Learned, Loved, Loathed: Auburn 13, Texas A&M 10

Taking a look back at what was learned, what was loved and what was loathed in a Texas A&M’s 13-10 Southeastern Conference football loss to Auburn on Saturday:

Learned

The Aggies (3-7) will not qualify for a bowl game. Of course, six victories are required for bowl eligibility. The loss was A&M’s sixth consecutive and seventh overall. With only two games remaining, they are mathematically eliminated.

A&M apparently has a team rule against wearing long sleeves under the jersey. Moose Muhammad, the Aggies' second-leading receiver, was mysteriously benched after the opening kickoff. Coach Jimbo Fisher said it was for an ‘internal issue.’ After the game, Muhammad claimed via Twitter that he had been suspended for wearing sleeves.

Freshman quarterback Conner Weigman is a tough guy. Weigman was under siege from the Auburn pass rush from the outset. He was sacked three times and officially listed as pressured on six other occasions, though it seemed like more. He frequently took hard hits. Yet, he stayed strong in the pocket and even delivered a 17-yard touchdown strike to Jalen Preston late in the fourth quarter that at least gave the Aggies a slim chance to pull out a win.

Loved

Okay, maybe some of it was self-preservation, but you had to love Weigman’s willingness to try to scramble for yardage. Too often, A&M quarterbacks have appeared reluctant to run, while several opposing quarterbacks have done so with great success. Statistically, Weigman ran eight times for four yards. That’s because in college football, yardage lost on sacks is subtracted from a quarterback’s rushing totals. Sans sacks, Weigman rushed for 30 yards.

Jamie Maury, TexAgs

Amari Daniels took a majority of the snaps at running back since Devon Achane was sidelined with an injury.

The burst that backup running back Amani Daniels showed was among the few offensive highlights. Daniels rushed for 83 yards on 11 carries.  He had a 38-yard run on the play prior to the Aggies’ touchdown.

It was great to see nickel back Antonio Johnson return to the defense. Johnson had not played since leaving early in the Alabama game on Oct. 8. In his return, he posted a team-high 10 tackles and forced a fumble.

Loathed

You never want to see any player hurt, but Max Wright having to leave the game with an undisclosed injury was especially disappointing. The senior tight end, who came to A&M as a defensive end, has always been a team-first guy. He started to make more of an impact on the offense a week ago when he had a career-high five catches. Wright caught an 18-yard pass on the first play of the second quarter. However, he dropped to his knees after the play. He immediately left the game and was taken to a local hospital.

The overall offensive performance was abysmal. The Aggies put up just 215 yards in total offense. Consider 80 of those came on one drive in the final three minutes. A&M was held to minus two yards in the third quarter. The Aggies’ yardage output was their lowest since accumulating just 186 yards in a 17-14 loss to Appalachian State on Sept. 10.

The defense allowed 270 rushing yards. It’s the third straight game A&M has allowed at least 270 rushing yards. It was the fifth time the Aggies have given up more than 200 rushing yards. The majority of those yards (173) were surrendered in the first half, so at least the Aggies made some adjustments and were more successful in the second half.