By ROBERT CESSNAOFFENSE: A-
What went right: Texas A&M ran the ball right at Texas Tech with authority. The push by the offensive line was constant while Cyrus Gray (25 carries-131 yards, 3 TDs) and Christine Michael (22-121, 2 TDs) hit their holes hard. Jerrod Johnson was by far the best quarterback on the field.
What went wrong: The fumble on the first play from scrimmage could have been a killer.
Bottom line: Gray and Michael each rushed for more yards than Tech was allowing per game (101.9), which ranked the Red Raiders 24th in the country in run defense.
DEFENSE: A-
What went right: A&M forced five turnovers and was able to get pressure on Tech's quarterbacks without blitzing, which prevented big plays. Tech had only one pass completion longer than 26 yards.
What went wrong: Tech scored too easy for its 7-0 lead, turning what should have been an 8-yard pass into a 56-yard touchdown.
Bottom line: A&M was relentless in chasing the ball and tackled well in space. There were a few hiccups, but the Aggies found a way to get rid of them.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B-
What went right: Freshman punter Ryan Epperson averaged 38.2 yards in his Aggie debut. Randy Bullock hit a 22-yard field goal that A&M had to have at the time.
What went wrong: A personal foul penalty on Sean Porter set up a short field for Tech, which cut A&M's lead to 38-22. A&M gave up a 37-yard kickoff return by Eric Stephens with the score tied at 14.
Bottom line: The Aggies weren't spectacular, just efficient.
COACHING: A
What went right: The offensive line alignment of Evan Eike and Patrick Lewis at guards fit nicely with the three seniors -- Michael Shumard and Lee Grimes at tackles and Kevin Matthews at center. A&M didn't get away from the run this time, instead enhancing it with Johnson (10 carries-71 yards) making several big runs himself, especially on designed, well-timed quarterback draws. The defense kept rotating players with seemingly a different hero each possession.
What went wrong: Very little. A&M converted 8 of 13 third downs while Tech was 4 of 13. That's having the right people in the right place at the right time.
Bottom line: About half of A&M's players enjoyed their first Lubbock experience because they were well prepared.
OVERALL: A
What went right: Just about everything. Tech was poised for a record-setting night, but the Aggies wrecked it with an effort they'll talk about for years.
What went wrong: Other than there not being enough Aggies in the stadium to enjoy it and it not being on TV, nothing.
Bottom line: Somewhere from Manhattan, Kan., to Lubbock, the Aggies found a football team. Now they need to bring it back to Kyle Field for a matchup with those amazing Iowa State Cyclones.
Notice about comments:
Theeagle.com is pleased to offer readers the ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. theeagle.com cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not theeagle.com. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "report abuse" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website. Full terms and conditions can be read here.
Aggiesports.com is proud to offer our users enhanced commenting features. You can now build user-to-user connections, follow friends’ recent posts, add an avatar that fits your personality and more. If you have posted here before you’ll need to sign up again, and if you’ve never posted start now by signing up! If you've already registered for the new comments on www.theeagle.com then just use your Eagle username to log in and start commenting.
