Music City Bowl 2015: Game Grades, Analysis for Texas A&M vs. Louisville

The neutral confines of Nashville's Nissan Stadium played host to a tight Music City Bowl clash, as Texas A&M fell just short of a comeback victory against a resilient Louisville squad, who earned the close 27-21 win over the Aggies.

The loss marks the first postseason falter in five years for A&M, while the Cardinals' victory helped them to a brilliant 6-1 close to the season. 

In terms of offseason, which is up next for both programs, the Aggies are certainly in for a roller coaster. After losing two 5-star quarterback prospects to transfer just prior to the bowl matchup, A&M needs to acquire a graduate transfer in order to give this team any chance of making an impact in the SEC next year.

Meanwhile, Louisville's success on the field against the Aggies will serve as a springboard for a promising offseason, especially with Lamar Jackson's talent fully on display in the victory. 

	First Half	Second Half
Rush Offense	A-	B
Pass Offense	B+	B-
Rush Defense	B-	B+
Pass Defense	A	B-
Special Teams	B-	B+
Coaching	A+	A-

Rush Offense: Led by dynamic freshman quarterback Jackson, the backfield compiled 307 yards on the ground, 226 of which were the signal-caller's along each of the two scores. On multiple occasions, Jackson outwitted the A&M defense on read option plays, taking it himself for huge chunks of yardage. 

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Pass Offense: Almost equally impressive was Jackson's throwing ability, where he put together 12-of-26 passing for 227 yards and, again, two touchdowns. The freshman made few mistakes and, outside of a few missed throws, nailed receivers for long gains and impressive scores. 

Rush Defense: The main threat early on to the defense was the movement of A&M back Tra Carson, who compiled a dominant 106-yard performance for one score on the ground. The true dagger in this unit, though, wasn't Carson's consistent three- and four-yard gains but the 55-yard burst up the middle that set up the Aggies' first touchdown. 

Pass Defense: Overall, the deadly pass rush and solid coverage downfield kept sophomore and first-time starter Jake Hubenak contained, but the fourth quarter saw the young signal-caller make dents in the Louisville net. Both turnovers for the Aggies occurred in the passing game, though, as the Cardinals forced a fumble on a dropback while also intercepting Hubenak. 

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Special Teams: The lone missed field goal hurt, but solid punting from Joshua Appleby and excellent returns on both punts and kickoffs kept A&M in tough field goal position. 

Coaching: Bobby Petrino coached his game how he wanted: aggressive, fast-paced and relentless. The Aggies may have put themselves in a position to bring home a victory late, but Petrino's coaching, particularly his decisions to go for it on fourth downs multiple times, kept A&M out of reach throughout the game. 

	First Half	Second Half
Rush Offense	A-	B-
Pass Offense	C+	B+
Rush Defense	C	B
Pass Defense	B-	B+
Special Teams	B	C+
Coaching	C-	C

Rush Offense: With both starting quarterbacks transferring and the third stringer under center, the early offensive burden fell to Carson. The senior responded in kind, putting together a one-touchdown, 106-yard performance while trying to keep the pressure on the Cardinals defensive front.

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Pass Offense: The early struggles of Hubenak resulted in some late success for the sophomore, who led a comeback attempt in the final quarter almost to its completion. Hubenak finished with 307 yards passing and two scores on 28-of-48 passing, throwing just one interception in the second half.

Rush Defense: The trickery of Jackson left the A&M defense in the dust early, as the the young signal-caller found his rhythm and shredded the defense on multiple occasions. The combined 307 yards of the Louisville backfield was a killer for the defense, even with a few late stops to give A&M the opportunity to win. 

Pass Offense: While Jackson found multiple big plays through the air, the Aggie defense performed at a bend-don't-break pace throughout. The two throwing scores were, for the most part, short and at the end of drives, and the coverage made up for early mistakes with later breakups. 

Special Teams: As per the usual, Drew Kaser was phenomenal as the A&M punter. However, a missed field goal from Taylor Bertolet hurt down the stretch. But other than that, there were no downsides on the special teams. 

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Coaching: The offensive play-calling struggled to inspire much confidence in the staff, especially considering their progress (or lack thereof) this season. The defense recovered well after a slow start and became a serious deterrent to Louisville as the game moved along.