Monday Thoughts

36 hours later, it's still a frustrating loss. There's the positives of being able to get back up and give a solid accounting after being down 24-3, but at the same time you know A&M gave Alabama the chance to get up 3 scores.

The Aggies were able to match Alabama's physical style of play, especially the Aggie defensive line handling the Tide's offensive line as the game went on. They held Alabama to 110 yards of total offense in the second half, and basically nothing after the first drive of the 3rd quarter. That was impressive.

What wasn't impressive was the performance of A&M's offensive line. They gave up 4 sacks and A&M couldn't muster more than 2 yards a carry. It would have been worse if Kellen Mond hadn't been able to avoid pressure. A team that had dominated using the run could do nothing.

Mond continues to grow as a quarterback. His mistakes -- the big interception at the 1, the fumble and a couple of sacks -- were costly, but A&M isn't in position to even make this a game without him. His legs kept drives alive and gave the Aggies a boost offensively. The Tide didn't make it easy for him, either; they totally adjusted the way they do things -- they blitzed a whole lot more instead of using their base 4 rushers, and flipped their coverages behind that. And still, he completed 19 of 29 for 231 yards.

If you're A&M, you leave this one with the knowledge you gave as well as you got against the biggest bully on the block. You also leave knowing that it was your mistakes that cost you a chance to win the game. You can't make mistakes against a top-notch team and expect to win. They'll have to learn from that and move on.

A&M still has a realistic shot, in my opinion, to win 9 games. Of course, that means the Aggies don't fold down the stretch as they have the past three years. But the opportunity is certainly there. Take a look:

@Florida (3-2): The Gators just lost to a bad LSU team 17-16 at home. They're down 15 players (10 suspended, 5 injured), including their starting QB (Luke Del Rio) and top playmakers Antonio Calloway and Tyree Cleveland (suspension and ankle, respectively). They're 102nd in total offense in 110th in sacks allowed (A&M is 2nd in the nation in sacks). Their defense hasn't been as stout as expected.

Mississippi State (3-2): They've lost two in a row in the SEC by a total of 80-13. After flooring LSU, they've been awful. Nick Fitzgerald, has gone from being one of the early favorites for the Heisman to maybe the worst passing QB in the SEC. They're 109th in passing, but the rushing offense is still solid. It's at Kyle Field and A&M had better be looking for blood.

Auburn (5-1): Ok, these guys are really good and getting better. But if A&M plays the run like they did for most of Saturday, they have a shot to win the ballgame.

New Mexico (3-2): Average Mountain West team, but Bob Davie gets to come home.

@Ole Miss (2-3): 127 in rushing offense, 122nd in rushing defense, 126th in sacks, 106th in sacks allowed. 118th in scoring defense. You get the idea -- they're awful.

@LSU (3-2): Always dangerous. But their offense is really, really bad this year. And they just seem to be sleepwalking through the season.

So there you have it. With the exception of Auburn, the current Aggie team should be no worse than even money against anyone. I know they're +3 currently against Florida, but that's basically a home field nod. And we'll see where it ends up.

QUARTERBACK : Kind of a mixed bag here. You love Mond's progression, but he has been a guy who started off as average and has improved to good. But if you were told after UCLA that he'd be personally responsible for 9 touchdowns (2 rushing, 7 passing) and only 4 turnovers, you'd take it and run. Nick Starkel was pretty good against UCLA before getting hurt, but just pretty good. Jake Hubenak gets a save for Nicholls, but hasn't been around after that. Grade: B-

RUNNING BACK: This would have been in the A+ territory before Saturday, but they butted heads with the immovable object that is Alabama's rushing defense. But Tray Williams, Keith Ford, Kendall Bussey and Jacob Kibodi (Mond too) all have 100-yard rushing days already. I don't think anyone will get to 1,000 yards this year, but Williams, Ford and Mond could all get to 800. That would be impressive in and of itself. Grade: A-

