KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Sixty-seven Texas A&M football games have been played in coach Jimbo Fisher’s tenure.
There have been good times and bad times in that nearly six-year span. But on Saturday, a Neyland Stadium crowd of 101,915 witnessed the Aggies hitting rock bottom on Rocky Top.
A 20-13 loss to No. 19 Tennessee really was that bad.
Sure, some could argue a loss to Appalachian State last year was worse. But that with a bevy of freshmen playing in only their second collegiate game.
Some say the low point was a 50-7 blowout to LSU in 2019. But that was against the eventual national champion.
Then, there was a 13-10 loss to Auburn a year ago. But the Aggies started a true freshman quarterback and were without several key players.
Jamie Maury, TexAgs
Jimbo Fisher has never won a road game vs. a ranked team while head coach at Texas A&M.
Even those who disagree would agree the disaster in Tennessee is high on the list.
Even after losses to Miami and Alabama, the Aggies maintained hopes of finishing strong, notching an elusive 10-win season and perhaps even reaching a prestigious New Year’s Six bowl game.
So much was expected. So much was possible. So much was a stake.
So much for that.
That ship has sailed. Rather, it sank in a perfect storm of imperfection. The Aggies quite literally tripped over themselves in wasting a brilliant defense effort.
But even a herculean defensive effort could not compensate for unfortunate trips, bad snaps, poor blocking, crushing penalties and questionable playcalling.
“We’ve got to keep poise,” said Fisher, who appeared demoralized in a postgame press conference. “We’ve got to coach them better, become fundamentally better and execute at critical moments.”
At first, the Aggies appeared poised, well-coached, fundamentally sound and able to execute.
They drove 80 yards on their first series for a two-yard Max Johnson touchdown run. Johnson completed a 29-yard pass to Noah Thomas on that drive.
The Aggies reached Tennessee’s 16-yard line on their next drive. That’s when the pratfalls started.
On third down, Johnson tripped over tackle Chase Bisontis’ leg for a sack. As they’ve done so often this season, A&M settled for a field goal after reaching the red zone.
Next, A&M faced fourth-and-1 at the Tennessee 37-yard line. An old-fashioned quarterback sneak likely would have extended the drive.
Instead, Johnson tripped over one of his linemen for a two-yard loss.
“We could have snuck it,” Fisher said. “We had a run called. Got stepped on our foot going back to hand off.”
Jamie Maury, TexAgs
Max Johnson’s rushing score was A&M’s only touchdown of the game.
Later, Johnson threw too short for Le’Veon Moss on a perfectly set-up screen pass that could’ve been a big play. An illegal block penalty erased a significant gain. A late interception led to a Tennessee field goal.
Despite those missed opportunities, A&M still had… Well, opportunities to win because of its defense.
The Aggies stopped Tennessee twice on fourth down. They forced three field goal attempts (two were converted). Josh DeBerry snatched an interception in the end zone to thwart another Tennessee threat.
“They (Tennessee) moved the ball well, but our defense did a great job,” Fisher said. “They bent a little bit, but in the gray area before you got into point range, they were doing a good job getting stops, getting people stopped, making tackles, doing things they had to do.”
A&M held the lead until midway through the third quarter, but the defense didn’t surrender it.
Tennessee returned a punt for a touchdown to go ahead 14-10 midway through the third quarter.
The Aggies answered with a Randy Bond field goal. Another field goal attempt to give A&M the lead veered just left of the uprights.
The Aggies never got close to scoring again, but the defense gave them a chance.
An interception put Tennessee at the A&M six-yard line late in the fourth quarter. The Aggies only gave up a field goal to trail just 20-13 with 2:31 remaining.
“It’s not the same as last year. I feel like everybody sees that. We’re not going off what we did last year. We’re going to move forward.”
- A&M DE Fadil Diggs
However, A&M’s final series ended near midfield with three incompletions and an interception.
The Aggies now enter an open week before returning to Kyle Field to face South Carolina. Maybe, they can work out the problems by then to get back on track.
But this season is starting to feel eerily similar to last year when the Aggies stumbled to a 5-7 finish.
The futility invoked thoughts of last season when A&M was largely inept on offense. The Aggies managed just 277 yards of total offense against the Volunteers. UTSA and Austin Peay gained more against the Vols.
“It’s not the same as last year,” defensive end Fadil Diggs said defiantly. “I feel like everybody sees that. We’re not going off what we did last year. We’re going to move forward.”
Of course, A&M’s fandom hopes for that. But thousands of A&M fans may be doubting whether Fisher can move the program forward.
“Those kids are hurting in there,” Fisher said of his team. “We’ve got to find a way to help them. We’ve got to coach them better, get them to play better and get them to play at critical moments. That’s what we’re going to do.”
We’ll see.
