(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
There is not much to say about Texas A&M football at this point in the season other than it has been night and day for the Aggies.
They started the season 3-0 after beating three consecutive non-conference foes who did not pose much of a threat.
They have since gone 0-3 against Arkansas, Oklahoma State, and Kansas State.
They were blown out by Arkansas in Dallas, beaten by OSU by five in Kyle Field, and destroyed by Kansas State this weekend in Manhattan, Kansas.
The Kansas State game was the least excusable of the three. The Wildcats were clearly an inferior opponent heading into the game and the Aggies played way below their talent level in a 62-14 loss.
Texas Tech had just put 700 yards and 66 points on KSU, and the Aggies managed only 14 late points.
The yardage battle was not as one sided as the score, but turnovers and bad punt coverage allowed the Wildcats to have four first half drives start inside the Aggie 30-yard line—all four resulted in touchdowns.
Before the Aggies realized what was happening, the Wildcats built a 38-0 lead by halftime. If that wasn't enough, the Wildcats scored in the first 1:10 of the second half off a kickoff return followed by a Jerrod Johnson interception and a resulting nine yard touch down run.
The most surprising stat of the game for the Aggies was the -13 yards rushing, including -40 from QB Jerrod Johnson (sacks are recorded as negative rushing yards in college). The rushing attack had been keeping up with the passing game all year, but failed to move the ball the entire game.
Jerrod Johnson finished with over 300 yards and two touchdowns, but his Big 12 record of consecutive pass attempts without an interception ended as he had three on the day.
The Aggies were embarrassed on Saturday and Coach Mike Sherman is officially on the hot seat.
Now that I have shared a broad recap of the terrible outing that occurred this Saturday, let's take a look at how each unit has performed thus far.
Offensive Grade: B
The Offense should not see much of the blame for the way the entire season is going. As much as they were the problem on Saturday, before that they were taking care of the ball and moving it very well.
Jerrod Johnson has been one of the biggest surprises so far this season. Most people were aware of his dual threat ability, but his passing ability is the eye opener. He has 300 or more yards in four of the six games, and has gone for no lower than 273 so far on the season.
The no huddle offensive scheme run by the Aggies keeps defenses tired and off their heals, but it has yet to be as effective as some of the other notable offenses that run similar schemes like OU.
They are putting up plenty of points, but it seems that when defenses really need a stop they are figuring out how to do just that.
The offense actually would have been a B+ or A- had it not been so terrible last week against Kansas State who brought the 83rd defense to the table.
The biggest difference in the first three games and the last three have been the inability or sometimes reluctance of Jerrod Johnson to run the ball.
In the first three games he had 57, 78, and 61 rushing yards and four touchdowns total. In the last three he had 3, 3, and -40 rushing yards and zero touchdowns.
If the Aggies are going to score, Jerrod Johnson needs to be an integral part of the running attack.
Defensive Grade: D
There is not much good to say about the Aggie defense so don't expect very much in this section because I don't like bashing my team.
That being said, there is so much wrong with this team. They can't stop the run and they can't play coverage. The only thing they can count on is Von Miller occasionally getting to the quarterback.
Since the first game of the season in which they held New Mexico to six points, they have allowed 38.8 points per game in the last five.
They just allowed 62 points to the 75th ranked offense in the nation, and are playing in one of the best offensive conferences in the country.
They have let the big play kill them time and time again. Case in point—when they played Arkansas they out gained them by 24 yards, had less turnovers, had 12 more first downs, and lost by 38 points.
The Razorbacks kept getting big plays that led to touchdowns, something the Aggies will need to figure out how to stop, and fast.
The Aggies were at the bottom of the nation in almost every defensive stat last season and are now 94th in total defense after this past Saturday. If they are to salvage any sort of season at this point, the defense better step up.
Special Teams Grade: C
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