Texas A&M hope to correct little offensive mistakes against Arkansas

The Aggies still can contend, but they'll need to fix the minor issues

COLLEGE STATION - Kellen Mond delivered when his team called upon him. Throwing for over 300 yards and two touchdowns, the Texas A&M quarterback brought his team within eight against  No.8 Auburn. 

But the early mistakes were too strong to overcome, leading to the Tigers 28-20 victory at Kyle Field. With another SEC game on the horizon, it will become crucial for the Aggies to learn and grow from Saturday's outing. 

As the Aggies prepare for the Southwest Classic, it will be about correcting the little mistakes. A&M coach Jimbo Fisher doesn't care about Arkansas' early struggles. In conference games, anything can happen on a Saturday afternoon. 

"We just want a very consistent performance," Fisher said at his Monday press conference. "We want a dominating performance on how we execute. That's an SEC football team that's 2-2 and this is a rivalry game. They have good players and are on scholarship and we're on scholarship. It's going to be two good teams that will play and participate." 

A majority of the little mistakes begin on offense for A&M. While Mond's overall stat line likely looks strong, his on-field performance would tell another story. 

In the first quarter, the junior quarterback would target Jacob Kibodi on a wheel route. Should they connect, it'd likely lead to a touchdown in favor of the Aggies. Mond would overshoot him, ending the drive with a Braden Mann punt. 

A similar effect would happen in the second quarter when Mond overshot Quartney Davis on a crucial third down play. 

"There were a couple of balls that he had that he's going to the right spot that we had big plays on, possible touchdowns, and we got out physicaled and the pocket collapsed" Fisher said.

Mond flashed his ability to succeed with the long ball after connecting with Jhamon Ausbon for a 41-yard play at the end of the first quarter. He'd also find Davis for a 27-yard touchdown to begin the fourth quarter.

But Mond's inability to connect early ultimately led to the Aggies downfall. That and A&M's failure to establish the running game. The Aggies finished with 56 yards, second-lowest of the season. 

"We have to get back to practice and correct these mistakes and get ready to play Arkansas and get better each and every week moving down this schedule," Fisher said. "We still can have a very good football team, we do have a very good football team. We just have to get better at what we're doing and how we're doing it." 

A&M will face Arkansas kickoff at 11 A.M. at AT&T Stadium this Saturday, September 28. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.