Aggies try to learn from shaky 4th quarter
COLLEGE STATION — New Texas A&M offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone claims to have all of the answers, at least for a few hours at the same time every week.
“On Sunday morning, I call the best game ever,” Mazzone said with a smile of scrutinizing game video from the day prior. “When I’m watching, I say, ‘Why didn’t I call that? Why did I call that?’ ”
In other words, he’s asking the same questions thousands of fans, in the stadium and on the couch, already pondered between the first kickoff and the final whistle. Saturday’s inquiries came courtesy of the Aggies’ play-calling in the fourth quarter of their 31-24 overtime victory against UCLA at Kyle Field.
A game the Aggies led by 15 points with less than five minutes remaining.
“We played pretty well for three quarters,” said A&M coach Kevin Sumlin, whose 20th-ranked Aggies play host to Prairie View A&M at 11 a.m. Saturday. “Then we got ahead 24-9, and everybody relaxed. Quality football teams can make you pay.”
The Bruins of the Pac12 nearly did before A&M prevailed in overtime on a gutsy call by Sumlin: a fourth-and-1 keeper by quarterback Trevor Knight at the goal line. The Aggies’ defense then held UCLA without a score, and A&M won its fourth opener in Sumlin’s five seasons.
Go for the kill
Still, coaches on both sides of the ball, along with the players, weren’t pleased it came down to such dramatics after A&M held a large lead late.
“We’ve got to understand we’ve got to finish,” A&M second-year defensive coordinator John Chavis said. “If you’ve got somebody down, don’t let them up. Because if you let them up, they’re going to punch you right in the mouth. We’re not happy with the way we played in the fourth quarter, and we shouldn’t be if we want to be a great football team.”
Chavis’ defense had its share of breakdowns late — particularly on a 62-yard touchdown pass from Josh Rosen to Kenneth Walker with 2:39 remaining — but it was the Aggies’ offense shouldering most of the blame for allowing the Bruins back in the game.
A&M started a drive on its 3-yard line with 8:20 left, leading by double digits, and picked up 6 yards on a Trayveon Williams rush. Instead of running the clock on second-and-4 after having just collected a good chunk of yards on the ground, A&M threw on second down and again on third down, with both passes falling incomplete.
Quick possession hurts
The Aggies used only a minute of the clock, and UCLA’s resulting drive led to a 9-yard rushing touchdown by Bolu Olorunfunmi with 4:19 left. A&M’s following drive stalled out after starting with a 2-yard rush and then a false start, and UCLA’s next drive led to the long Walker touchdown and a startling tie game following a successful two-point conversion.
“We may have relaxed a little bit in all parts and at all positions,” said the senior Knight, a transfer from Oklahoma. “We had a two-touchdown lead and should have gone up three
touchdowns and had every opportunity to. We’ve got to put our foot on the gas and keep going.”
In truth, the Aggies got the best of both worlds Saturday: a victory over a “name” program ranked 16th at the time, fostering a move from unranked to 20th, and plenty of learning points from a fourthquarter letdown in a game that shouldn’t have been anywhere that close at the end.
Following Saturday’s Prairie View game, A&M opens Southeastern Conference play at Auburn on Sept. 17.
“It’s a great learning opportunity for us moving forward when you get a commanding lead,” Knight said. “Especially when we get into conference play and every one of those teams is capable of coming back on you, just like UCLA and Josh Rosen did.”
As for Mazzone, he stressed the offense’s desire to establish a dominant running game — even if that didn’t appear the case on second-and-4 midway through the fourth quarter.
“We want to be a physical team that can run the football,” Mazzone said of his overall philosophy. “That (fourth quarter) was a position for us to try and prove that. Did we? No, but it was a step in the right direction.
“We needed to protect the lead. Did we do a very good job of it? No. We’ve got to do a better job. We have to keep ‘Chief ’ (Chavis) and his boys off the field.”