The Texas A&M Aggies came into the 2020 College Football Season ranked #10 in the nation, and on Saturday, they didn’t quite live up the hype squeaking out a 17-12 victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores in College Station.
Aggie Head Coach Jimbo Fisher was quick to note that he’d be mad all week about how his team performed over the weekend. However, he also noted, “A victory is a victory, but all three phases didn’t play how I thought we could or how we can,” Fisher said. “I’m going to promise you this, it’s a lot easier to go fix mistakes when you win than when you lose.”
Aggie Mistakes
Texas A&M made a number of mistakes throughout the game, but beyond mistakes, they showed an inability to move the ball consistently with their offense. Kellen Mond lost two fumbles on the evening and looked to be a subpar game manager. The Senior quarterback found himself on the preseason Heisman watch list for the second year in a row. And for the second year in a row, Mond does not look to be the quarterback to lead the Aggies past tough SEC competition.
Kellen Mond finished the game 17-for-28 on his passes for 189 yards and one touchdown. Saturday’s game makes it the sixth straight contest that Mond has been limited to one touchdown pass or less dating back to last season. This week Mond and the Aggies were bailed out by strong running back play between their two-headed monster Isiah Spiller and Ainais Smith. Spiller led the way with a game-high 117 yards rushing on 8 attempts. Smith found the end zone on one of his 10 carries and part of his 51-yard, one-touchdown game.
Isiah Spiller
A big boost in the game came after halftime when Spiller took the first play of the third quarter 57 yards and setting up a 17-yard TD pass from Mond to Caleb Chapman two plays later. Bringing the Aggie lead to 14-5.
Vanderbilt freshman quarterback Ken Seals who showed glimpses in the game threw his second interception of the night on the next drive, and the Aggies looked to add to their lead before one of the Mond fumbles derailed their possession.
Texas A&M’s defense had some key stops after Aggie turnovers and were even able to force turnovers on their own. Both Leon O’neal Jr. and Demani Richardson came down with interceptions, including the late game interception from O’neal Jr. to give A&M the ball back up 17-12 in the fourth quarter.
The Aggies drive to cement the game was again derailed by a Kellen Mond fumble on 4th-and-one. The Texas A&M defense was able to get another critical stop to get their offense the ball back to finish out the clock and give the Aggies their first win of the season.
Takeaways
Although a one-game sample, the Aggies have a lot to prove when it comes to their potential. Much of their season depends on Senior quarterback Kellen Mond, and if he can lead their offense to live up to it’s full potential. The Aggie defense proved to be in top form, and became the reason for this first victory.
We know the running game is solid, and he can make plays there himself. But for the Texas A&M Aggies to accomplish any of their SEC dreams, they will need to be able to attack their opponents through the air.
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