The Texas A&M Aggies are legitimate. The Battered-Aggie Syndrome that many have so infamously suffered from may be officially dead following Texas A&M’s impressive victory over the LSU Tigers.
Heading into Saturday’s matchup, the Aggies had not beaten the Tigers in Death Valley since 1994. Their dominant win pushed the Aggies to 8-0 for the first time since 1992 and provided LSU brass everything they needed to see to pull the trigger on relieving Tigers coach Brian Kelly of his duties.
After Texas A&M won, The Film Guy Network’s Brooks Austin broke down the way the Aggies won and what made their offensive performance so dominant.
Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed (10) celebrates after a first down during the first half against the Louisiana State Tigers at Tiger Stadium. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
The Aggies got their running game going early against the Tigers, with quarterback Marcel Reed kicking off the Texas A&M scoring onslaught with a 41-yard scramble for a touchdown. He gave the Tigers problems last season and continued to do so on Saturday.
”That’s another thing I love about this A&M unit,” Austin said. “They are one of the best rushing teams in college football, not just because they got a great running threat at the quarterback position. There are hundreds of teams with that in college football nowadays. They are designed and executing at a really, really high rate.”
While Reed has been dominant on the ground, he has also impressed with his arm talent. Against LSU, Reed completed 12 of his 20 passing attempts for 202 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Of his 202 yards, 130 of them came from yards gained after the catch.
”I think they lead the country in five-yard throws that turn into 25-yard explosives,” Austin said. “I mean, they have to be. I don’t know what college football nerd is tracking that metric, but they need to. I’m sure it’s in yards after catch metrics, but this team is throwing the ball at five yards and under consistently and turning it into explosives because of guys like KC Concepcion.”
While Reed threw two interceptions, one was the result of a phenomenal defensive play and the other was a poor decision on Reed in the red zone. Austin said the interception in the end zone was forgivable, but the blame should be on the A&M coaches for putting him in a position he was not comfortable in.
”I don’t need him to be Tom Brady as a pocket passer today, or the next five weeks,” Austin said. “He might have to do that against Ohio State. They might be good enough to eliminate everything and when we get there, we’ve got to be good enough to do so.”
The Aggies get to enjoy some time off before heading to the “Show Me” state to take on the No. 19 Missouri Tigers.