Aggies Notebook: Texas A&M Sluggish in 17-14 Upset Loss to App State

Three key takeaways from the Aggies' upset loss to the Mountaineers.

The Texas A&M Aggies entered their Week 2 matchup against the App State Mountaineers with the chance to move to 2-0 and gain more confidence ahead of SEC play. 

However, what transpired was far from a confidence builder, as the Aggies struggled to get anything going against the Mountaineers. What resulted was a 17-14 upset loss, as the Aggies fall to 1-1 on the season. 

The offense was unable to break 200 total yards while the defense couldn't stop a nosebleed, letting the Mountaineers slowly drain the clock each time they had the ball. Simply put, there was not many, if any, things to like about the way the Aggies played in this one. 

If they aren't careful, these kinds of losses can snowball into a string of poor performances against even stronger opponents, which is exactly what SEC play will bring. 

Now, here are three key takeaways from the Aggies' stunning upset loss. 

No-show offense

There is no way to describe the Aggies' offense against the Mountaineers other than nonexistent. An offense featuring running back Devon Achane only managed to record 89 total rushing yards. Achane himself had a solid game, recording 66 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. 

The rest of the offense, though, was flat out bad. The Aggies only managed a mere 186 yards of total offense. Granted, they did run only 38 total plays to App State's 80. However, that itself was another problem for the Aggies in their dreadful performance. 

Defense? What defense?

If you thought the Aggies' offense was bad, take a look at the box score for the Aggies' defense. Yes, the Aggie offense was bad, but they only had the ball for 38 plays. They only had the ball for 38 plays because the Aggies inability to get off the field, letting the Mountaineers run a staggering 80 plays on offense. 

The Mountaineers sure took advantage of those 80 plays, too, completely gashing the Aggie defense. They recorded 305 yards of total offense, with 171 coming on the ground and 198 coming through the air in what was a perfectly balanced attack. If the Aggie defense performs like this once conference play starts, it could be a long, long season for Texas A&M. 

No more playoffs?

Entering the season, the Aggies had an outside chance at competing for the SEC West crown and a possible College Football Playoff berth. When Alabama struggled to put away unranked Texas, the door looked wide open for the Aggies to take care of business in dominant fashion against App State and show everyone they're here to stay.

Well, safe to say that didn't happen. What followed was an abysmal offensive performance paired with a defense who refused to make a stop to get themselves off the field. No, one non-conference loss doesn't automatically ruin their chances of making the playoffs. However, if they play like this into conference play, then they may as well kiss that potential playoff berth goodbye. 

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You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98

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