Stating their case for playoffs
Aggies win seventh straight, close out regular season with dominating victory over Vols
A few games into this season Jimbo Fisher owned a sneaking suspicion his third Texas A&M team was worthy of contending for a championship.
“My question was can we stay hungry and finish,” Fisher recalled.
The No. 5 Aggies answered Fisher’s primary query by taking a big bite out of Tennessee on Saturday, in engulfing theVolunteers 34-13 at Neyland Stadium to close out a disjointed regular season.
Fisher had coolly held off on lobbying for the Aggies to make the College Football Playoff even as they strung together six consecutive victories in Southeastern Conference play. After the seventh straight win, however, an emotional Fisher made an impassioned pitch.
“This is one of the most selfless football teams I’ve ever been around,” said Fisher, his voice cracking with emotion. “You’re 8-1 in the SEC and we lost to the No. 1 team in the country in (Alabama) … We can play with anybody and we deserve to be in it. I’ve watched the games and seen everybody, and we can play with anybody.
“Seven straight SEC wins — and some schools haven’t even played seven games. … I don’t care what everybody else says, if you want to pick the four best teams, we’re one of ’em.”
No. 4 and undefeated Ohio State, which beat Northwestern 22-10 on Saturday in the Big Ten championship game, played six games and the Aggies played nine. Fisher said how many games a program competed in during the COVID-19 pandemic should factor into the CFP committee choosing a final four.
“It’s supposed to matter, and it shouldmatter,” Fisher said.
The CFP final four is scheduled to be announced at 11 a.m. Sunday. Notre Dame’s loss to Clemson could open another door as well if the 10-1 Irish are dinged for their ACC titlegame loss by 24 points. Notre Dame and Clemson are both 10-1 and split two meetings.
The playoff format started in 2014, and A&M is trying to make the CFP for the first time. The Aggies won their lone national title in 1939, and own a lone topfive finish (No. 5 in 2012) in the last 63 years. A&M is banking on those numbers becoming quickly outdated past 2020.
“We’re rolling right now,” said A&M senior quarterback Kellen Mond, who finished 26 of 32 for 281 yards against Tennessee, with a touchdown pass and an interception.
The Aggies on Saturday quickly fell behind 7-0 on the game’s opening drive, but calmly answered with a 10-play, 75-yard drive capped by Mond’s 5-yard touchdown run. A&M led 24-13 at halftime and, following a scoreless third quarter, padded its lead to 31-13 about six minutes into the fourth quarter on a 1yard touchdown run by Ainias Smith.
The Aggies added a 21yard field goal by Seth Small with a little more than aminute remaining to round out the scoring. Per their custom this season, A&M dominated in possession time (44:09 to15:51) by relying on a bruising ground game and Mond finding running back Isaiah Spiller out of the backfield in the short passing game (six catches for 60 yards).
A&M’s Hezekiah Jones led all receivers with seven catches for 66 yards. The Aggies did not play last weekend after Mississippi hadmultiple COVID-19 cases within its program, and the Rebels did not make the trip to Kyle Field.
In their last two games, both on the road, the Aggies outscored Auburn and Tennessee a combined 27-0 in the fourth quarter. A&M on Saturday won its seventh consecutive game, and the last six victories have been by double digits.
“They were able to run the football and convert first downs, and they kept us from making explosive plays,” Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt said of the Aggies. “They eliminated (our) time of possession … they just kind of squeezed us out.”
The Volunteers finished 3-7, and Pruitt’s job is in jeopardy.
Three years ago, following a 7-5 regular season, A&M fired Kevin Sumlin and hired Fisher fromFlorida State, where he led the Seminoles to the 2013 national title and a semifinals berth in the first CFP a year later.
“We continue to find our identity, and we continue to fight each and every week,” Mond said of the program’s steady growth under Fisher. “And we don’t plan on finishing any time soon.”
The Aggies’ lone loss was 52-24 inWeek 2 at topranked Alabama. A rematch might be waiting in the semifinals of the CFP, and Mond said he’d look forward to another chance against the Crimson Tide.
“We were able to move the ball on Alabama really well; we just weren’t able to finish in the red zone, which is something that’s huge for us,” Mond said. “I think it will be a different outcome.”