Texas A&M vs. Vanderbilt: Game Grades, Analysis for the Aggies

The Texas A&M Aggies defeated the Vanderbilt Commodores 25-0 on a cold night in Nashville, and there was not a lot of heat coming from these two offenses. Texas A&M moved the ball pretty well but struggled to convert opportunities into touchdowns, and they had to settle for seven field-goal opportunities. It was the special teams that especially shined for A&M Saturday night, with kicker Taylor Bertolet connecting on six of those field-goal opportunities. 

Vanderbilt on the other hand struggled to get first downs, and head coach Derek Mason's squad finished with only 148 total yards. The struggles started with quarterback play, as Vandy completed just five passes for 23 yards in this game. Whether one views it as bad offense or good defense, it was a solid effort for Texas A&M's defense to hold Vandy to zero points. 

Kyle Allen got the start at quarterback for Texas A&M, his first in three games, and he played very well for the Aggies on Saturday night. Five dropped passes did not help with his completion percentage, but he finished the night 18-of-36 passing for 336 yards and one touchdown. 

The two teams both have conference matchups to prepare for next week. Vanderbilt will travel to Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Volunteers, and the Aggies will face the struggling LSU Tigers. 

Texas A&M Game Grades

Positional Unit	First-Half Grade	Final Grade
Passing Offense	B	B+
Rushing Offense	C-	B+
Pass Defense	A	A+
Run Defense	C-	B+
Special Teams	B	A
Coaching	A	A

Passing Offense

Allen had a very good night even though the final statistics may not jump out at you. He made some great throws down the field and proved why he is the best option at quarterback for the Aggies. He totaled 336 passing yards in his return to the starting lineup. 

Rushing Offense 

The Aggies had only 39 yards rushing at the half, but it ended up being a productive night for that unit. Tra Carson had 126 yards on 22 carries, and A&M rushed for 150 yards as a team. 

Frederick Breedon/Getty Images

The game plan was more reliant on the passing game, but the Aggies were able to run the ball in the second half when they needed to. 

Pass Defense

There's not much to say here with Vanderbilt only passing for 23 yards on five completions. The "A" grade is pretty self-explanatory. Vanderbilt's quarterbacks never looked comfortable Saturday night, and A&M did a great job of pressuring them into bad throws. 

Vanderbilt is one of the worst passing offenses in the country, but A&M played well and did what it needed to do in this game. 

Rush Defense 

Vanderbilt ran the ball effectively early on, but the Aggies stepped up and shut down the run game after halftime. The Commodores, who had 107 yards rushing at halftime, finished with only 125 yards on the ground. 

We knew Vanderbilt was not going to light up the yardage totals by passing, so it's impressive that Texas A&M limited the run game, because that made it tough for Vandy to move the ball at all. 

Special Teams 

Bertolet got plenty of practice Saturday night, as he attempted an astounding seven field goals. He connected on six of those field goals, tying a school and conference record for field goals made in a game. 

His lone miss came in the first half, hence the "B" grade for the first half. When someone attempts that many field goals, we can't expect him to make them all, right? 

Coaching 

The offensive game plan worked well, and offensive coordinator Jake Spavital gave Allen plays in which he could step up and get the ball down the field. The Commodores played a lot of single coverage, and Spavital did a great job of attacking those opportunities. 

Defensive coordinator John Chavis has to be proud of the way his defense played, and it all started with him dialing up the pressure on the Vanderbilt quarterbacks. The defense stopped the run when it had to, and that really limited what Vandy was able to do offensively.