WIDE RECEIVER: It's kind of like Christian Kirk, Damion Ratley and everyone else. Kirk hasn't put up massive numbers, but he still has 5 TD receptions. Ratley, on the other hand, has been the big play guy, averaging better 22 yards a catch with no drops. Jhamon Ausbon hasn't broken out, but hasn't been the threat we were expecting as of yet. Cam Buckley looks like a player and Roshauud Paul has flashed. Nothing from anyone else, though. As a whole, they've struggled to get open consistently and make plays for their quarterback. Grade: C+

TIGHT END: Tanner Schorp has done a very good job as a blocking tight end. Aaron Hansford has been the regular 4th receiver but only has 3 catches and at least that many critical drops. Kalvin Cline has been invisible. Grade: C-

OFFENSIVE LINE: Much improved since Koda Martin took over, but really unimpressive in pass coverage. Mond has bailed them out repeatedly. Piling up 225 yards a game on the ground and 424 total yards shows they're not terrible, but being 108th in sacks allowed and not being able to run when it really matters is an indictment. Maybe if they'd gone with the current grouping to start the year, it wouldn't be as bad. That original group still makes no sense. Grade: C

DEFENSIVE ENDS: Remember when this was supposed to be a massive weakness? It's not. Between Jarrett Johnson (3.5) and the biggest surprise of the year, Landis Durham (5.5), the Aggies have 9 sacks between their starters at end. They've also been strong against the run. If there's a disappointment, it's been the lack of impact of Micheal Clemons (1 tackle, 1 TFL) and Qualen Cunningham (3 tackles). But the starters deserve All-SEC consideration. Grade: A.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE: This was supposed to be a strength. And it is. Zaycoven Henderson (17 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 2 sacks) has become a team leader and one of the SEC's best interior linemen, and Kingsley Keke (15 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 2 fumble recoveries) isn't far behind. Daylon Mack's numbers aren't big, but he's been an impact guy at last. Justin Madubuike and Jayden Peevy have done a solid job. Grade: A

LINEBACKERS: If you polled for team MVP right now, Tyrel Dodson could win with Otaro Alaka coming in second. The guys up front deserve credit for slowing down the running game of opponents, but these guys have largely closed it down. Dodson's numbers are amazing: 46 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 4 sacks, 2 INT. Alaka has 36 tackles, 9 TFL and 3 sacks and has been great in SEC play except for one big one Saturday. Anthony Hines has looked pretty darned good in limited time and Buddy Johnson hasn't been bad. Grade: A (largely due to the first two guys)
SAFETIES: Armani Watts has had some really good moments and he leads the team interceptions with 3, but he had a bad go of it for most of Arkansas and nearly all of South Carolina (he was quite good against Alabama). Larry Pryor has put up a lot of tackles, but has also gotten burned a lot. That's why Derrick Tucker started Saturday and he had his problems. Keldrick Carper got burned badly early and has vanished. Oh, to have Donovan Wilson out there. Maybe they wouldn't be so awful against the pass. Grade: D

CORNERS AND NICKELS: Ugh. Bad bad bad. Well, some good, but mostly bad bad bad. They're still 107th in passing yards allowed, and that's an improvement. Charles Oliver has actually been really good -- he did a great job against Calvin Ridley Saturday (Ridley's big catch came against Debione Renfro) before the Bama star got hurt and has been largely good all year. It's been the other side, with Renfro and Myles Jones, that has been ripped up. Both guys can tackle and Renfro has forced three fumbles, but they're freshmen and have had problems defending the pass.

At nickel, Priest Willis has been pressed into service and I think he's been the best option there, really. But he still hasn't been good. Antonio Howard has been less than not good. They play off too far and give up the middle of the field too easily. Grade: D

SPECIAL TEAMS: This is weird. Punt coverage? Great. Punt returns? Terrible. Kickoffs? Meh -- two kicked out of bounds. Kickoff returns? Mostly great (same guy from punt returns, mostly). Punting? Good, not great. Field goal kicking (from the real kicker)? Great. Punt block? Great. So how does it all even out? Grade: B.