With quarterback Haynes King out, the offense had sputtered to a combined 32 points in shocking losses to Arkansas and Mississippi State. The defense had been pushed around by Arkansas and couldn't stop the passing attack of the Bulldogs.

And No.1 Alabama was lurking next.

A 3-3 record, an 0-3 SEC start and a lot of questions about just how well Jimbo Fisher was doing his job were looming.

Flash forward to today and the Aggies are back to No. 14 in the Coaches and AP polls, are 6-2 and the team who knocked off the mighty Crimson Tide. Since then, they have completely throttled Missouri and South Carolina and are one of the nation's hottest teams going into their bye week.

So what changed?

Everything.

An offense that couldn't get anything going under Zach Calzada has moved the ball effectively the past three weeks, scoring a combined 120 points -- including 34 against Alabama (the other 7 being Devon Achane's kickoff return). The offensive line, which gave up 12 sacks in the first four games, has given up just one in the last three.

The defense's struggles have largely ended as the group looks like the elite group it was supposed to be. After racking up four sacks and two turnovers against Alabama, they forced two more turnovers while holding Missouri to 24 points under their season average. Then they completely stifled the South Carolina defense, giving up just 15 yards in the first three quarters and forcing three more turnovers.

"To lose two games like that, be 3‑0, then lose two games, and come back against the stretch we had. I'm very proud of them. I'm happy for them," coach Jimbo Fisher said. "Now, we have to maintain and remember why we've had success and continue it."

The memories of last year's success may have played a role in A&M's resurgence. After the embarrassing home loss to Mississippi State, the team's leaders took it upon themselves to help right the ship.

"We've come together pretty tight throughout these past few weeks just because, like you said, those last two losses that we had kind of affected us in a way to where it actually motivated us because, if you looked at the film or whatnot, once we got to looking at the film, there was a lot of opportunities that we were leaving out there on the field," wide receiver and team captain Ainias Smith said. "So we just came together as a team, and we were like, 'Man, we've just got to capitalize. We have to execute. We're not able to leave those plays out there on the field.' And then us as leaders, we took the initiative to demand that out of our teammates throughout practice. So we're playing together pretty well."

Safety Demani Richardson said the back-to-back losses didn't discourage the team. Instead, it infuriated them.

"We didn't envision losing to any of those teams. We knew our potential, but we had to look at ourself in the mirror and find who we really were. And we had to fight through adversity," he said. "And we did that."

A defense that was ranked as low as 53rd nationally is now back into the top 30, has a positive turnover margin for the first time all season, is now 16th nationally in sacks and is 8th in scoring defense at 16.1 points per game allowed.

The offense, which fell to as low as 100th in scoring offense, has jumped 42 spots in three weeks as the revamped offensive line has helped running backs Isaiah Spiller and Achane dominate games. At their current rates, Spiller will easily surpass 1,000 yards for the season with Achane picking up more than 900. After a masterful game against Alabama, Calzada has settled and played efficiently, using Smith and tight end Jalen Wydermyer as his primary targets.

After eight games, does Fisher like where his team is?

"I really do right now. I really do," he said. "I mean, I think we're starting to mold. Now, we'll find out. We've got a heck of a run. We've got Auburn, you have Ole Miss, you've got Prairie View, and then you've got LSU, two of those four on the road. You have a big stretch coming."

The Aggies sound like they're prepared for that stretch run, as they were last year.

"I love the fight our team has. We fought until the bye week, and we ran into the bye week, just like Jimbo said," Richardson said. "And we've got to keep getting get better from here on out."

Wydermyer, who said the attention to detail in practice had helped turn the season around, said he felt like the Aggies could continue to roll after their bye week.

"I feel like we're in a really good position. I feel our momentum we have, we can keep going as long as we just keep doing what we're doing and keep performing at the level we're performing," he said.