Aggies Had 'SEC' Mindset In Louisiana-Monroe Preparation

The Texas A&M Aggies are now considered underdogs heading into Southeastern Conference play, and they carried that mindset throughout their preparation for the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks.

Texas A&M was shellacked by the Miami Hurricanes last week, and the feeling coming out of that game was that the Aggies were just the same old Aggies we saw during 2022.

Texas A&M wide receiver Ainias Smith said at the beginning of the week, players had their "heads down" coming off of the brutal loss that knocked the Aggies out of the AP Top 25. However, Smith said the "urgency" in the preparation was the difference between last year and this year's teams following a loss.

"Myself and coach Jimbo (Fisher), we were trying to get to the team like, 'Don't feel bad for yourself or don't victimize yourself. We got to go. Forget all that,'" Smith said after Texas A&M's 47-3 win Saturday. "We were taking it as an SEC week. We weren't able to look back and be down on ourselves and feel sorry for ourselves just because we took an L. Everybody takes Ls, but it's about the bounce back."

The Aggies continued their offensive dominance Saturday, scoring on nine of their first 10 drives with their 11th ending the game on kneel downs.

Texas A&M had no issue driving down the field, notching 557 yards of total offense — the most since Sept. 4, 2021, against Kent State. However, the Aggies had trouble punching it into the end zone, settling for three field goals on seven red zone trips.

Quarterback Conner Weigman had 337 yards and one touchdown, taking a liking to Smith and wide receiver Jahdae Walker who both had over 100 receiving yards.

By halftime, the Aggies led 27-3 and the maintenance staff could have turned the lights out at Kyle Field because the game was over by then — just the way Smith liked it.

"If we would've came out slow and all of that, if we put all of that on film, then Auburn would have been able to take advantage in any way that they could have," Smith said. "I'm glad we came out the way we did."

Texas A&M will actually begin preparing for the SEC this week with a clean slate, as it opens conference play against Auburn next week at Kyle Field.

If the Aggies end up executing like they did against Louisiana-Monroe throughout SEC play, with Alabama's early-season deficiencies, the West Division champion could be decided Nov. 25 against LSU.