Well, that was therapeutic. Texas A&M dominated Florida at The Swamp after not winning a road game in nearly three years. Thanks to a couple of touchdowns in overtime, the final score looked a little closer than it actually was (33-20), but when you’ve lost 10 straight road games, you’re not exactly picky.
It was certainly a day full of positive aspects for this A&M team, but let’s name the most important ones here:
Marcel Reed
With starting quarterback Conner Weigman out with a shoulder injury, the redshirt freshman stepped up and played about as well as could be expected. Reed looked calm and controlled, used his legs effectively and was precise with the ball, especially when it counted most, hitting open pass receivers for two long touchdowns.
We don’t know how long Weigman’s injury will hamper him, and after this performance, many will question whether Reed should be competing for the starting spot. But that’s a conversation for today. For now, let’s be happy that the Ags had competent QB play that led them to a comfortable SEC road win.
The running game
Name an Aggie running back and I’ll show you one who had a good day. Le’Veon Moss rushed for over 100 yards, and he and Amari Daniels ran hard through plenty of gaps all day. A&M’s running game allowed them to dominate time of possession and virtually squash any chance the Gators had of winning before the game even started. Particularly sexy was that 99-yard, touchdown-filled run at the end of the first half.
The Maroon Goons
As great as Reed and the running backs have played, much of that wouldn’t matter if we saw an offensive line like the last two seasons. Although there’s still a lot of the season left, the Aggies played pretty fantastic up front today, consistently opening up gaps for the running backs and giving Reed time to see the field in the passing game. It wasn’t perfect (there were some frustrating penalties), but this line at least seems competent, and after what we’ve seen in Aggieland over the last few years, A&M fans are sure to embrace it.
Run defense
Mike Elko called his team’s run defense “pretty terrible” in Monday’s press conference, and the group certainly seemed to back that up against the Gators. They kept Florida’s running game under control all night, averaging a measly 1.1 yards per carry. The biggest difference was that this group didn’t allow long runs, which had been their Achilles heel in the first two games.
Sales!
After failing to get any turnovers against Notre Dame, it was great to see the Aggie defense get three picks, including a pick six by Bryce Anderson that really put the game out of reach in the third quarter. Another pick by Jayvon Thomas tied the game once again as the Gators mounted a desperate comeback attempt.
Icy White – Salvation!
I didn’t want to talk about it too much, but the last time A&M wore all-white uniforms was the infamous 2017 game against UCLA that effectively ended Kevin Sumlin’s tenure in College Station. Do I really believe the uniform you wear affects the outcome? No. But if we lost in that one (and went 0-2 with the white helmets), it would be a lot harder to get excited about alternate looks in the future.
Dominance/competence on the road
All of that led to a true road win, something that hadn’t happened to the Aggies in over 1,000 days. It’s nice for the fans (and I’m sure the players too) to get that burden off their chest, but at the end of the day, this losing streak was Jimbo’s fault. Elko’s Aggies are undefeated on the road and in SEC play. They have a home game against Bowling Green next week before getting a chance to continue their SEC winning streak against Arkansas on Sept. 28.
