From The Stands: The 12th Man reacts to Saturday's win over Vandy

With the 2015 season coming to a close, it’s important to savor each game.

When that game is A&M’s first shutout victory in over a decade, you’re free to bathe in it as long as you’d like.

The Aggies came into what many consider a “must win” game and straight up handled their business. While the crowd of mostly maroon had to weather the elements, they were elated to be a part of A&M’s most recent victory. After the Ags 25-0 win, I spoke with a few fans to get their opinions on the good guys victory.

“Honestly, this was probably the most complete game the Aggies have played, when it came to executing in all three phases, since the Mississippi State game.”

Those were the opening thoughts from Austin Decell, a current Master’s student at A&M, who made the trip to Nashville.

While he thought the Aggies played well across the board, he especially liked how A&M responded to a familiar face under center.

“With Kyle Allen returning to the starting role, we were able to create some big plays through the air and move the chains,” He said.  “It was also great to see Tra Carson ice the game with another 100 yard performance. He’s been a workhorse in every sense of the word, and is nearing a 1,000 yards without missing a single game.”

While the offense racked up nearly 500 yards of offense, the story of the night was on the other side of the ball where the Aggie defense held Vanderbilt to just 148 yards, and 41 in the second half.

“It was good to see the defense playing well after struggling a bit in the first quarter,” Said recent A&M graduate Zac Reynolds. “This is Vanderbilt we’re talking about, so it’s hard to tell exactly how much they have improved. But at the end of the day, a shutout is a shutout.”

His thoughts were echoed by those of Decell, especially when the talk drifted towards defensive standouts.

“Richard Moore and Shaan Washington were phenomenal after the opening period. The front seven, as a whole, really controlled the box all night. After Ralph Webb and Dallas Rivers gashed us a few times, the defense made adjustments and completely shut down a running game that had been successful the last few weeks.”

Completely shut down might even be an understatement. Four times in the second half, A&M forced a three and out. On the other two possessions Vandy gained just 28 total yards, punting once and turning the ball over on downs in the other.

Those stats speak to the defenses performance, but perhaps the more impressive showing was from the A&M special teams unit.

“We cannot forget about Jeff Banks’ special teams,” Decell said. “The Aggies had a huge field position advantage all night, Bertolet continued to build confidence by nailing six field goals, and Sam Moeller had another blocked punt that brought the Aggie fans to life. That unit is truly a weapon.”

At the end of the day though, the most important part was the end result. Getting to eight wins isn't something fans are taking lightly either.

“It’s nice to see our fourth year in a row with at least eight wins,” Reynolds said. “When you look back at the decade before Sumlin got here, we only did that twice. That puts it in perspective for me. Plus, we’re in the SEC, man. That’s hard to do. Just look at Arkansas.”