By ROBERT CESSNAWe were reminded several times Saturday night the Texas A&M football team is a work in progress.
There were too many penalties, too many missed tackles, and Utah State had too much yardage, often picking it up in big chunks. That helped turn what should have been a comfortable victory into a less-than inspiring 38-30 verdict over a team picked to finish seventh in the Western Athletic Conference.
It was much different than the 41-6 thumping A&M handed New Mexico in the season opener. But Utah State is vastly better than UNM, which has been outscored 122-29.
Still, unbeaten A&M's first two opponents are now a combined 0-5. This week's foe, Alabama-Birmingham, isn't as bad as UNM, but a victory over winless Rice and losses to Southern Methodist and Troy hardly qualify the Blazers as a quality team.
The good news is we've seen enough in eight quarters to know A&M is making progress in every phase of the game, especially on offense.
A&M's offense is off to a sizzling start, leading the nation with 589.5 yards per game. The Aggies have had 175 snaps and are averaging 6.7 yards per play. A&M has needed less than 2 minutes to score on five of its possessions.
Not counting a couple of kneel-downs, the Aggies have scored on 13 of 26 possessions. Only three times has A&M run three plays and punted. The Aggies haven't had a turnover, but penalties have hampered seven unproductive series.
A&M has had enough firepower to overcome many penalties and has shown great balance in its hurry-up attack (496 yards rushing and 683 passing). The Aggies, though, have thrived against two of the country's worst defenses. New Mexico is 114th (488.7 yards per game) and Utah State is last among 120 Bowl Subdivision teams (546.0).
But it wouldn't have mattered if A&M were playing junior college teams. It still had to execute the plays, which for the most part it's done well.
Eight Aggies have a carry or pass reception of at least 20 yards. The depth will be tested after leading receiver Jeff Fuller cracked his right fibula against Utah State. Fuller (12 catches-136 yards) was off to a great start with seven grabs for first downs and another for a touchdown.
Ryan Tannehill, who has been balancing being a part-time wide receiver and a backup quarterback, could become Johnson's leading target if Fuller has to miss a few games. Fuller shouldn't be missed this week against UAB, which is 110th in the country in total defense (459.7 ypg).
Head coach Mike Sherman isn't concerned where opposing teams are ranked. Nor is does he think about his own defense while making offensive calls or who might be injured. He's intent on building an offense that has the potential to outscore anyone left on the schedule.
However, A&M's ability to get a snap off every 19.7 seconds against Utah State allowed the visiting Aggies to have 94 snaps themselves. That put a lot of pressure on A&M's young defense, which surrendered 521 yards. Defensive coordinator Joe Kines gave up the yardage begrudgingly, substituting defenders at an alarming rate.
His defense eventually forced two incompletions and came up with a sack and forced fumble on the unit's last series to prevent Utah State from a possible miraculous comeback.
"We didn't win it pretty, but you don't get style points -- you either win or lose," Kines said.
At least his defenders are making those mistakes at full speed.
"It's unbelievable how hard these guys are working as young as they are," Kines said. "We are having to force-feed it big time, but we are going to learn from our mistakes and get better."
A&M had 17 players with at least two tackles. That group had nine tackles for losses, five of them sacks.
Despite the positives, A&M dropped to 86th in total defense (376.0). Oklahoma State (No. 90, 382.0) and Colorado (No. 99, 410.0) are the only Big 12 teams worse.
A&M can only get better with experience as Kines juggles the group to find more effective combinations.
The special teams also are vastly improved. There's more speed on the coverage teams, and even more speed in the return game. Ken Wood looks like he can develop into a solid punter and Randy Bullock has hit 3 of 4 field goals, the miss being partially blocked.
Yes, there are concerns about the offensive line and the defense, but Kines has the right idea.
"There's so many nights you can walk away from here with your head down because you would-have, could-have and should-have," he said.
It's much better to walk out of the locker room asking those same questions with your heads head high, which was the case for A&M on Saturday night.
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Saturday's 3-hour, 51-minute game was A&M's longest since a 47-45 overtime victory over Fresno State in the second game of the 2007 season took 4:21. It was the Aggies' longest regulation game since a 49-20 loss to Texas (3:52) to end the 2005 season.
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Defensive end/linebacker Von Miller continues to lead the nation in sacks per game with three. Lindsey Witten of Connecticut has seven in three games to lead in total sacks. ... Christine Michael is fifth in all-purpose running with 196 ypg. ... Arkansas, which will play A&M at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington in two weeks, is No. 2 in total offense (538.0). ... A&M is favored by 15 points over UAB.
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Sherman's weekly radio show is at 7 p.m. Monday on WTAW (1620 AM) and originates from Wings-n-More on University Drive.
Robert Cessna' e-mail address is robert.cessna@theeagle.com.
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