Each Monday, 12th Man Productions' Will Johnson goes inside the numbers of the weekend's game with "After Math".
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The spotlight had shone on the Aggies all week.
On Tuesday, they were placed fourth in the initial College Football Playoff poll. The 12th Man basked in the sun, even with the calendar turning to November.
On Friday, when the Aggies left the Bright Complex, it was nowhere to be found. Grey skies surrounded the departing buses, accompanied by a prevalent mist. As this team rode past Ring Day festivities on Houston Street, not even the joy of classmates gaining their coveted piece of jewelry could enhance the scene.
Then on Saturday, despite a gorgeous fall setting in Starkville, the Bulldogs of Mississippi State kept raining on the Aggie parade.
This 3-5 group had struggled much of the season, but looked dominant at times versus A&M. Clad in black, they cast a dark cloud over the Aggies' hopes of their own ring.
Mississippi State's 35-28 victory was one of the baffling variety. It went all wrong from the start.
"The ball dribbling around on the ground…" reflects Kevin Sumlin, in reference to his team mishandling the first two MSU kickoffs. "Starting our first two offensive series that deep really kept the crowd in it. That can never help you."
In Coach Sumlin's tenure, A&M has often started quick. Yet this season the Aggies have been outscored 51-38 in the first quarter by Power Five opponents. In six games against that grouping, Tennessee is the only team A&M led after a quarter.
Perhaps the slower starts caught up with the Aggies on Saturday.
A&M played with fire on October 1st in Columbia, when they allowed South Carolina's AJ Turner to go 75 yards for a touchdown on the Gamecocks' first offensive snap. They were able to douse the flames then, but not this time. Bulldog quarterback Nick Fitzgerald registered one of the easiest 74-yard TDs you'll see the first time Mississippi State's offense ran a play. It wasn't much more difficult on the Dogs the rest of the way.
A&M allowed 6.3 yards per MSU carry, easily the most this season. The vaunted run games of Auburn (4.4), Arkansas (3.0), Tennessee (5.5) and Alabama (5.0) didn't match the Dogs production.
Even more head scratching was the Aggies' lack of presence in the opposing backfield.
Entering the contest, A&M led the SEC in tackles for lost yardage (9.6 per game) and ranked second in sacks (3.25/game). The defense did not register a single sack and only had 4 stops behind the line of scrimmage.
"That's not the recipe," states Sumlin. "Our recipe has been being able to run the ball, and get in the backfield, be disruptive, and negative yardage plays. We didn't accomplish any of those things. That's a recipe for disaster."
The Bulldog defense indeed turned up the heat when the Aggies tried to rush the football.
A&M came in toting it for 6.2 per carry…they went for 3.7 versus MSU. The 117 rush yards were the second-lowest total of the season--only Alabama held the Aggies to fewer yards on the ground (114). A&M rushed for at least 216 in all other games.
What does it all add up to?
Hard to say.
Perhaps that question needs to be followed with another one.
Who do the Aggies want to be?
Sumlin often asks this of his players, win or lose. After a damaging defeat--who are the Aggies now?
"Football is that," says Sumlin. "You have to be able to put wins behind you…you have to be able to put losses behind you."
A&M's mentality this season has always suggested they're 'on to the next'. That'll be put to the test this week.
"That formula doesn't change whether you win or lose," Sumlin explains further. "You have to assess where you are, be honest with who you are, look yourself in the mirror, (ask) what can we do better and how can we fix problems. And move on."
A&M was beaten in all three phases Saturday. The Aggies looked like a group not quite ready to contend for the grand prize.
This one stings. But move on they must.
The loss casts a grey cloud over an otherwise bright season. But sunnier days are still out there to seize. A New Year's Six bowl and top-10 finish are still attainable. Accomplish both, and these Aggies will finish among the elite.
It's an opportunity to be relished. If the Aggies savor the next rep, next play and next day, it's within their grasp.Â
They've focused on taking each step–together–for much of the season.Â
That mentality. That identity. That team.
That's who they want to be.