Aggies Look To Rally Before SEC Play Starts With Win Over ULM

Texas A&M needs a huge win over Louisiana-Monroe before Auburn arrives next weekend for the start of conference play.

Texas A&M Aggies defensive lineman McKinley Jackson called the locker room "hurt" following a 48-33 to the Miami Hurricanes. Senior receiver Ainias Smith said players are "tense" after struggling to find consistency in the second half at Hard Rock Stadium. 

“Guys are upset and whatnot over the loss.," Smith said Monday. "That’s expected. You want to be kind of upset, and if they weren’t, I feel like that would be an issue.”

Tense, hurt, pissed; players can feel however they want after a woeful performance against the now-No. 21 Hurricanes. The Aggies (1-1) sit at .500 entering Week 3 for the fifth time in six years and must win out to remain a dark horse in the race toward the College Football Playoff. 

Jackson, who elected to return for another season in College Station, is one of the players who believes it's possible. It doesn't start, however, with a win over Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday. 

It begins with leaving last week's debacle back in South Beach instead of letting it fly back over to College Station. 

“My whole thing about the game is let’s not be stuck, let’s go forward, we have to get past this and it all starts today,” Smith said.

The Aggies should enter Kyle Field Saturday against the Warhawks (2-0) as the betting favorite solely based on production. Louisiana-Monroe won by a combined 14 points against Army and Lamar, two programs not known for being potent passing teams. 

“They’re a no-huddle team on offense that goes fast and plays a lot of three- and four-wide receiver (sets),” A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said Monday.

In the A&M season opener, new coordinator Bobby Petrino unleashed a more up-tempo offense headlined by a trio of sophomore playmakers in Conner Weigman, Noah Thomas and Evan Stewart. Weigman became the first Aggie quarterback to throw for five touchdowns in a game since 2013. Thomas totaled three scores in the first half, while Stewart posted over 100 receiving yards on eight catches. 

Of course, being talented means nothing, especially for A&M playing Sun Belt programs. Last season, the Aggies looked ahead to their top-25 showdown against the Hurricanes in Week 3, and failed to factor in Appalachian State's pesky play. 

The Mountaineers marched into Kyle Field to pick up the 17-14 upset, marking their biggest win since the 2007 season-opener against Michigan. This year, the Aggies imploded to help the Hurricanes seek revenge. 

“It’s maturity and recognition of what the problems were, accepting them and correcting them,” Fisher said. “… (In) self-evaluation you don’t point fingers, you don’t panic. You look at why it happened, why it didn’t happen and make sure you fix those things."

Fixing the flaws must come fast. After the Aggies face Louisiana-Monroe, they'll take on Auburn and first-year coach Hugh Freeze to start Southeastern Conference play. Then comes Arkansas in Arlington before likely back-to-back ranked matchup against Alabama and Tennessee before the bye week. 

All four teams have shown areas of weakness, but so have the Aggies. Last week, A&M allowed Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke to throw for 374 yards and five touchdowns, 246 of which came after the catch. 

Since the hiring of second-year coordinator D.J. Durkin, A&M has allowed teams to score 30 or more points five times. Under now Duke head coach Mike Elko, that happened nine times in five seasons.

"DJ is a very good coach and does a good job," Fisher said on Durkin's play design. "He knows what he’s doing.”

The Aggies can't afford to slip up twice entering conference play, but Fisher's focus is on playing up to A&M's internal standard. Smith, a fifth-year senior and vocal leader, said that Fisher's message to the team was simple following another souring early-season loss. 

“We’re still a 5-7 team until we change it," said Smith.