Texas A&M football made me feel feelings tonight
It was an absolutely gut-wrenching, wild ride, but your Texas A&M Aggies found a way to win on Saturday night at Kyle Field, defeating LSU 38-23 to move to 5-0 in SEC play and take SOLE POSSESSION OF FIRST PLACE IN THE SEC!
And to be honest, I still can’t believe it happened. I’m gonna be real with you guys, I was in a dark place at halftime. A&M was down by 10, and it probably should have been a lot more. The defense was missing tackles and let receivers get open downfield, and the offense was looking very reminiscent of how they looked against Notre Dame. I was pissed at the team, but just as much, I was pissed at myself for letting myself believe again. Because that first half generated a feeling that Aggie fans have felt oh so many times. It felt like Battered Aggie Syndrome in its most classic form.
And then, everything changed.
Lots of praise is going to be heaped on Marcel Reed, and rightfully so. He came off the bench in the third quarter into the biggest game of his career and ran the zone read with ease, giving the LSU defense fits (to the tune of three rushing touchdown). He provided a spark when A&M direly needed one, and an offense that had stagnated dramatically on all but one drive all night suddenly came alive and seized control of the game.
But let’s also talk about the defense.
It was far from a perfect night for the defense, allowing LSU to drive into A&M territory seemingly at will for much of the night. But make no mistake, in that pivotal third quarter, the defense was just as impressive as the offense, most notably transfer CB B.J. Mayes. After missing the early part of the year due to a concussion, then switching positions to nickel following the season-ending injury to Tyreek Chappell, Mayes came up big in the biggest of moments with two third-quarter interceptions. Those picks set up the offense with short fields and were the absolute turning point in a game that seemed impossible to turn just a few minutes earlier.
Did LSU mistakes play a big role in this game? Of course. Losing the turnover battle and missing four (FOUR?!?!) field goals is a fantastic way to lose a game. But A&M still had to take advantage of those mistakes, and in the second half, they did in the most blissful way imaginable.
I talked about the familiarly agonizing feeling I and many Aggies had at halftime, but now I feel something pretty darn foreign. It’s beyond hope, it’s more like faith. It’s the faith that Mike Elko, his coaches and his players are beginning to earn as this season plays out. They’re proving that this team is different – that this program is different. And as a result, they’re in a position that a Texas A&M team hasn’t been in for quite a while: 5-0 in conference play for the first time since 1998 (the last year they won a conference title, mind you), and in sole possession of first place in the SEC entering the month of November for the first time.
There’s still lots of football to play, including two SEC road games. Nothing is assured. But that’s a worry for another day. If you’re an Aggie right now, it’s hard to do anything other than smile.