Aggies left wondering after second SEC loss
Defeat reveals issues on both sides of the ball
COLLEGE STATION — Former Texas A&M and Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherill stepped into Mike Leach’s postgame press conference to congratulate the current Mississippi State boss late Saturday night.
“Coming in here and winning is a big deal,” Sherrill said to Leach, according to reporters on hand.
Leach responded with a jab that should cut current A&M coach Jimbo Fisher to the bone: “I’m glad you weren’t coaching.”
A&M and Fisher have bigtime questions to answer following the Aggies’ second straight loss in their first two SEC games:
How has this program fallen so far so fast?
The first five game of the season were alleged to be the tuneup for the big one: top-ranked Alabama rolling into town Saturday with both programs unbeaten.
The Crimson Tide, as usual, have done their part, while the Aggies (3-2, 0-2 SEC) have almost inexplicably fallen flat with losses to Arkansas and Mississippi State, two teams picked near the bottom of the SEC West.
Almost because A&M did lose its starting quarterback in Week 2 and the Aggies have a young offensive line, but these are nearly all Fisher recruits to this point, and depth was not supposed to be this big of an issue in Fisher’s fourth season — even at quarterback.
There are no easy answers or apparent quick fixes here, and A&M’s raise and extension of Fisher’s contract that still had seven years remaining before the season now are being called into serious question.
About that quarterback
Sophomore Zach Calzada has performed poorly for the most part, but, in some ways, it’s hard to blame him, considering the way the line often gives him precious little time to work. He also slid too early on scrambles, which hardly set the right tone for an offense that should be harping on being more aggressive.
When Calzada had the end zone in sight, he kept to his feet and scrambled 25 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter, making a game of it in a contest the Aggies were favored by about a touchdown.
Haynes King, who won the starting job in August camp, might return in about a month from a broken tibia. This already is a lost season for the Aggies, however, at least in terms of one in which they harbored national title hopes after finishing No. 4 last season in the Associated Press poll.
It might be best to let King heal and perhaps even petition for a medical redshirt.
Defensive misgivings
A&M knew exactly what Mississippi State behind the wizard Leach and quarterback Will Rogers was going to do — rely on the short passing game — and the Aggies were still helpless to slow it.
Fisher said the Aggies “also got beat in man” coverage after their zone failed to slow Rogers and Co. — receiver Makai Polk finished with 13 catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns — and the coach didn’t seem to have any good answers for what happened to the defense.
Rogers was 46-of-59 for 408 yards and three touchdowns, with a long pass of only 25 yards. Fisher, who offers basic explanations of the defensive performances, does not allow his defensive coordinator Mike Elko to visit with the media during the week or in postgame press conferences.
Where to from here?
Alabama is up next, and Saban has taken it easy on his protégé Fisher in second halves of games between the two to date. That might change Saturday after Fisher pledged during a Houston Touchdown Club visit in the spring to “beat (Saban’s) ass” before the 69-year-old legend retires.
A&M has questions to answer across the board, save for maybe special teams. And special teams aren’t saving this program this season.
This was supposed to be the year the Aggies competed for a national title, following that No. 4 finish and returning what was alleged to be one of the top defenses in the nation. Don’t look now — OK, go ahead and look, it can’t hurt anything at this point — but A&M will lose most of its starters on defense to the NFL draft or expiration of eligibility, and the Aggies play at Alabama next season during a lessforgiving schedule.
2022 is shaping up as a rebuilding year, with Fisher once again possessing a veteran team in 2023. Maybe. As for the former Texas Tech coach Leach, he’s won four of the six games he’s coached at A&M, including five contests from 2000-09.
“It’s always good to win in Kyle Field,” Leach said Saturday. “I’ve done that more than most people have, and it’s always awesome when you can make that happen.”