San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
After King’s injury, Aggies escape with win
Backup quarterback Calzada settles in, leads fourth-quarter TD drive
DENVER — Texas A&M lost starting quarterback Haynes King to an ankle injury early against Colorado, and for most of four quarters, it appeared the No. 5 Aggies subsequently would lose a shot at contending for their first national title since 1939.
Then King’s backup, Zach Calzada, developed a touch on his typically rocket-like passes when it mattered most. Calzada smoothly connected with Isaiah Spiller on an 18-yard touchdown pass with 2:41 remaining — the Aggies’ first time in the end zone on Saturday — and gave the Aggies their first lead of an otherwise frustrating day for A&M.
A&M, keeping its title hopes alive, defeated Colorado 10-7 in front of 61,203 fans at Empower Field at Mile High, home of the NFL’s Denver Broncos.
On the Aggies’ previous drive in the fourth quarter, Calzada stretched into the end zone on a 13-yard keeper, and officials ini
tially ruled a touchdown to give the Aggies what they thought was their first lead.
It didn't last. Officials reviewed the call and ruled that Calzada fumbled just before crossing the goal line in trying to stretch out the ball for the score. Colorado recovered the fumble in the end zone and took over on its own 35-yard line on the touchback with 8:45 left in the game, but the A&M defense — as it had done over the final three quarters — shut down the Buffaloes' offense again and gave its offense a chance.
A&M was fortunate to trail 7-3 at halftime, and then the teams played a scoreless third quarter. The Aggies, struggling mightily behind Calzada's inexperienced exuberance, didn't pick up their first first down of the game until less than two minutes remained in the first half, and soon after picked up their first points of the game on a 41-yard field goal by Seth Small.
Before their final drive of the second half, the Aggies had gained 24 yards against a surprisingly stiff Colorado defense. A&M more than doubled its previous total with 57 yards on its final drive before halftime, as Calzada began settling down and taking a little heat off his oft-wild passes.
A&M, coming off a 41-10 victory over Kent State a week prior, opened Saturday's action with its first punt of the season, and things quickly got worse from there. King hurt his ankle on a third-down keeper on A&M's second drive and limped off the field.
He later returned to the sideline in street clothes and on crutches, wearing a walking boot. The mobile King had completed 21 of 33 passes for 292 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions a week earlier against the Golden Flashes.
Colorado of the Pac-12, which won a national title in 1990 underthen coach Bill McCartney but has been mired in tough times for decades, was trying to earn its first victory against a top 10 foe since 2007.
A&M had typically dominated possession time under coach Jimbo Fisher, but Colorado controlled the ball with its run game in the first half and nearly doubled up the Aggies over the first two quarters (19:20 to 10:40).
One of the game's biggest turning points occurred when A&M's defense stuffed Colorado on fourth down and a foot on the Aggies' 5-yard line late in the first half. With defensive lineman Micheal Clemons' stop, the Aggies prevented Colorado from building a 14-0 lead with a little less than five minutes remaining in the first half.
Colorado's Cole Becker also missed a 46-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter that could have given the Buffaloes to a 10-0 lead over the Aggies, who were favored by more than two touchdowns.
The Aggies, who hadn't played Colorado in a dozen years, entered Saturday's action with a history of trouble with their former Big 12 neighbor to the northwest. The Aggies have now won 10 consecutive games dating to last season, second only to reigning national champion Alabama.
A&M had lost four of its five previous games against Colorado in Colorado, most notably in 1995 when the Aggies were No. 3 in the nation early in the season, but all of those games were in Boulder, Colo.
A&M and Colorado in January agreed to play at the home of the Denver Broncos after the Buffaloes' game scheduled in College Station a year ago was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Aggies (2-0) return to Kyle Field to host New Mexico at 11 a.m., and then play in another NFL venue to open SEC play against Arkansas in Arlington's AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, on Sept. 25.
The redshirt freshman King and the sophomore Calzada engaged in a spirited competition in the spring and in August for the starting gig, but King ultimately won out because of his overall polish and speed, running the 40-yard dash in 4.45 seconds.
For his part Calzada owns perhaps the strongest arm of any A&M quarterback in program annals — and that strength was on display on multiple occasions Saturday, mostly in a noncomplimentary way. Calzada, zipping one fastball after another, consistently overthrew receivers and rarely was on target.
A&M played a second consecutive game without starting cornerback Myles Jones, who returned to practice Tuesday but apparently is still hampered by a nagging foot injury. Defensive lineman McKinnley Jackson also missed a second consecutive game following an offseason arrest by university police.
Clemons returned to action after missing the opener against Kent State following his own offseason arrest.