(Photo: Texas A&M)
The Aggies were a tipped field goal attempt away from taking #10 Ole Miss to overtime this past Saturday… But alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Matter of fact, the way this game started… Most Aggie fans probably turned the game off.
Ole Miss DOMINATED the first quarter and a half of this football game. They could move the ball at will and were able to slow down the A&M pass rush, giving Jaxson Dart all day to throw. After being up 14-0 midway through the second quarter, Ole Miss was set up for a routine 40-yard field goal attempt to go up by 17. But A&M was able to block the field goal attempt and take it all the way back for a touchdown… Rather than be down 17-0, the Aggies found themselves down only by 7. However, that was short lived, as Ole Miss marched right back down the field on the next drive for an EASY touchdown to go up 20-7 (unsuccessful 2-point try) with about 5 minutes left in the half. The Aggies were able to answer right before the half and would cut the lead down to 6, after a Le’Veon Moss touchdown.
A&M came out on their first drive of the second half and marched right down the field and were looking to take the lead… Until Max Johnson would throw an ugly INT in the endzone, killing the drive and the Aggie momentum. Ole Miss would in turn march right down the field for an easy touchdown and go up by 14 (after a successful 2-point try). But to A&M’s credit, they wouldn’t roll over… They would answer right back with a TD drive of their own and would cut the lead right back down to 7. The theme of back & forth would continue on the following Ole Miss possession… They would drive the field once again, but this time would have to settle for a chip shot field goal and extend their lead to 10 (31-21) just before the end of the 3rd quarter.
Texas A&M, once again, would not go away… They marched the field and were able to punch it in the endzone and would cut the lead to just 3 early in the 4th quarter. After a quick three-and-out by Ole Miss, the Aggies would once again march down the field… And with just over 4 minutes left in the game, they would score yet another TD and take their first lead of the game! Unfortunately, it was a short-lived lead… The Rebels would march down the field once again in this game, and would ultimately score the go-ahead TD with 1:40 left in the game… A&M, to their credit, didn’t quit once in this game and were able to give Randy Bond a chance at a 47-yard field goal to tie the game and force overtime… But as mentioned previously, the attempt was blocked, and the Aggies fall in an absolute slugfest.
Texas A&M falls to 5-4 on the season, and have 2 “easier” games coming up before the regular season finale against LSU… If they want to be Bowl Eligible, I think they’re going to have to win out. Otherwise, we will see yet another season where a Jimbo Fisher led squad misses out on bowl play…
– Jason Harris