September 17, 2011
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- You wouldn't call it beautiful or glorious or even memorable. Ninth-ranked Texas A&M (2-0) did punk the Vandals of Idaho (1-2) 37-7 on a damp, gray evening in College Station, where it had rained for the first time in ages, a downpour that served only to knock some of the heat vapor out of the air.
The stands were still full, the press box still swayed and Texas A&M slowly, steadily and inevitably flattened Idaho, and that was all fine and comfortable. Things are as we think they are. It was a feet-on-the-ottoman kind of day.
The Aggies' march was best observed by watching Texas A&M's offensive line. Down, set, hut. Something they couldn't see would be happening behind them, then suddenly in front of them. Then ball would be downed, and the five of them would run half-speed in unison to wherever they put the ball. Repeat. Five, seven, 12 yards at a time. They looked like a mail truck on a long country road, stopping at every box, making little deliveries.
This was how the Aggies beat Idaho. It wasn't dazzling, but it was overwhelming. It was the whole boring process of it. It probably wasn't beautiful, but if it was, it was beautiful in the way an assembly line is beautiful.
Which isn't to say the Aggies didn't drop some rivets. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill threw an interception to a defensive lineman, the Aggies' receivers dropped some passes that would have gone for big gains. A&M lost a fumble. It was the kind of performance that might not have beaten a good team. But the Aggies were not playing a good team, and they knew it.
"We're a long ways from where we want to be," coach Mike Sherman said.
"I wasn't happy with my performance tonight," quarterback Ryan Tannehill said. "I didn't feel like I played to my top level tonight."
Texas A&M outgained Idaho 350-63 in the first half and built a 27-0 lead. Most of that happened in the second quarter. In the first, it seemed like a game to anybody who was either (a) not paying particularly close attention or (b) actually playing in the game.
It was still 7-0 when the Vandals stuffed an Aggie run for a loss and Vandals linebacker Homer Mauga stomped in celebration in the Aggies backfield the way defensive players sometimes do. He punched the air and looked into the crowd. He was a senior, playing in front of 80,000 on Kyle Field. A moment of glory in a football life.
That was pretty much the only one Saturday night. Idaho quarterback Brian Reader saw a fair portion of the game from his back. The Aggies hit him and hit him and hit him, whether he had the ball or not. The crowd and the speed were too much. He had already thrown a dirt ball to an open receiver when Idaho had its first and last real chance to tie the game. A receiver broke open on the seam with nobody back there. The coverage was busted. Reader overthrew him. Idaho punted.
What did it mean? Well, that's quite the question. Texas A&M's defense looked fast, but there is a strong possibility that was because Idaho's offense was (alarmingly) slow. The Aggies' offense performed as if it was either distracted or disinterested. Drops and turnovers are easily forgotten in blowouts. So it all meant Texas A&M is good enough it doesn't have to worry about teams like Idaho.
Unless you're Mike Sherman.
"The last two ballgames, they scare the heck out of you, because they're very dangerous ballgames," Sherman said. "If you turn the ball over two times like we did, you have a chance of losing that game. Those games really scare me."
His team didn't look scared. So good for A&M. Having beaten SMU and Idaho, the potential for humiliating losses in 2011 is severely depleted. But we don't know the Aggies yet. We don't know whether this defense is for real, we don't know exactly what to make of the offense and we still don't know much about how this group of Aggies will handle being a preseason top 10 team that doesn't get to play the underdog this year.
We're about to find out. A&M plays Oklahoma State and Arkansas the next two weeks. The Aggies will be favored in both games, but they won't be comfortable.
"Our players aren't going to be listening to anybody saying there's a point differential," Sherman said.
This was how the Aggies beat Idaho. It wasn't dazzling, but it was overwhelming. It was the whole boring process of it. It probably wasn't beautiful, but if it was, it was beautiful in the way an assembly line is beautiful.
Which isn't to say the Aggies didn't drop some rivets. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill threw an interception to a defensive lineman, the Aggies' receivers dropped some passes that would have gone for big gains. A&M lost a fumble. It was the kind of performance that might not have beaten a good team. But the Aggies were not playing a good team, and they knew it.
"We're a long ways from where we want to be," coach Mike Sherman said.
"I wasn't happy with my performance tonight," quarterback Ryan Tannehill said. "I didn't feel like I played to my top level tonight."
Texas A&M outgained Idaho 350-63 in the first half and built a 27-0 lead. Most of that happened in the second quarter. In the first, it seemed like a game to anybody who was either (a) not paying particularly close attention or (b) actually playing in the game.
It was still 7-0 when the Vandals stuffed an Aggie run for a loss and Vandals linebacker Homer Mauga stomped in celebration in the Aggies backfield the way defensive players sometimes do. He punched the air and looked into the crowd. He was a senior, playing in front of 80,000 on Kyle Field. A moment of glory in a football life.
That was pretty much the only one Saturday night. Idaho quarterback Brian Reader saw a fair portion of the game from his back. The Aggies hit him and hit him and hit him, whether he had the ball or not. The crowd and the speed were too much. He had already thrown a dirt ball to an open receiver when Idaho had its first and last real chance to tie the game. A receiver broke open on the seam with nobody back there. The coverage was busted. Reader overthrew him. Idaho punted.
What did it mean? Well, that's quite the question. Texas A&M's defense looked fast, but there is a strong possibility that was because Idaho's offense was (alarmingly) slow. The Aggies' offense performed as if it was either distracted or disinterested. Drops and turnovers are easily forgotten in blowouts. So it all meant Texas A&M is good enough it doesn't have to worry about teams like Idaho.
Unless you're Mike Sherman.
"The last two ballgames, they scare the heck out of you, because they're very dangerous ballgames," Sherman said. "If you turn the ball over two times like we did, you have a chance of losing that game. Those games really scare me."
His team didn't look scared. So good for A&M. Having beaten SMU and Idaho, the potential for humiliating losses in 2011 is severely depleted. But we don't know the Aggies yet. We don't know whether this defense is for real, we don't know exactly what to make of the offense and we still don't know much about how this group of Aggies will handle being a preseason top 10 team that doesn't get to play the underdog this year.
We're about to find out. A&M plays Oklahoma State and Arkansas the next two weeks. The Aggies will be favored in both games, but they won't be comfortable.
"Our players aren't going to be listening to anybody saying there's a point differential," Sherman said.
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