KING DOES DOWN IN WIN
Late go-ahead touchdown pass by backup quarterback Calzada seals 10th straight victory
DENVER — Texas A&M lost starting quarterback Haynes King to an ankle injury early against Colorado, and for most of four quarters, it appeared the No. 5 Aggies would subsequently lose a shot at contending for their first national title since 1939.
Then King’s strongarmed backup, Zach Calzada, developed a velvety touch on his typically rocket-like passes when it mattered most. Calzada, rolling to his left, smoothly connected with Isaiah Spiller on an 18-yard touchdown pass with 2:41 remaining — the Aggies’ first time in the end zone Saturday — and give the Aggies their first lead.
A&M, keeping its title hopes alive with the comeback, defeated Colorado 10-7 in front of 61,203 fans at Empower Field, home of the NFL’s Denver Broncos.
“He put touch on the (touchdown pass), and there’s not a physical thing he can’t do,” A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said of his green gunslinger. “There’s not a mental thing he can’t do. He’s highly intelligent — he just needs time.”
Fisher said King, who spent the final three quarters on crutches, will be further evaluated in College Station. On the series before A&M’s lone touchdown in the fourth quarter, Calzada stretched into the end zone on a 13-yard keeper, and officials initially ruled a touchdown to give the Aggies (2-0) what they believed was their first lead.
It didn’t last. Officials upon further review ruled Calzada fumbled just before crossing the goal line. Colorado (1-1) recovered the fumble into the end zone and took over on its own 35yard line on the touchback with 8:45 left in the game, but the A&M defense — as it had done over the final three quarters — shut down the Buffaloes’ offense again and gave its offense another opportunity.
“It’s tempted to get frustrated with situations like that,” A&M defensive lineman DeMarvin Leal said of trailing nearly the entire contest. “It wasn’t the game we expected, but we came out on top.”
A&M was fortunate to trail 7-3 at halftime, and the teams played a scoreless third quarter. The Aggies, in at times struggling mightily behind Calzada’s inexperienced exuberance, didn’t pick up their first first down of the game until less than two minutes remained in the first half and soon after picked up their first points on a 41-yard field goal by Seth Small.
Before their final drive of the first half, the Aggies had gained 24 yards against a surprisingly stiff Colorado defense.
“They were a lot of the reasons why we had issues today,” Fisher said.
A&M more than doubled its previous total with 57 yards on its final drive before halftime, as Calzada began settling down and taking a little heat off his oft-wild passes.
A&M, coming off a 41-10 victory over Kent State a week prior, opened Saturday’s action with its first punt of the season, and things quickly got worse from there for the visitors. King hurt his ankle on a third-down keeper on A&M’s second drive and limped off the field.
Calzada finished 18 of 38 for 183 yards with the lone touchdown. The Aggies had trouble all afternoon cranking up their running game, and Devon Achane led A&M rushers with 50 yards on nine carries.
“You’ve got to learn to fight through days like today,” Fisher said. “… (And) we’ve got to find ways to run the ball better.”
Colorado, of the Pac-12, which won a national title in 1990 under-then coach Bill McCartney but has been mired in mediocrity for decades, was trying to earn its first victory against a top-10 foe since 2007.
“We couldn’t put anything together in the second half,” Colorado coach Karl Dorrell said.
A big turning point occurred when A&M’s defense stuffed Colorado on fourth down and a foot on the Aggies’ 5-yard line late in the first half. With defensive lineman Micheal Clemons’ stop on a quarterback keeper, the Aggies prevented Colorado from building a 14-0 lead with a little less than five minutes remaining in the first half.
“We’re going to be aggressive, so I don’t want to scrutinize that as the difference in the game,” Dorrell said. “It really wasn’t.”
Colorado’s Cole Becker also missed a 46-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter that could have given the Buffaloes a 10-0 lead over the Aggies, who were favored by more than two touchdowns.
The Aggies return to Kyle Field to host New Mexico at 11 a.m., and then play in another NFL venue to open SEC play against Arkansas in Arlington’s AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, on Sept. 25.
A&M played a second consecutive game without starting cornerback Myles Jones, who returned to practice Tuesday but apparently still is hampered by a nagging foot injury. Defensive lineman McKinnley Jackson also missed a second consecutive game following an offseason arrest by university police.
Clemons returned to action after missing the opener against Kent State following his own offseason arrest — and perhaps saved the victory for A&M with his run-stuffing play.
“Heart, guts and soul,” Fisher said of the defense’s effort on the stop. “That’s the culture of an organization, and hopefully, we can build on that.”