Aggies’ lackadaisical offense a cause for worry in early going
Failure to score quick TDs against ranked opponents a factor in 2-2 start
COLLEGE STATION — Four games into the season, Texas A&M receiver Jhamon Ausbon is fed up.
“It’s important we learn from our mistakes,” Ausbon said. “We can’t keep going back and forth, and making the same mistakes, and not scoring. I’m ready for us to learn from our mistakes, and stop having to say, ‘Next time, next time.’”
In each of the first three quarters against their lone decent opponents to date, the No. 23 Aggies have failed to score a touchdown, with top-ranked Clemson and No. 7 Auburn putting their respective games against A&M out of reach in the first 45 minutes.
“It’s kind of weird,” A&M quarterback Kellen Mond said. “At the beginning of the game, you really don’t have to score. But at the end, when the pressure is on, you have to go down and score. Playing with that mindset the whole game is big for us.”
Clemson and Auburn outscored the Aggies 45-6 in the first three quarters. A&M outscored Clemson and Auburn 24-7 in the fourth quarter, in playing catch-up ball.
“We’re close,” an optimistic A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said. “It’s just a matter of getting over the hump.”
The Aggies (2-2, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) should have no trouble hopping the hump Saturday, when they face SEC speedbump Arkansas in Arlington’s AT&T Stadium. The Razorbacks (2-2, 0-1) are coming off a 31-24 home loss against San Jose State.
Arkansas quarterback Nick Starkel, who transferred from A&M over the summer, threw
five interceptions in the Razorbacks’ most recent setback on Saturday. The slowstarting Aggies should put points on the board against Arkansas — it’s the league’s more formidable foes expected to give A&M the most trouble moving forward.
A&M hosts No. 2 Alabama on Oct. 12, with the off weekend falling on Oct. 5, and between now and then the Aggies will need to work on a handful of missteps that held them back against Auburn.
For instance, A&M was 1of-3 in the red zone (inside the opponent’s 20-yard line) on touchdowns last Saturday, in stalling near the goal line and settling for two Seth Small field goals.
“We’ve moved the football, but you have to learn how to finish drives,” Fisher said.
Small, too, missed field goal attempts from 47 and 52 yards, both wide left.
“Our kids played hard, but we need to play better,” Fisher said.
The third quarter against Auburn was especially troubling, considering the hole the Aggies dug in the first half. A&M received the ball to start the second half, but true freshman running back Isaiah Spiller fumbled on the first play following a 13-yard gain. Six plays later Auburn’s own true freshman, quarterback Bo Nix, connected with receiver Seth Williams on a 9-yard touchdown pass, and the Tigers led 21-3.
On the initial play of the flustered Aggies’ ensuing drive, Mond was sacked and fumbled. A&M offensive tackle Dan Moore recovered the ball, only to see Mond sacked on the next play. When the Aggies’ urgency should have been at a peak, they then had a delayof-game penalty followed by a false start.
“Self-inflicted wounds,” Fisher said of that bumbling drive in particular. “There are no excuses for a pre-snap penalty. We’ve got to clean all that up.”
Fisher, in his second season at A&M, installed a complex pro-style offense the players still seem to be adjusting to.
“But he didn’t put anything on the table we can’t handle,” Ausbon said.
The defense under second-year coordinator Mike Elko has for the most part done a solid job in keeping two of the nation’s top teams, Clemson and Auburn, along with Texas State and Lamar in check a third of the way through the regular season. But the offense has loads of catch-up to do, starting Saturday.
“We just want to dominate,” Ausbon said of trying to beat the Razorbacks for an eighth consecutive outing. “There’s no reason why we shouldn’t dominate the game.”
If the Aggies are to dominate, they’ll need a better performance from their running game — held to 56 yards rushing against Auburn. Mond led the way with 26 yards on nine carries, while Jacob Kibodi followed with 21 yards on six carries. The offensive line has struggled opening running lanes for the Aggies, considering they finished with 53 yards on the ground at Clemson.
“We know we can play with anybody,” Mond said of losing to Clemson and Auburn by a combined 22 points. “We just have to fine-tune some stuff.”