Texas A&M
1-0 , 1-0
Vanderbilt
0-1 , 0-1
Aggies Win Opener, Down Vanderbilt 17-12
Sep 26, 2020 | Football
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP)--Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher admitted that he'd be mad all week after the way his 10th-ranked team played against Vanderbilt on Saturday night.
But the veteran coach was able to look on the bright side of his situation after the game.
"I'm going to promise you this, it's a lot easier to go fix mistakes when you win than when you lose," he said.
Isaiah Spiller had 117 yards rushing, Ainias Smith ran for a touchdown Texas A&M overcame three turnovers in a mistake-filled game to beat Vanderbilt 17-12 in the season-opener for both teams.
Spiller had 5 five yards rushing in the first half before getting going after halftime. Smith added 51 yards rushing after switching from receiver to running back this season to steady the offense on a night when Kellen Mond fumbled twice, losing one.
Mond raved about the work of Spiller and Smith.
"I thought they were huge," he said. "What you saw tonight was a lot of yards after contact. What they were able to do... I think is really going to help us in this offense and help us be really balanced and consistent."
The Aggies didn't trail after the first quarter but were never able to pull away despite entering the game as 30-point favorites because of three fumbles and a penalty that resulted in a safety.
"A victory is a victory, but all three phases didn't play how I thought we could or how we can," Fisher said.
Fisher took responsibility for his team's mistakes.
"We made the plays when we had to but, man too much inconsistency," he said. "We've just got to get them to play better and that's my fault."
Vanderbilt started Ken Seals at quarterback, making him just the third true freshman QB to start a SEC season opener since freshman eligibility was restored in 1972. He threw for 150 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
"I don't think that because we were in the game we're feeling satisfied, but I do think it puts notice to a lot of people around the league and around the conference that this isn't the same Vanderbilt that they've been playing in the past," Seals said. "Whoever we line up against, they know they're going to get a fight."
Spiller got things going for A&M after halftime when he ran for 57 yards on the first play of the third quarter. Texas A&M pushed the lead to 14-5 when Mond connected with Caleb Chapman on a 17-yard TD pass two plays later.
Seals threw an interception on Vanderbilt's next drive, but the Aggies couldn't cash in on the mistake after Mond fumbled at the end of a run on the ensuing possession.
The Commodores cut the lead to 14-12 late in the third quarter when Seals threw a perfect strike to Amir Abdur-Rahman in the corner of the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown. Abdur-Rahman had five receptions for 72 yards -- both career highs.
The Aggies added a field goal early in the fourth quarter to make it 17-12. Texas A&M was driving later in the quarter when Daevion Davis forced a fumble after a reception by Jalen Preston and recovered it to give Vanderbilt the ball at their own 42.
But a pass by Seals was tipped and intercepted by Leon O'Neal. He returned it 35 yards and the Aggies got 15 more yards after Chris Pierce was flagged for a late hit when he threw O'Neal down at the end of the run while he was out of bounds on the A&M sideline.
The Aggies came away empty on their next drive when Mond fumbled the handoff on fourth-and-1. But Vanderbilt had to punt it back to allow Texas A&M to hold on for the victory.
Vanderbilt led 3-0 in the first quarter before Smith ran 25 yards for a touchdown to put A&M on top.
There were about eight minutes left in the second quarter when Andre Mintze hit Mond to force a fumble which was recovered by Dashaun Jerkins. The Commodores couldn't move the ball and had to punt. But Brian George received a personal foul for a blind side block in the end zone to give Vanderbilt a safety to cut the lead to 7-5.
Gallery: Football vs. Vanderbilt
There's a Spirit...#GigEm pic.twitter.com/LU8xCqwPjT
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) September 26, 2020
Postgame Notes
Texas A&M Team Notes
- Three players made their first career start in the season opener, including sophomore DB Erick Young, freshman DB Jaylon Jones and freshman WR Kam Brown.
- Texas A&M recorded multiple interceptions in a game for the first time since the 2019 season opener against Texas State.
- The Aggies have now claimed victory in eight straight home openers.
- A&M moved to 13-0 in the Jimbo Fisher era when leading after the first quarter.
- Today’s captains against Vanderbilt were QB Kellen Mond, OL Dan Moore Jr., LB Buddy Johnson, DL Micheal Clemons.
Texas A&M Player Notes
- Sophomore RB Isaiah Spiller surpassed the 1,000 career rushing yards mark in the 14th game of his career with a 57-yard breakaway downfield to start the third quarter, upping his career total to 1,063 by game’s end.
- Spiller made it five 100-yard games in his career, and became the fourth player in program history to have multiple games with over 100 rushing yards on under 10 carries, finishing the night with 117 yards on eight attempts.
- Sophomore RB Ainias Smith scored the first rushing touchdown of his career and A&M’s first touchdown of the game on a 25-yard run to the end zone. Smith made the move to running back prior to the Texas Bowl last season.
