MMR 2018 Week 2: Clemson at Texas A&M

Sooooo, with one game under the belt now we can talk about this football team under Coach Fisher and see what we’re working with here.

First, I understand we played Directional State, I get it. But we came into the game with so many questions, and while some we’re still not answered, we did get a glimpse of what Jimbo is planning to do this season.

RUN BABY RUN! If the 500+ yards gained on the ground wasn’t a wake-up call to the SEC, I don’t what else they need. Gone are the days of the air raid offense, quick snaps, and inconsistent play calling. This is a pro-style offense, with every play being a potential running play. Empty backfields and 5 wide outs seem to have fallen to the waist side.

Jimbo likes Mond. This is one of the biggest questions coming into last week, who would start at quarterback. We are blessed to have the problem of having two very talented quarterbacks. The issue at hand is that they appeared to have two different playing styles with Starkel being a better fit to Jimbo’s playing style. Oh, but as our favorite coach says…NOT SO FAST! We all forget Jameis Winston played very well under Fisher, and maybe that combined with improvements in Mond’s passing game made him the starter. Now, we have a vicious four weeks ahead of us, so we will see how “official” this decision will be.

Lions and Tigers and Tight Ends…OH #$%! Fans were looking to the Aggie offensive line formation with confusion and utter disbelief as a large player lined up on the end of the line, in a formation that allowed him to catch a ball, and he did!! The prodigal son has returned. Probably going as far back as Greg Schorp have we seen the potential of an Aggie tight end make us feel this giddy again. Jace Sternberger, a transfer upperclassman, caught five passes for 56 yards and two touchdowns. While not eruptive playing stats, the fact that we are officially playing real football again, I can’t wait to see what Fisher has in store. Blocking downfield, additional help for the offensive line, especially with the defensive lines of our opponents. You would have never believed one position player would make so many Aggie faithful so excited.

Lets talk about Clemson, the second-ranked team in the country. It was great to see them added to our schedule a few years ago, but with the coaching changes and restructuring of the team, I wish we had an extra year…but we don’t. Everybody knows the strength of this team, the defensive line. Back that with the talent they have stacked after three consecutive CFB playoff appearances and no wonder this team is ranked number two in country. What gives me hope is that Clemson typically underperforms when they are favored on the road.

The Aggies need every bit of help to win this game. The plan to do this relies on the running game. If the Aggies succeed and put up some running yards, the Aggies can take advantage and exploit the medium range passing game. The defense will have to play the game of their lives. Partly because they will play the game of their lives again in a few weeks when the play Alabama. Mix in over 100,000 fans and a national audience and there might be a chance…just maybe (ask Nebraska about 1998).

Tigers 24

Aggies 26