moments and the Aggies certainly didn’t look like a bad football team. But they didn’t capitalize in key moments and against Alabama; it cost them. The Aggies lost to the No. 1 Crimson Tide 45-23 on Saturday afternoon and proved two things.
One — Alabama is every bit as good as advertised.
Two — A&M has a lot of work to do to reach the level of the SEC juggernaut.
Every time the Aggies brought something to the table — a highlight run by quarterback Kellen Mond or a big stop by the A&M defense — Alabama shouted its answer back.
The Aggies would march down the field then settle for a field goal. The Crimson Tide would march right back and throw seven points up.
“What they are able to do when they score points as much as they do on offense, it puts pressure on you,” A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said. “They can just keep adding to the score.”
The beacon
While few expected A&M to march into Bryant-Denny Stadium and beat an Alabama team that is as complete as it gets — the Crimson Tide were favored by 26 points after all — it still felt like the Aggies would be better than they were Saturday.
After all, Alabama is the beacon. It’s the caliber team A&M wants to put on Kyle Field. That’s why the Aggies presented Fisher with a giant contract. A&M wants to win these games. And wants to do it consistently.
“It’s not that far away,” Fisher said. “We will keep grinding. We will learn from it. That is a very good football team. I am not happy, not satisfied, but if we clean some things up, we have a pretty decent team.”
Decent won’t do the trick. The Aggies are still a good ways away from being able to contend with a team as good as Alabama.
Luckily for the Aggies, they won’t see another one as good this season.
The Crimson Tide has been good for years, but this might be the best team out of Tuscaloosa yet.
The offense is nearly unstoppable. That wasn’t a secret. Alabama was averaging 56.7 points per game headed into Saturday’s meeting.
So the Aggies didn’t lose this badly to a good team — they lost to a great one.
The Aggies need to be able to make their presence known on the road against great teams. They need to put pressure on big-time opponents.
They achieved that against Clemson. They did not against Alabama.
The Crimson Tide were never on their heels. They never had pressure from the Aggies — even early in the game when it was momentarily tied. Alabama never had to be creative. It never even really had to adjust its game plan.
The Crimson Tide just kept piling it on.
The Aggies had their chances. Quarterback Kellen Mond was quick on his feet. He ran for 130 yards. He threw for 196 more. He also threw two picks.
He would give A&M momentum, and Alabama would snatch it away.
The Aggie defense made a handful of great stops. Alabama was 4-of-10 on fourth down conversions.
Momentum shifts
But just before halftime, the defense failed to stop Alabama from scoring. The manageable score of 21-13 became 31-13 in the final two minutes of the second quarter because A&M failed to stop Alabama during a key time in the game. To make matters worse, the Crimson Tide had the ball to start the second half.
“We need to understand momentum shifts,” Fisher said. “And we have to play better.”
Fisher and his team weren’t dejected after the loss. They’ll watch film and see where they lapsed and need improvement.
They’ve now played the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the nation this season.
They looked pretty good against Clemson, but far outmatched by Alabama.
“They are the national champion,” Fisher said. “They are the team everyone is shooting for and trying to be like, and you have to learn from it.”
A&M is a long way off from being Alabama.
Coming close here and there just won’t cut it. There’s work to be done in College Station if the Aggies want to be able to head to Tuscaloosa and leave with a win.