What is the story about?
The
first half felt a lot like , Auburn 2.0 but the Aggies found their groove in the second half and took care of business against an under-manned Mississippi State squad en route to a 31-9 win Saturday night at Kyle Field. Here are some of the stats that tell the tale.
Salient Stats
- 0: Offensive snaps from 2016-2018 MSU QB Nick Fitzgerald. He was a notorious Aggie slayer, going 3-0 against A&M, including a win at Kyle Field in 2017. The Bulldogs even tried to channel his magic, even having him provide the voiceover for a big social post leading up to the game. But to no avail. The Fitzmagic is gone.
- 1: Third down conversion for MSU. A week after not allowing Auburn to convert ANY third our fourth downs, this was yet another very encouraging day for the Aggie defense. Getting off the field when you can is a pretty darn clear route to wins.
- 2: Second-half penalties. After a frustrating first half that was littered with offensive penalties that killed several drives, A&M played a pretty darn clean second half, with just two total flag. Unsurprisingly, the offense hummed once they weren’t shooting themselves in the foot. More of that, please.
- 3: Sacks for Cashius Howell. The Ags had four total, but Howell undoubtedly had the most impactful day among Aggie pass rushers. Granted, MSU was down multiple offensive tackles, but it was great to see A&M take advantage of that weakness and really wreak havoc on the Bulldog passing game.
- 9: Tackles by LB Daymion Sanford. Perhaps more importantly, Sanford had two tackles for loss (including one sack) and a crucial second-quarter interception. Stepping in for the injured Scooby Williams the past two games, Sanford has been an unquestioned bright spot on the A&M defense, and has likely earned himself a bigger role even once Williams is fully healthy.
- 60: Rushing yards for MSU RB Fluff Blothwell. The Bulldogs’ total rushing stats were a bit skewed by the sacks of Blake Shapen, but even without those, Blothwell was held mostly in check outside of MSU’s second drive of the game (when I think we all were worried we might be in for a long night). After the Bulldogs gashed Tennessee on the ground a week ago, A&M stepping up to stop the run was yet another great sign that this defense is taking the next step.
- 115: Total yards for Mario Craver. There was a lot of chatter online this week about MSU putting the clamps on their former WR (who transferred to A&M from Starkville this offseason). But he led A&M in receptions and yards (6 for 80) and also added two rushes for 35 yards and touchdown. Safe to say he got the last laugh, and the dub.
- 161: Total yards for Rueben Owens. With Le’Veon Moss getting dinged up, Owens turned in easily his best performance as an Aggie to date, with 142 yards on 21 carries as well as a 19-yard catch. While Moss is the unquestioned leader of that A&M backfield, their depth is what makes them so difficult to stop for an entire game.
- 303: Rushing yards for the Aggies. On a day when Marcel Reed was not his sharpest, A&M leaned on the ground game in the second half and it proved to be absolutely dominant. As much as we all love seeing WRs like Craver and Concepcion stretching the defense vertically, there’s just something about a strong ground game that just feels so impossible to defeat.
- 6:00: Kickoff time against Florida next week. It should be another capacity crowd at Kyle Field, with another golden opportunity for A&M to continue stacking SEC wins and strengthen their chances at their first ever College Football Playoff berth.
#BTHOflorida!
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