- Sophomore WR Caleb Chapman scored the first touchdown of his career on a 17-yard reception at the beginning of the third quarter.
- Senior LB Aaron Hansford made the second start of his career on defense and finished with a career- and team-high 11 takedowns.
- Senior LB Buddy Johnson recorded the third double-digit tackle game of his career as he matched a career high with 11 takedowns.
- Sophomore DL DeMarvin Leal set a career-best in tackles with seven against Vanderbilt.
- Junior DB Leon O’Neal Jr. also had a career-high seven takedowns, adding the third interception of his career.
- Sophomore LB Andre White Jr. made a career-high five tackles in the win.
- Sophomore S Demani Richardson recorded the second interception of his career with a pick with 9:40 on the clock in the third quarter. He finished with seven tackles, five solo.
- Freshman DB Jaylon Jones tallied six tackles in his first career start.
Jimbo Fisher Quoteboard
- On cleaning up the penalties moving forward… “Pre-snap penalties, penalties in general, turnovers and negative plays are bad and we have to eliminate them. We need to clean those up. We had one of the most penalty-free camps we’ve ever had. We even had officials at every camp and did a good job of not holding. Having a play like the slip play that puts the game 14-3 to add momentum, then we get one on offsides and getting a critical one at the end of the game on defense to give them a chance to get the ball down the field late. Those penalties have to get out of there. Looking right here, we had eight penalties for 50 yards. We have to get those cleaned up moving forward.
- On the defense tonight… “I thought they played well at the end of the game and thought they gave up too much early in the game. I thought they gave up in critical moments throughout the game and gave up field position. We need to get better on the run and on giving up third downs. In the critical sacks and turnover though, they did an incredible job. They made big plays when they had to make them.”
- On the message to the team about the win… “I thank them for the win and that they found a way to win. There is something to that as wel,l but we have to look at ourselves and be critical as coaches and players. We need to think, why did we let those mistakes happen and what led to the lack of consistency. You have to take that and fix it. I will promise you this, it’s a lot easier to go fix mistakes when you win, than when you lose. You can say that all you want, but a win is a win. Like I told them, it’s a bad week for them. We won and I can be mad all week. We have to get them in the right mode and keep playing. We have good kids that want to play hard and that matters. We, as coaches, have to put them in the position to be successful.
- On the offensive line’s struggling performance to protect Kellen Mond… “They struggled a little bit, but the turnovers consisted from not being able to get into the rhythm of the game. That was the issue behind that. Like I said, the first drive of being three-and-out, which is great, but then the second drive lands us on the 2-yardline. We then pick up a critical penalty that we hit from a screen pass holding on the tight end and were on the 2. We had a great play and got to play just how we wanted. We picked up some momentum in the game. That’s another thing, when you get momentum in a game, you start playing well. We then had a third-and-long and just couldn’t hold it long enough. We picked up a couple twists at the end, but give them hope and momentum in the game, that gives us a chance to win it.”
- On Kellen Mond and Ainias Smith’s connection tonight… “Getting the ball to Isaiah [Spiller] and Ainias [Smith], both have unique abilities to run and catch the ball. They are a good tandem to have and are great football players. I thought we used their versatility well. Isaiah having 100 yards on [eight] carries on 55 plays in the game. One had eight for a 117 and the other had 10 for 51 yards. From that regard, I thought they both did a good job on the offensive side of the ball. We just had that critical clamp down at the end and the special teams one with Isaiah. They are both good players and we will look to clean that up.”
- On the defense forcing the turnovers… “Those were big turnovers and big sacks. I know Micheal [Clemons] got a big sack at the end of the game. McKinnley [Jackson] got another one in there that set them back to the 30-yardline after starting on the 20. We had a couple other guys get in there and add some penetration to get those big sacks. Then, adding in the two critical turnovers. Demani [Richardson] picking off one and [Leon O’Neal] had the other. I thought they did a really good job and those were two really big critical turnovers.”
Team Stats
VANDY 3, TAMU 0
VANDY - Pierson Cooke 33 yd field goal 13 plays, 60 yards, TOP 6:02
VANDY 3, TAMU 7
TAMU - Ainias Smith 25 yd run (Seth Small kick), 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:25
VANDY 5, TAMU 7
VANDY - TEAM 0 yd safety
VANDY 5, TAMU 14
TAMU - Caleb Chapman 17 yd pass from Kellen Mond (Seth Small kick) 3 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:40
VANDY 12, TAMU 14
VANDY - A Abdur-Rahman 7 yd pass from Ken Seals (Pierson Cooke kick) 9 plays, 43 yards, TOP 4:22
VANDY 12, TAMU 17
TAMU - Seth Small 24 yd field goal 9 plays, 68 yards, TOP 3:45
