Okay, so it's Monday. But in the football world for Coach Sherman and the rest of the Aggies, it really is like a Sunday Morning. So here is our breakdown of the 46-14 win over SMU on Kyle Field yesterday evening.
Texas A&M Head Coach Mike Sherman said after the game Sunday night that he was "very nervous playing this game" and SMU "scared the heck outta me". He had good reason to be nervous as SMU was returning one of the most experienced ball clubs in the country in terms of starters returning. However, the depth of Texas A&M all around was too much for the Mustangs to handle as well as the speed and athleticism of the Aggies.
Even though the Mustangs found early success on the ground with RB Zach Line, starting QB Kyle Padron threw two early interceptions that gave the Texas A&M offense led by QB Ryan Tannehill early opportunities and the Aggies capitalized scoring on each possession. Also in the first quarter, a failed onside kick by SMU gave the Aggies another short field to work with. Overall, the Aggies only held the ball for a little under four minutes in the 1st quarter but were able to score 20 points.
A decision that occurred before kickoff gave the Aggies the upper hand in the 1st quarter as Texas A&M won the opening coin toss and choose to kickoff while SMU choose to drive towards the Zone, letting the Aggies kick with the wind at their backs. Poor, poor decision. With the 25mph winds, Randy Bullock kicked touchbacks into the endzone on each kickoff, not allowing the Mustangs to take the ball out of the endzone and put them at their 20. Coach Sherman trusted the defense to give his offense the ball with a short field and the Wrecking Crew answered. This allowed A&M to build an early lead making SMU fight from behind at the very beginning. SMU was constantly put in bad field position and asked to drive the length of the field to score. It was clear the gameplan was to build an early lead, and it certainly flustered June Jones and the Mustangs.
As the second quarter wore on, the Mustangs finally decided to go with what was working and gave Zach Line the ball and the Wrecking Crew couldn't answer. Zach Line ran the ball in chunks on the defense picking up 10 yards at a time. For the defense that ranked 1st against the run last year in the Big XII, it was quite a surprise to see the Mustangs moving the ball with ease.
A big part of that was due to how the Aggies decided to line up. Coach DeRutyer chose to go with a 2-4-5 alignment for most of the 1st half, giving the Mustangs a nickel look with 2 down lineman, 4 linebackers and 5 defensive backs. The Mustangs would put 3 or 4 receivers on one side of the field, causing the coverage, including a safety to roll over to that side. SMU would then run the other way where the defense didn't have numbers. This proved to be affective for Zach Line and the Mustang OL. The biggest problem for the Aggies was the offensive line could go man on man and open up the lanes for Line. In the Aggies base defense, every defender is able to fill a gap. Not so with the nickel package, especially with the defense spread out because of the Mustang formation. What made matters worse is that Coach Williams decided to go with a rotation of Mathis, Brown, and Tony Jerod-Eddie on running downs and sub in smaller, quicker lineman like Ben Bass, Kirby Ennis, and Galvin Stansbury on 2nd and 3rd & longs (passing downs). However, in the second half DeRutyer adjusted by going base defense and overloading defenders in the box, asking SMU to block 7 guys instead of 5, not caring about receivers on the edge and it payed off as SMU found zero room on the ground. It proved to be the difference in that department.
SMU came back to within 20-14 because of miscommunication in the defensive secondary. One of SMU's favorite pass plays on the night was throwing to a three wide set on one side where one receiver runs a drag to the center of the field, one runs a bubble screen and run goes down the sideline. On two separate occasions, a defensive back jumped on the "bubble screen" route and allowed the guy running down the sideline to go free. On both plays, blitzing from the same side also occurred, meaning the Aggies were already short handed on that side and playing a man coverage with only Trent Hunter free over the top. This gave up the big play down the field. The the first occasion it was Dustin Harris who bit on the bubble screen underneath and on the second occasion both Sean Porter and Steven Campbell decided to cover the same receiver in the flats due to miscommunication. Luckily that pass wasn't completed. How the Aggie defense lined up and the blitz that was called put them at a disadvantage on the play, plus the way SMU QB McDermott didn't let the coming blitz rattle him was a huge factor.
The big question leaving this game will be the linebacking core. In the 1st half, Garrick Williams, Jonathan Stewart, Sean Porter, Caleb Russell, and Charlie Thomas played a majority of the snaps and were very disappointing. This group was not aggressive in the first half and didn't attack the line of scrimmage. Most of the time, they were back on their heels and allowed offensive lineman to get in on their bodies and block them, not allowing them to get off the block and Zach Line ran right past them. If this group plans on getting better they have to come off the snap explosively and attack a lineman, not letting the lineman come to them. Also getting a lineman on the right shoulder to allow them to still play their gap is something they have to work on and is fundamental. This group has to be faster and more physical or else teams like Arkansas and Oklahoma will have a field day gushing them on the ground. Two highlights of the group were Jonathan Stewart's play communicating with everyone on the defense and taking over Michael Hodge's role to get people lined up and Charlie Thomas' play dropping back against the pass.
