Aggies deny themselves a shot at joining elite

Maps say otherwise, but there is much more than a mile-wide river separating Mississippi and Louisiana.

Texas A&M learned that college football geography lesson the hard way.

Two weeks ago, A&M overcame a plague of turnovers in a miraculous comeback victory over Mississippi. That reinforced the Aggies’ status as a very good football team. A similar outbreak against Louisiana State on Saturday at Kyle Field caused a demoralizing 24-19 loss, which showed the Aggies aren’t ready to join the nation’s elite programs.

Good teams can win despite making numerous costly mistakes. Elite teams don’t make costly mistakes.

Sixth-ranked LSU (6-1) was outplayed for about 50 of the game’s 60 minutes, but did not commit any turnovers and did not waste any scoring opportunities.

Conversely, No. 18 Texas A&M (5-2) committed five turnovers (though one was a fumble on a desperation multi-lateral last play) and squandered several chances to score.

A&M Coach Kevin Sumlin loved his team’s effort, but lamented its execution.

“We have to get over the hump in execution and in being consistent,” he said in a hushed postgame press conference. “Against a talented team the margin for error is very, very slim.”

The margin of error was slim, but the list of errors was obese.

• A&M could not hold an early 12-0 lead.
• Quarterback Johnny Manziel threw three interceptions.
• Running back Ben Malena lost a fumble late in the first half.
• A needless penalty nullified a touchdown.
• There was a missed extra point.
• There were two missed field goal attempts.
• A 76-yard kickoff return by Trey Williams put A&M at the LSU 16-yard line; the Aggies could not turn it into points.

All those issues compromised what A&M did right.

The Aggies amassed 410 yards of offense against LSU’s defense, which is ranked second in the nation. That’s more than yardage than any LSU opponent has managed this year.

Also, the A&M defense allowed LSU to just two of 16 third down conversions.

“I thought we contained them pretty well,” Sumlin said. “We just didn’t force any turnovers. That’s a credit to them. We’re playing a top 10 team in the country and we don’t get any turnovers and we turn it over five times. It’s difficult to win like that.”

The Aggies jumped out to a 12-0 lead, but it could have been more.

Christine Michael capped A&M’s first drive with a 2-yard touchdown run, but kicker Taylor Bertolet missed the extra point.

Manziel and Malena appeared to connect for a 34-yard touchdown pass on the next series, but that needless chop block penalty negated it. The Aggies would settle for a 32-yard field goal and a 9-0 lead.

A 50-yard Bertolet field goal staked A&M to a 12-0 lead midway through the second quarter. However, the momentum soon changed.

LSU’s Jalen Collins intercepted a Manziel pass with four-and-a-half minutes left in the half and the Tigers parlayed it into a Michael Ford 20-yard touchdown run.

Malena fumbled on A&M’s ensuing series and LSU capitalized for a touchdown pass to take a 14-12 lead just 11 seconds before halftime.

A&M routinely stalled in the second half.

A Manziel pass ricocheted off receiver Michael Evans and was intercepted at the LSU 42. Another drive that reached the 30 ended with Bertolet missing a 52-yard field goal try.

And after LSU extended its lead with a field goal, Williams returned the ensuing kickoff to the LSU 16-yard line. The Aggies managed two yards in three plays, and then Bertolet missed from 32 yards.

A&M reached midfield later in the fourth quarter, but Manziel, who had emerged as a Heisman Trophy contender with dazzling, record-setting performances in previous games, threw an ill-advised pass that Tharold Simon intercepted.

On the next play, Jeremy Hill broke away for a 47-yard touchdown run that staked LSU to an insurmountable 24-12 lead.

“We were hoping for once the ball would bounce our way,” senior linebacker Jonathan Stewart said. “We had faith the offense would make a play. Not one player lost this game.  Johnny made a couple of turnovers, but we’re not a fair weather team. We’re not going to love him when he sets an SEC record and hate him when he doesn’t.”

Aggies have endured more than a decade of disappointment since their last championship in 1998. Yet, Manziel appeared to be leading them back among the nation’s elite with a series of heroic performances.

He set SEC yardage records in wins over Arkansas and Louisiana Tech. He rallied the Aggies from 10-point deficit in the two minutes to a 30-27 victory over Ole Miss.

But just when the elite status the Aggies seek was within their grasp, it slipped away like a wet bar of soap.

“I think we’re very close,” Texas A&M senior receiver Uzoma Nwachukwu said. “We have to focus on the little things that make great teams — turnovers, penalties. We’ve got to harp on that. If we want to get the elite status, that’s what we have to do.”

Yes, it’s a very fine line that separates good teams from the elite.

But on Saturday that line was wide as the Mississippi.