The Best Is Yet To Come

Kendrick Rogers wasn't Kellen Mond's first read. Or his second.

Last year, the Texas A&M quarterback probably wouldn't have gotten to his third read, and thus, the Aggies wouldn't have gotten to within a two-point conversion of tying the No. 2 team in the country with 46 seconds remaining.

A different Mond and a different Aggie football team showed up against Clemson on Saturday night. A&M fought back from a 15-point deficit late in the third quarter as Mond passed for 206 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Although the Aggies lost 28-26, and new coach Jimbo Fisher made clear he doesn't believe in moral victories, Mond and A&M won respect.

"I think the biggest thing is in our mind, we have the confidence, and we know that we can play with the best in the country," Mond said. "I think that's the biggest thing we saw from ourselves. Not that we didn't think that before, but it's kind of reassurance and gives us a little bit more confidence. We always felt like we could do this, but I think we kind of proved that tonight. Obviously, a win would have been a lot better and felt a lot better to us. But this will make us definitely a better team, being able to finish and being able to finish in the fourth quarter."

A loss is a loss is a loss, but it arguably was the Aggies' best loss since a 49-42 setback to No. 1 Alabama in 2013 at Kyle Field. A&M had more first downs (25 to 14), more yards (501 to 413) and as many red-zone opportunities (five each) as Clemson.

But the Aggies missed two field goals, including a 26-yarder, and lost two fumbles – one at the Clemson 21 and one out of the back of the Tigers' end zone – while not getting any takeaways.

"It was one heck of a football game," Fisher said. "It is always when you play them. That's a very quality opponent. Dabo [Swinney] has done a great job with them. They've got a great team. They competed very well. They made one more play than we did in the game. I'm very proud of our kids. It's not a moral victory, but I ask our guys to get better today. Take steps. Learn how to compete. Keep a psychological disposition to overcome. Just keep playing. We did that in a lot of areas. But there's some mistakes we hadn't made. We've got to learn to clean up the red zone a little bit. We'll coach them a little better and put them in a better position and get them situated there. We had a critical turnover; we had a blocked kick, and we missed a kick. We had plenty of opportunities. But when you play a game against a caliber of team like that, there are going to be some ups and downs.
 

"But there's a lot of fight in this team. There's a lot of competitiveness. You can also see there are a lot of very good young players. There are some guys on this team who can make plays that I'm very proud of. Offensively, defensively, special teams, our guys kept rising up. We were physical in the game. That was a physical football team we played, and we didn't back down."

Mond had his breakout game, completing 23 of 40 passes for 430 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 33 yards on 10 carries.
 

The sophomore set career marks in completions, attempts and yards, with his previous bests a 21-of-34, 301-yard game against Louisiana-Lafayette in 2017.

"The guy will put his heart and soul out there on the field and lay it out there," Fisher said. "He makes plays with his arm; he makes plays with his legs; and the guys love it, and they follow him. He went out and made some big-time plays on the field, and he always leaves plays out there. The moment was not too big for him, and I love it. "
 

Rogers and sophomore Camron Buckley set career highs in receiving yards. Rogers, who entered the game with 13 career catches for 132 yards, caught seven passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Buckley caught four passes for 93 yards.

Rogers' second touchdown came on a diving catch in the end zone on a pass that bounced off the hands of Clemson free safety Denzel Johnson. The 24-yard touchdown pass with 46 seconds left sent the crowd of 104,794 – the sixth-largest in Kyle Field history – into a frenzy.
 

"I saw how the defense was playing, so I knew that if Kellen made the reads right, he would come to me," said Rogers, a sophomore. "When I saw the ball get tipped, I was kind of worried honestly. But I just kept fighting for the ball and made a great catch."
 
The Aggies, though, still needed a two-point conversion to tie. Fisher took the blame for not making a better play call. Mond took the blame for not better executing the play. But it never had a chance.
 
Mond's pass was intercepted, but the Aggies were called for holding anyway.
 
The Tigers recovered Daniel LaCamera's onside kick, and a kneel down later, they had escaped Kyle Field with a victory.
 
"We were in a dog fight," Swinney said. "It is a shame someone has to lose a game like that. It's two teams that played with such a great will to win. Early on the season, nobody wants to lose, and hats off to Texas A&M. What an awesome environment. Their fans were great, and their team played with incredible heart."
 
 
"It was an unbelievable task. This was like an opener all over for us. I knew this was going to be a really tough challenge. They certainly knew a lot more about us than we knew about them. We didn't know much of their people. We certainly didn't know what they were playing like. We prepared for a lot of stuff, and I was just proud of our guys. They found a way to win. "
 
The Aggies will spend a day bemoaning their missed opportunities, especially a replay call late. With 2:13 left, Quartney Davis caught a pass from Mond and made a couple of moves, getting to within sight of the goal line. He dove for the pylon and lost control of the ball as he went out of bounds.
 
Officials ruled it a fumble into the end zone, and the call stood after replay, though Aggies will disagree with it until eternity.
 
Even if they had missed the two-point conversion, the Aggies would have had time to score again, something they didn't have after finally getting into the end zone 1:27 later.
 
"Obviously, it was out [of the end zone]," Fisher said. "I mean, I didn't think so obviously. That's a tough call to make in my opinion. That should be called from upstairs. . . . At the same time, listen guys, that's calls. We can't whine over calls. That happened. That's ball, baby. They called it. It wasn't there. We had to line up and go again. What I loved is we got a three-and-out, lined up and went back down and scored another touchdown. Had a chance for a two-point."
 
While Aggie fans left rain-soaked and disappointed, they also left chanting Fisher's name as he made his exit from the field.
 
"I'd rather them be chanting my name after a win," Fisher said. "That's great. I love the passion of the people here. It just disappoints me that I couldn't make a call that helped them win the game. I've got to do a better job."
 
It was good enough for Aggie fans Saturday, knowing the best is yet to come.