Learned, Loved, Loathed: Appalachian State 17, Texas A&M 14

Looking back on what was learned, loved and loathed from Texas A&M’s disastrous 17-14 loss to Appalachian State:

Learned

The Aggies were vastly overrated. A&M entered the game ranked No. 6 in the nation. They might stay in the polls but probably shouldn’t. One offensive touchdown. A defense allowing four third-down conversions on a pivotal drive. A kicker shanking a potential game-tying field goal. All this against an opponent with less talent from a lesser conference. That’s not the makings of a top-25 team.

Jimbo Fisher and his staff were severely out-coached. There is no other way to put it. Appalachian State coach Shawn Clark and staff did much more with much less. Defensive coordinator Dale Jones completely shut down Fisher’s offense. Offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay seemingly was always a step ahead of D.J. Durkin. Lest we forget, a short Appalachian State had one apparent touchdown pass wiped out on review because the receiver narrowly stepped out of bounds. On two other would-be touchdowns, Appalachian State receivers dropped passes.

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Jimbo Fisher was outcoached on Saturday as A&M lost its first game to a non-Power 5 opponent since 2008.

Fisher has no confidence in the offensive line. He might deny that, but actions say more than words. On the opening drive of the second half, the Aggies faced third-and-1 at their 45-yard line. Fisher opted not to challenge Appalachian State’s defensive line with a run. Instead, he called a bubble screen to Ainias Smith, who was thrown for a 2-yard loss. The Aggies could’ve been physical but chose finesse. It backfired badly.

Loved

Devon Achane played hard as always. He rushed for a 26-yard touchdown for A&M’s first score. Later, on a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, he powered through a tackle attempt and dodged others. Alas, A&M had few other highlights.

Quarterback Haynes King bolted from the pocket for a 31-yard gain on third-and-14. That led to A&M’s first touchdown.

Defensive end Tunmise Adeleye had a strong performance with five tackles and three quarterback pressures.

Loathed

Fisher’s game plan. Whatever it was, it failed miserably. The Aggies ran only 20 plays in the first half. They had only 18 in the second half. Achane had a 26-yard touchdown run with 11:37 left in the second quarter. He did not touch the ball again for the remainder of the half.

Anemic defense on third down. Appalachian State converted 9-of-20 third-down situations (A&M was 2-of-8). Even that 45 percent success rate was misleading. Twice on their second drive, the Mountaineers gained enough yardage on third down to set up fourth-and-1 situations. Both times they converted — once because A&M jumped offsides. On its drive for the game-winning field goal, Appalachian State was 4-for-5 on third down. The Mountaineers converted on third-and-6, third-and-2, third-and-10 and third-and-1. The one time they did not convert was because a wide-open receiver dropped what should’ve been an easy touchdown pass inside the 5-yard line.

Failure in the clutch. Despite their poor showing, the Aggies were still in position to pull out an unimpressive victory. Trailing 17-14 with just over four minutes remaining, they had first down at the Appalachian State 34-yard line. On first down, King and Achane couldn’t execute the zone-read exchange, and Achane was stopped for a 1-yard loss. On second down, King threw incomplete behind Ainias Smith on a slant. On third down, King threw short to wide-open Yulkeith Brown, who fell making the catch. On fourth down, Caden Davis shanked a potential game-tying 47-yard field goal attempt.