Better defense key for Aggies
Texas A&M enters the second half of its regular season on a roll, prompting a furrowed-brow response from full-time coach and part-time philosopher Jimbo Fisher.
Fisher said his No. 7 Aggies (4-1), with a road game at South Carolina (2-3) at 6 p.m. Saturday, must “block out the clutter” as A&M earns more national attention down the stretch.
“Human nature is to have complacency,” Fisher said. “Human nature is not to grind things out. Human nature is not to push to be great, it’s to do well and say, ‘I need a little break, and then we’ll get back at it.’ If you’re going to have
great teams, you can’t think like that.”
Fisher, who led Florida State to a national title in 2013, realizes his third A&M squad has yet to cross the “great” threshold, especially on one side of the ball. The Aggies, winners of three consecutive games, know they’ll need a better start and finish on defense than what they had a week ago against Arkansas if they’re to avoid a tight contest against the Gamecocks.
“I wish we hadn’t given up that last drive,” Fisher said of the Razorbacks making the game appear closer than its 42-31 final by scoring a touchdown with 36 seconds remaining on the clock. “(But) we’re a work in progress and a longway from finished. We just keep grinding.”
Fisher will gladly accept most of what happened between the Razorbacks’ opening drive and final drive, when they scored 17 points on nine possessions. Arkansas, however, opened on offense by effortlessly scooting 87 yards on a dozen plays in less than five minutes, leaping to a 7-0 lead.
“They do a great job with tempo and getting back to the ball and putting pressure on a defense to hurry up and get the communications out,” A&M senior linebacker Buddy Johnson said of the Razorbacks’ rapid pace leaving the Aggies in search of their footing.
That should not be as much of a concern at South Carolina, considering Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp likes to lean on the run and chew up possession time when able. South Carolina running back Kevin Harris is second in the SEC with 535 yards behind a solid offensive line.
“We’ve got to have the ability to run the football,” Muschamp said of giving the Aggies a run in Williams-Brice Stadium. “Their edge pass rushers are very effective, and if you get into a one-dimensional game, it’s going to be very difficult as far as blocking those guys.
“We’re going to continue to have an emphasis on running the football, and we have to improve there.”
A&M had four sacks in its first three games and 10 in the last two. The Aggies’ 14 sacks are tied for second in the SEC following the flurry of takedowns.
“There wasn’t very good production last season for us in terms of sacks,” A&M defensive end Tyree Johnson said of the defense’s 29 sacks over 13 games in 2019. “The whole summer, we just worked, and all we did was talk about sacks … and once you keep working hard at it, you get what you want.”
What the Aggies want, and with their lone setback a 52-24 loss at No. 2 Alabama, is a berth in the four-team College Football Playoff following the regular season. The playoff started in 2014, and A&M has not been in the running each season by late November.
A&M fired Kevin Sumlin three years ago and hired Fisher from Florida State with the idea of pushing the program into contention for a national title, and should the Aggies win their five remaining games, they should earn at least consideration as a one-loss team. Buddy Johnson, however, said playoffs talk is not on the Aggies’ tongues.
“We try not to get carried away with (that),” he said. “We try to control what we can control. And what we can control is going out and getting better every day.”
Two years ago in Fisher’s first season, the Aggies eked out a 2623 victory at South Carolina, and A&M is 6-0 against the Gamecocks since the two began meeting annually as cross-division foes.
Meanwhile, don’t remind Fisher that the Aggies are heavy favorites to make it seven straight, and that his old friend Muschamp’s job is on the line as the season wears on.
“Favored? You’re never a favorite in any game,” Fisher said of competing in the sinewy SEC. “There are no favorites, and there are no underdogs.”