Texas A&M Football: What the Aggies Need to Do to Finish out the Season 3-0

The Texas A&M Football Team is suffering through a disappointing season. The Aggies are 5-4 overall and 3-3 in the Big 12.

A&M has three games left on the regular season schedule against Kansas State, Kansas and Texas.

The Aggies need to win those three games to salvage anything out of the season. If the Aggies go 3-0 during that stretch and win their bowl game, then they will match their 2010 record of 9-4.

That will still be a huge disappointment considering the expectations entering the season, but back-to-back nine-win seasons will be an improvement over the past decade for Aggie football. It would mark the first time the Aggies have won nine games in back-to-back seasons since 1997 and 1998.

To accomplish this, the Aggies will need to play better football as a team than they have all year.

This is a look at the steps that A&M needs to take in order to complete their best two-year run since the late '90s.

Hold Serve at Home

The Aggies finish the season with two games at Kyle Field against Kansas and Texas.

The Aggies obviously need to win their home games. When Mike Sherman arrived four years ago, he spoke specifically about taking back Kyle Field.

A&M did a better job of that last year with only one loss to Missouri. This season they have already lost to Oklahoma State and Missouri at home.

Kansas is one of the five worst football teams in the country. The Aggies simply need to show up and play their game at home to win that game.

The Texas game will be the last one at Kyle for quite a while. The football team will need to ride the emotion of the crowd and get the last victory in that rivalry. A&M has a much more talented team than Texas and matches up very well with the Longhorns.

They simply need to go out there and execute on the field at home to finish out the season the right way.

Special Teams Need to Be Special

Texas A&M has been solid but not spectacular on special teams.

Randy Bullock has been great and the coverage units have been solid, but the return game has been non-existent.

Other than the Oklahoma game where Dustin Harris had a nice punt return, it is hard to think of a single time where the Aggie return units have given the offense a short field.

You win as a team and lose as a team, and if the Aggies want to start winning again, then they need to make hay on special teams. This is especially important in the Kansas State game. Tyler Lockett is one of the best kick returners in the country. The Aggies will need great games from their coverage units to keep him in check.

It would also help if A&M punter Ryan Epperson would stop shanking punts.

Limit Turnovers

It is cliche, but the Aggies need to limit their turnovers if they want to finish the season 3-0.

The Aggies rank 113th in the country in turnover margin. The Aggies have struggled mightily to force turnovers.

A&M must hold onto the ball against KSU. The Wildcats play sound fundamental football and simply wait for their opponents to make mistakes. The Aggies cannot play into their hands.

It is okay for the A&M defense not to force any turnovers as long as they do not give the ball away. The other side of the coin is that if the defense manages to force turnovers against Kansas State, then the Ags are almost guaranteed to win.

The defense has played well enough the past two games to win football games. If they continue to play good football and the offense holds onto the ball, then the football team should finish the regular season with three wins.

Cyrus Gray Needs to Step Up

In 2010, Christine Michael went down with a broken leg and was lost for the season. Cyrus Gray took over the running back position and reeled off seven straight 100-yard rushing games to end the season.

Michael just tore his ACL in the Oklahoma game. A&M needs a similar response from Gray this year in order to finish out the regular season with three wins.

Gray is a better running back on carries 20 to 25 than he is on carries five to 10. A&M fans saw that last season. With Michael out, Gray should get more carries and he should be able to remind fans and NFL scouts how great he is.

Mike Sherman needs to continue to feed Gray the ball and not abandon the run if Gray get stuffed early in the game. This is especially important against KSU, who does a good job of stopping the run.

The Wde Receivers Need to Start Catching the Ball

It is no secret that the A&M football team has struggled in the second half of all four of their losses. A lot of the blame has been placed on the defense. The real blame should be placed on an offense which has simply failed to score in the second half, especially in the third quarter.

The third quarter of all of A&M's losses have featured stalled offense drives. A lot of those drives have been hampered by dropped passes.

The Texas A&M wide receivers have played poorly for the last three games. Next to running back, they are the most talented unit on the team.

The wide receivers need to simply catch the ball. They can extend drives and keep the offense on the field if they simply catch the ball.  There is no excuse for them to have as many drops as they have had the past three games.

The wide receivers need to do their job and catch the ball.

Mike Sherman Needs to Call Games Like a College Coach

Mike Sherman needs to stop calling games like he is coaching in the NFL. This is college where momentum means a lot.

When it is 3rd-and-1 in the fourth quarter and you are on the opponent's 40-yard line, you do not automatically punt it and put the defense on the field. Sometimes you just have to go for the first down and step on your opponent's neck. You need to let your players know that you have confidence in them.

The reality of the situation is that the Aggies do not have an good situation at punter. When the offense is on the 50-yard line, the odds are that punting the ball is only going to gain a net of 30 yards anyway.

Sherman needs to accept reality and start going for the first down more often in the second half. He needs to do some self scouting and realize that with the Aggie OL he can simply pound teams in the second half and that finesse plays are not always required.

The Aggies went on a six-game winning streak to end 2010 by giving the ball to Cyrus Gray and becoming a run-based team. They need to have a repeat of that to end 2011.

A Leader Needs to Step Forward

The Aggies need a player to step up and take a leadership role with this team.

This football team has shown a lack of mental toughness. They need a player to step up and decide that they are sick of losing and start making plays. It does not matter if that player is on offense or defense. They just need someone to step up and become a difference maker.

A&M will start winning football games again when a few players decide that they are going to refuse to lose.