Each Monday in After "Math", we'll take a look inside the numbers from the weekend's football game, and we'll do it through the words of the Aggie coaching staff.
For more insight on each football game, make sure to tune in to "The Pulse: Texas A&M Football" (Wednesdays, 4:00 PM CT on FOX Sports Southwest and 6:30 PM CT on KBTX-TV).
AFTER MATH: ALABAMA
by Will Johnson '01
12th Man Productions
AFTER MATH: ALABAMA
Bryant-Denny Stadium has a 'big game' feel to it. You can walk in several hours before kickoff and still recognize the contest ahead has high stakes.
It felt that way in the morning hours of November 10, 2012. Once the ball was teed up, and over 100,000 had filed in, Texas A&M sent shockwaves through the college football world with their 29-24 win over the No. 1 Crimson Tide.
It actually had the same feel to it Saturday morning. And, it was once again, a two-loss, ranked A&M team hoping to potentially derail Alabama's national title hopes.
The parallels and similarities ceased at kickoff. This time around, 2014 was light years from 2012.
Alabama's thorough domination of the Aggies placed them right back into the hunt for a spot in the College Football Playoff, and for the program's fourth national championship in the last six years.
After its last two games, Alabama had been criticized for its play despite still being ranked in the Top 10. Against the Aggies, they got back to what made them such a menace. And it started with one guy who is a pain to deal with.
Alabama targets Amari Cooper at a staggering rate (41% of the time entering Saturday's game). Before the Aggies visit, Cooper had 54 catches. DeAndrew White was second on the team with 16.
You'd be hard pressed to find a non-quarterback that means as much to his offense as Cooper does to the Tide's.
Against Arkansas last week, Cooper had only 2 catches for 22 yards. Alabama's offensive output was just 227 total yards and 10 first downs, by far their worst of the year. And it may not have been coincidence.
Saturday, the Tide looked to get Cooper involved early. He had 4 catches on their first 2 drives and was targeted 6 times. When his day was over he'd hauled in eight catches for 140 yards and two touchdowns.
When A&M had the ball, nothing was doing. Bama swarmed, sacked, smothered and stuffed the Aggies at every turn. Kevin Sumlin has coached 86 games in eight seasons. This was the first time he'd been shut out. In fact, it's the first time one of his teams didn't reach double digits.
“I've never experienced a game like this as a head coach,” said Sumlin shortly after. “For something that major to happen, it's across the board. And we weren't very good at any phase.”
The Aggies have now exited the AP Poll. They'd been ranked for 35 consecutive weeks, which was the 7th longest active streak in the country.
Even without the Aggies, the SEC West remains dominate in the poll. For the first time ever, a conference has 4 of the top 5 teams in the AP Poll, and they're all in the Western division. Mississippi State is No. 1, Ole Miss is third, followed by Alabama then Auburn. LSU took the Aggies' place in the poll. The Tigers are now ranked No. 23. Five of the seven teams in the West are ranked.
“Playing in the SEC West you're going to face adversity,” Sumlin stated. “How you respond to it, that's what's important. The last couple of weeks we haven't responded very well.”
What does it all add up to?
A much needed break.
Entering Saturday, 105 of 128 FBS teams already had a week off, but the Aggies weren't one of them. In the SEC, only A&M and LSU had gone that long without their bye arriving.
“The bye week comes at a good time for us,” Sumlin said. “It's a chance to take a step back and a deep breath and get back to who we are fundamentally. And, really evaluate where we are as a program.”
Now it's here.
The Aggies don't need to look at film of an opponent, just themselves.
The focus is on what's within.