Each Monday, 12th Man Productions' Will Johnson goes inside the numbers of the latest Aggie football game with 'After Math'.
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Four hours and forty-three minutes.
This wasn't a short story. It turned into an epic saga.
This top-10 bout went well past the first round, and into a movie-like 15th.
There is no knockout blow when playing Tennessee. The Volunteers may wobble, but no one can deliver the punch that finally takes them out. They simply won't go down.
Thankfully, neither would the Aggies.
The nation's premiere game of the weekend delivered more drama than its audience could have hoped for.
The Aggies and Vols fought through imperfections while both trying to remain perfect.
Armani Watts finally cradled victory at 7:22 p.m. Dusk had set in around Kyle Field--the only glow came from a still beaming, celebrating set of Aggies.
Texas A&M is 6-0.
There are 11 remaining unbeaten teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Aggies are the only one to have defeated five Power-5 conference opponents. This feature continues to track that stat and hopes not to quit.
The numbers game obviously starts with turnovers. Tennessee had 7 of them--the most in a game by a top-10 team in over a decade.
Not all turnovers are giveaways. They can be forced. The Aggie defense did wreak their share of havoc, registering four sacks, 8 TFLs, 5 forced fumbles, 2 interceptions and chalking up 5 quarterback hurries. Most glaring were the 10 pass break ups, led by Priest Willis' three. The 10 are the most A&M has against a Power Five team this season by far (5 was the previous high). The Aggie secondary competed well against a massive group of Volunteer wideouts.
Tennessee did, however, have plenty of success against the Aggie defense. Since John Chavis' arrival, A&M has allowed over 500 total yards in a contest once (last season's Music City Bowl vs. Louisville). The Volunteers rolled up 675 in regulation. Saturday also marked the first time the A&M defense allowed over 30 points in a game during Chavis' DC tenure (Alabama scored 41 on A&M last year, but the Aggie 'D' only gave up 20 of those).
Usually that means Tennessee is an automatic victor. In the Butch Jones era, the Vols had been 15-0 when scoring 35 or more. The Aggies stopped that streak, and another. Tennessee had the nation's second-longest win streak at 11 in a row.
What does it all add up to?
What matters most.Â
Turnovers, another Tennessee comeback, more rugged-to-the-bone SEC action, intense drama, a gorgeous October day (and evening), a high voltage atmosphere, this one had everything.
But the thing that matters most is the result.
"Ultimately, that's what we're judged on," said offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone the day after.
Texas A&M wasn't exactly perfect vs. Tennessee. The game showed the Aggies are still growing as a team. Mazzone even described the offense as 'a work in progress' at the halfway point.
But, in what decides everyone's fate, they're perfect.
They're 6-0.
Some will say the Aggies were fortunate. That's fine. Fortune is required to make a season special. And, funny thing about luck…it finds the right people.
Kevin Sumlin once stated shortly after arriving at A&M, "The guys they say are lucky, watch them closely. They're playing really, really hard all the time."
Maybe that is this team's identity. They're talented, but flawed. They make plays and mistakes. But after watching them close through six games, it's apparent they are all in -- and they go all out.
This team plays hard all the time.
To them, that's perfect.