Sumlin keeping Aggies focused on challenges ahead,
Aggies coach tempers his expectations after rout of Sun Devils.
A year ago, Kevin Sumlin was almost snarky in his response to anyone doubting his Texas A&M team after the Aggies had knocked off ninthranked South Carolina on the road to open the season.
That 52-28 victory looked pretty impressive. A&M immediately zoomed from 21st to ninth in the polls, and the Aggies reeled off fifive straight wins. Then October reality set in and mostly continued through November. There were significant problems leading to an 8-5 record, a new defensive coordinator and a shift in offensive strategy.
So, on Tuesday, three days after A&M stunned No. 15 Arizona State 38-17 at Houston’s NRG Stadium, Sumlin was more reluctant to proclaim greatness after Week 1.
The poll voters were impressed, moving the Aggies to 16th in the Associated Press rankings and 19th in the USA Today coaches poll.
“How is this different from last year?” Sumlin said. “I don’t know where we’re going to be in the polls today, and I don’t really care. What’s important is how we approach this week of practice, how we approach the next few weeks and how we approach what our team attitude is in terms of where we were last year.”
The message this week for the players is don’t grow too comfortable. There will be more September wins, as the schedule gets far easier, with home dates against Ball State on Saturday and Nevada on Sept. 19. There were issues with the offensive line against the Sun Devils, although it might have been more about Arizona State’s exotic blitzes. Quarterbacks were a bit shaky, but starter Kyle Allen returned to the game and led the Aggies to three fourth-quarter touchdowns. The running game didn’t dominate until the end of the game.
The defense had nine sacks, the most for any A&M team in two decades. Players appeared more confifident in the new scheme. Pursuit was excellent, and there weren’t many missed tackles.
New defensive coordinator John Chavis was asked what grade he’d give his unit.
“I’ll let you guys handle that, but I will say that we had outstanding effort ,” Chavis said. “We had a few loafs in the game, not very many, but the exceptional effort plays outweighed the loafs. Our guys played hard. That’s what we expected them to do, and what we’re going to expect them to do.”
Aggies plan for three QBs: Coaches still don’t know whether they’ll continue to use Allen and freshman quarterback Kyler Murray as part of a weekly game plan when SEC play starts. But offensive coordinator Jake Spavital said he also wants to see junior college transfer Jake Hubenak play in the next two games.