By ROBERT CESSNAA&M head football coach Mike Sherman said Saturday's 36-31 loss to 15th-ranked Oklahoma State wasn't a moral victory. He's right. Moral victories went out with bell-bottoms.
You have to find a way to win close games, especially when you're playing at home. The failed plays haunt you.
What if Jamie McCoy makes a fourth-down touchdown catch just before halftime? What if A&M had opted to run the ball from the 1-yard line instead of throwing it twice? What if Randy Bullock had hit that 32-yard field goal? What if A&M could have gotten one more stop and got the ball back?
"What ifs" are part of the maturation process of a program starting seven freshmen and five sophomores. Sherman said the team fully expected to win, but the majority of the program's players haven't experienced that kind of success.
Saturday, they learned a little more about what it will take to beat a quality team.
Oklahoma State, which started 15 seniors, already understands that. Those players have won two bowl games and are gunning for the program's fourth straight winning season.
But let's not forget that A&M probably wins the game if wide receiver Jeff Fuller, offensive tackle Michael Shumard and free safety Jordan Pugh are healthy enough to play.
The Cowboys, though, won the Big 12 opener without All-America wide receiver Dez Bryant and all-conference running back Kendall Hunter.
Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy said he'd like to think his program has progressed to the point it can win without a soon-to-be NFL first-round pick like Bryant. Gundy failed to include Hunter, not as a slight, but because Keith Toston powered his way through A&M's defense for 130 yards on 26 carries. Hunter indeed was missed, but he also was effectively replaced.
A&M's program hasn't advanced to the point it can be missing a lot of key performers and still beat a quality team.
The three missing A&M players have a combined 61 starts. The guys who took their place had a combined two starts. That's just too much of a gap to bridge against a team as experienced and talented as OSU.
Building a winning program involves more than just plugging in players for those injured or suspended. The other starters and coaching staff also have to help pick up the slack, which OSU did Saturday.
Senior quarterback Zac Robinson was superb in the second half, mixing talent and moxie in leading the Cowboys to four straight productive drives that got three touchdowns and ran out the game's final 3 minutes, 35 seconds.
He was the best quarterback on Kyle Field in large part because he had the best supporting cast.
A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson continues to get better with his decision-making and ability to make big plays. He's set a Big 12 record for most pass attempts without an interception, even though Saturday was the second straight game he's played under unbelievable pressure.
"You are only as good as those guys around you," Sherman said. "If you can't protect, if you can't catch, if you can't run, it's hard for a quarterback at different times. When those things are going well, it's a little bit easier for a quarterback."
Sherman is confident those days are coming for Johnson. Saturday wasn't one of them, but it was an indication all those around him also are getting better as they learn on the job.
Three decades ago it would have been called a moral victory.
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I stated in Sunday's paper that A&M's last victory over a ranked opponent was Texas in 2006, which was incorrect. It was 2007, also over Texas.
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Sherman's weekly radio will be from 7-8 p.m. Monday at Wings-N-More on University Drive. The show will be broadcast on WTAW (1620 AM).
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Texas A&M dropped two spots nationally to fourth in total offense (512.6 yards per game) behind Houston (569.2 ypg), Texas Tech (521.5 ypg) and Kansas (519.4 ypg). ... A&M is ninth in passing offense (321.8 ypg). ... Johnson is third in total offense (356.2 ypg). ... A&M is 83rd in total defense (387.4 ypg). ... A&M fell four spots to eighth in sacks per game (3.2). ... Von Miller remains the nation's leader in number of sacks (9) and sacks per game (1.8).
Robert Cessna's e-mail address is robert.cessna@theeagle.com.
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The blame game