The good news for the defense is they really got after SMU at times and totaled 8 sacks on the evening, led by Tony Jerod-Eddie up front with a career high of four. Before the game, Mike Sherman said he took Tony aside and told him he needed to a big day and dominate up front. Sherman said he must have taken it to heart because he did exactly that. Jerod-Eddie is now playing with a constant motor and maximal effort on every single play. Having a single player dominate like that will go a long way to replacing a Von Miller in the front seven. Other players like Eddie Brown and Kirby Ennis will also make an impact up front as the season goes on.
Now time to get to the better part of the evening -- the offense. I was as impressed as I could be with the way the offense came out tonight. You could not tell this was the first game of the season. They were so professional and crisp in what they did, picking up 5 yards at a time, getting to the line and snapping the ball quickly, and not too many penalties from false starts or holds (6 total penalties on the night). They were in mid-season form and made it look easy. Cyrus Gray led the way in the first half with ~75 yards on 15 carries and Ryan Tannehill was an incredible 11-13. Gray finished with 132 yards on 21 carries and Tannehill an incredible 21/26 for 246 yards, 2 TDs and no interceptions. The Aggies averaged 7.0 yards per play with 65 plays going for 458 yards total on the night. That's an incredible yards play average against a defense that was ranked 40th in the country last season in terms of yards allowed.
One group of guys that deserve a lot of credit are the tight ends. Michael Lamothe (early in the game), Hutson Prioleau, Nehemiah Hicks, and Tommy Dorman had a fantastic game. Their play allowed the offense to line up in two tight end sets early, use a fullback as a lead blocker in the running game, and then move around to bunch formations with one back in the backfield. They did not hinder this offense like they did at this time last season, not being able to block on the edge. Maybe the guy that was the offensive player of the game was Tommy Dorman. Dorman came into the game when LaMothe went out and answered big time. He played fullback for most of the game and had some key blocks that opened up holes in the running game. He also blocked for Ryan Tannehill on some bootlegs. That kind of play takes this offense to the next level as a complete, fully functional unit. A&M lined up early in 3 TE sets during the game when Michael LaMothe was in the ball game before having to come out with an apparent concussion. They also spread out the defense with an empty backfield 5 wide set when they wanted to. It's this kind of versatility that Coach Sherman has been striving for with this offense. With the play of this group, the Aggies can line up in multiple formations during a series doing it quick snap and not have personnel issues.
Did the offense attack down the field? No, but they didn't have to. Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael ran the ball well and Ryan Tannehill took what the Mustangs gave him all night allowing them to move down the field with ease. The Aggies didn't need to throw the ball down the field, especially with a Jeff Fuller who was "75%" according to him coming into the game. Could the Aggies have tried to go down the field? Maybe, but Ryan showed the efficiency to make the easy reads and then when it was there he had the ability to throw down the seam to Hutson Prioleau for a touchdown. You won't see the Aggies go down the field unless that is what the defense gives them, covering up underneath and making them go over the top. Tonight? Underneath plays were given to Tannehill all night long and he took it, allowing the offense to be extremely efficient.
The Aggies now have a bye week before taking the field against the Idaho Vandels. The week off will suit the Aggies well as they have a lot to work on to become a complete team, especially on defense. The linebackers will have to work to become a better unit overall, being more physical and attacking instead of sitting on their toes. The offense will have to work out some redzone issues as they got to the 5 on one drive and failed to score a touchdown. No matter the score, you have to convert those opportunities. Also the special teams still need tweeking as SMU blocked not just one but two extra points. That is unacceptable and is purely an effort play that Shep Klinke and Jake Matthews just missed on, allowing Mangus Hunt to overpower them. Also, its not a fun sight to see Kenric McNeal almost fumble away a punt return.
Overall, the Aggies made a strong statement to the rest of the college football world over a Top 40 SMU Mustang ball club. They are here to stay and deserve their Top 10 preseason ranking. The Aggies are in very good shape early in the season, but if they do intend on winning a Big XII Championship or get to a BCS Bowl game, they need to be near perfect execution in all phases of the game.
Overall Grade: B+
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Later this week we will be breaking down in pictures some of the bigger plays of the game both on offense and defense to get a clear look on some of the mistakes that were made, what kind of adjustments helped the defense in the 2nd half, and showing you the beauty of Mike Sherman's offense.
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