UPSET TO BUILD ON
Aggies knock off No. 4 Gators on Small’s field goal as time expires
COLLEGE STATION — When a handful of Buddy Johnson’s Texas A&M teammates opted out of playing this season during camp, leaving the Aggies in a bit of a lurch, the resolute linebacker and team leader posted to social media that hewas “1000 percent” committed to competing his senior season.
A&M fans had extra reason to be grateful for Johnson’s preseason affirmation Saturday after the No. 21Aggies traded punches with No. 4 Florida for four quarters — and Johnson landed the final, most jarring blow.
“I just punched the ball,” Johnson said after the Aggies’ 41-38 upset of the Gators, “and it came out.”
The game was tied 38-38 with 3:40 remaining when Johnson blasted into Florida running back Malik Davis and knocked the ball loose. A&M defensive lineman DeMarvin Leal pounced on Davis’s fumble, and the Aggies suddenly were in business for an upset before about 25,000 fans in a quarter-full Kyle Field.
Over on the sideline, A&M senior quarterback Kellen Mond urged calm among his exhilarated team mates.
“I wanted to keep my poise, and keep everybody under control, so we could have a big-time, game-winning drive,” Mond said.
As they’d consistently done in the second half, A&M turned to sophomore running back Isaiah Spiller to carry the load, and he responded with 24 yards on five of the Aggies’ next seven plays.
“We were just saying, ‘Finish, finish, finish,’ ” Spiller said. “We knew we needed to finish that drive… we knew we had to get it, and there were no other options. Therewas no doubt in my mind we would.”
The winning drive’s biggest play came on a Mond completion to Chase Lane across the middle for 16 yards, and Spiller’s final rush of 11 yards set up kicker Seth Small for a 26-yard game-winning field goal as time expired.
Small barely had lifted his extra point above the crossbar on the Aggies’ final touchdown with 4:30 left to tie the game at 38-38, so setting up for a typically easy field goal prompted a little more angst than usual.
“Iwas a little nervous, but more excited than anything,” Small said of the final boot. “I was excited to get another one, after that extra point.”
Mond, a four-year starter, played perhaps his best game as an Aggie, considering all that was at stake and with A&M as an underdog on its home field.
Coach Jimbo Fisher beat a top-five opponent for the first time in his three seasons at A&M, and the Aggies beat a top-five team at Kyle Field for the first time since knocking off No. 1Oklahoma in 2002 under then-coach R.C. Slocum.
The Aggies (2-1) also overcame one of their most undisciplined offerings under Fisher, with multiple personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. Florida led 28-17 late in the third quarter before A&M mounted a comeback, thanks especially to Spiller’s 130 rushing yards after halftime.
“I’m not happy,” Fisher said. “We won a big game, but we didn’t play as well as we could play. We have a lot to work on.”
Johnson mentioned how hard Mond had worked in the off season and in camp to improve his game, and for the second consecutive week it showed on the field.
In the Aggies’ 52-24loss at No. 2 Alabama aweek prior, Mond completed 25-of-44 passes for 318 yards and three touchdowns to gow ith an interception against a stout Crimson Tide defense.
Mond was even better Saturday, finishing 25-of-35 for 338 yards and three touchdowns.
Spiller rushed for 174 yards, and fellow sophomore Caleb Chapman collected 151 receiving yards on nine catches, marking the first time A&M has had a 150yard rusher and150-yard receiver in the same game.
“This is a real big confidence booster,” Spiller said. “It’s just one game, but … I feel like we gained our identity today.”
Florida under third-year coach Dan Mullen continued gaining an identity for bad defense.
“We’re going to have to really re-evaluate things defensively,” Mullen said. “We can’t give up (12-of-15 thirddown) conversions and expect to win any games.”
A&M was a fashionable pick to compete for its first SEC title pre-pandemic, thanks to its most favorable schedule — especially nonconference wise — since joining the league eight years ago. But four likely victories in the form of Abilene Christian, North Texas, Colorado and Fresno State were dropped from the lineup, and two top-25 teams (Florida and Tennessee) were added.
The Aggies are back on the road next Saturday at Mississippi State, where Fisher will face new Bulldogs coach Mike Leach for the first time.
“This shows you what you’re capable of,” Fisher said of Saturday’s stirring comeback victory. “Now I want to see what you do as a follow up.”