For a couple of reasons, I want to quote
someone else to start off this piece. First, because of his level of authority
on the subject of top-level college football, and second, because it won’t be
me saying, “I told you so.” So once again, I give you Sam Montgomery, decorated
defensive end for LSU.
To the Oklahoma Sooner fans, a few brief
notes.
First, I acknowledge up front that this game
could have gone the other way very easily.
OU scores a TD on both – or maybe even one – of their first two drives, and it
would have been the Aggies having to take risks to get back into the game. And
in part, it was OU having to take those risks that led to such a large margin
of victory.
Second, we’re pretty happy with the way we’re
playing, but most Aggies I know who pay attention to college football recognize
you had a really good team this year, and there is not value – or accuracy – in
rubbing in the size of this win (see above).
Yes, we won the game. And we have every right to be proud of that. But
there is a line between “we were better on the day” and some of the dumb things
that bandwagon fans for any sports team have been known to say. Just sayin’.
Lastly – now do you understand why we should
we had a team that can do some damage against any team we play? That is isn’t
just blind Aggie faith? It wasn’t any disrespect to the history of Sooner
Football or the Big XII – it is just a fact. Like Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M is nothing to play
with.
Now, to the Aggies and other college football
fans.
In my last article, I mentioned how big that
game was. Clearly, a statement was made. Texas A&M is a current football powerhouse. That isn’t braggadocio, it is a simple fact. Personally, I’d love to see A&M play
Oregon or Notre Dame. It would be great football and I think A&M would have
a great chance to win. But that isn’t the system we play in, and it won’t
happen. So we’re left with the memories of what is one of the best – if not THE
best – seasons in Texas A&M football history.
As for my predictions from yesterday, I was
wrong about the OU running game. They in fact tried to get it running, and it
flat out failed. That put all the pressure on Jones and the wide receivers, and
to quote a football legend, “Three things happen when you pass, and two of them
are bad.” The Sooners became too one dimensional and couldn’t stretch the Aggie
defense.
I was wrong about needing to get to Jones. At
least, not to the level I had in mind. The Aggie D basically played in straight
up, rushing three and getting enough pressure that after the first half, the
Sooners weren’t able to string together drives. An argument could be made that
flags in the first half extended drives that might have skewed the success of
the OU attack, but they had enough success on their own that I don’t personally
buy into that.
Luckily for TAMU, none of the special teams
strengths for OU or Aggie weaknesses were much of a factor. The A&M
coverage unit did a phenomenal job, as did the kickers for the kickoffs and
punts, so that OU’s terrific return units were neutralized.
On offense, A&M was all that and a bag of
chips. I mean, what else could they have done other than run up the score
unnecessarily? Manziel was his incredible self, and all of the offensive
players shined at various times. It was
brilliant.
Luckily for the Aggies, they matched the one
turnover they had with a pick of their own, and found a way to make OU pay for
theirs.
Let’s talk about some specific units and
individuals. I said the x-factor was Johnny Manziel. A tad obvious, no? Well,
he was what he is, and it was flat out amazing.
The defense? Bend but don’t break in the
first half, and just shut it down to start the second half. No team this year
shut the OU offense down more than this group.
Not Kansas State. Not the vaunted Notre Dame unit. No one.
That is called a statement.
The offense as a whole? Talk about complete
involvement. Swope was insanely good, and the guy making the big, tough plays
over the middle as usual. But so did Mike Evans. Nwatchukwu was very dangerous
and got on the scoreboard. Junior Ben Malena and *freshman* Trey Williams ran
rampant.
But for me, the unit that deserves the most credit?
The coaching staff. College football is often about halftime adjustments.
Second half score – 27 to nil/nada/zilch/absolute-zero. Any questions
about who won the halftime adjustment battle?
So for me, the MVP of the game wasn’t the
obvious Johnny Football. It was the defense – the guys who executed the game
plan and halftime adjustments to a level that OU hadn’t seen all year. JFF is
going to get his. The question in this game was which defense was going to find
a way to slow down the opposing offense enough to make a difference. The Aggie
defense put the Sooners in cold storage for the entirety of the second half. End
of line.
So, that leaves us to look to next year. Lot’s
of points here, starting with the overall theme in terms of what the game
meant, and how it was going to impact recruiting. Not sure how much clearer a
statement could have been made. Sumlin already had a good recruiting effort out
there before Manziel won the Heisman, and now you add in that and the Cotton
Bowl victory? There isn’t a recruit in Texas that the Aggies can’t go after and
have a good chance of landing.
Key losses for this team? The seniors all
played a part, and we know the Aggies are losing Moore. The question is whether
they also lose Matthews and Joekel. Frankly, they should – both deserve to go
in the NFL draft. But if they choose to stay to help A&M build on this
success, watch out. I’m going on the assumption that they will do what is in
the best interest of their career, and that is to declare for the draft. Sumlin
has some talent that can fill those holes, but how well and how soon? That will
have a big impact on determining the level of success this team has in 2013.
The schedule is mostly favorable. Eight home
games. Two Massive Games against ‘Bama and at LSU. Other challenging games such
as at Ol’ Miss and against a resurgent Vanderbilt, and possibly at Arkansas and
at Missouri. Unlike this year, they have two games before they have to play a
major SEC foe, but what a foe it is.
Alabama. Talk about story lines….. The swap of Florida for Vanderbilt
helps.
The loss of Kliff Kingsbury to Texas Tech
didn’t seem to have an impact last night, but there is a difference between
continuing a game plan that the team has been executing well all season and
preparing for a new year where every team will work overtime to find ways to
try to disrupt this offense. The new offensive coordinator should have more than
enough weapons at his disposal.
But as it often did this year, next year will
also bottom line with Johnny Football-Heisman-Manziel. Going back to the
Montgomery quote that started this article, he mentions that you have to make
Manziel a pocket-passer. Well, if you were watching last night, you saw what
Pocket-Passer Johnny Manziel looks like. AND he IS going back to Cali again
this summer. Opposing defenses – be afraid. Be very afraid.
Aggie fans, get ready. 2013 will be a season
like no other, and we need to be ready. If we take the 12th Man
seriously – and we all know we do, as does Sumlin in case you missed his
post-game interview during the Cotton Bowl Trophy presentation – then we need
to challenge ourselves the same way that Manziel is challenging his teammates.
The team has put us in the top echelon of college football – we need to be
ready for it.
Gig ‘Em!
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