Can the Aggies rebound against Miami?
This isn’t a must win, but it’s the closest we’ve seen to a must win for Jimbo Fisher at A&M.
By: The Hammer
Photo via Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports
The importance of this game for Texas A&M and Jimbo Fisher cannot be overstated. The Aggies got their pants pulled down on live television last weekend by Appalachian State. It was an embarrassing and unacceptable performance in all phases of the game, and A&M has been the laughingstock of college football this week. There is an old saying that goes “winning cures everything.” And it's true. The best way to move on and leave the App State game in the rear view and start winning games, and it begins on Saturday night at Kyle Field.
Mario Cristobal and the Miami Hurricanes are coming to Kyle Field expecting to win this game. The U has sky high expectations this year and the arrival of Cristobal has galvanized fairweather Miami fans far and wide. They have a ton of hype, and national pundits are super high on the Hurricane signal caller Tyler Van Dyke. If Texas A&M plays like they did a week ago, Miami will win this one with ease. It’s high time for Jimbo and this staff to quit messing around and win some damn football games.
The biggest news coming into this one is the announcement that Max Johnson will start at quarterback in place of Haynes King. This was a no brainer. King has been very shaky so far in two games, and there is no more time to figure things out. The quarterback, and entire offense, needs to start producing right now. Otherwise, this team is staring 1-5 in the face with Arkansas, Mississippi State and Alabama looming in the next three weeks. Jimbo Fisher won’t be fired if he loses this game, but it’s as close to a “must win” as we’ve seen in the Fisher era in College Station. Making the move to Max Johnson at least signals that Jimbo knows this because Johnson is a proven commodity.
Perhaps Haynes King has a higher ceiling, but he ran out of time to show that and Fisher had to make the move to a more proven, veteran guy in Johnson. In his two years at LSU, Johnson started 14 games and completed 59.5% of his passes and threw for 35 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions. Those aren’t Heisman numbers but they are a hell of a lot better than what A&M got in 2021 from Calzada and thus far in 2022 from King. Just having a QB who takes care of the football is a massive step in the right direction. I don’t think this offense suddenly becomes dynamic and high flying with Johnson, but it should be a lot more consistent and give the Aggies a chance to win. The offense that we saw against App State doesn’t give the Aggies to win anything.
On the defensive side of the ball, this will be a good test. I think Van Dyke is a little over hyped, but he can push the ball down field and make throws when given time. He’s the best QB the Aggies have faced so far. Van Dyke’s favorite target Xavier Restrepo will be out for this contest so it will be interesting to see who he turns to in a hostile environment. This game will be a good test for the secondary, and I’m hoping we see some guys like Jaylon Jones and Myles Jones return from injury. The Aggie front seven needs to be more disruptive as well. When your offense is struggling, a defense that creates havoc and forces turnovers can be just what the offense needs to get going.
So how am I feeling about this one? In a word: nervous. As I said, this is as close to a must win as we’ve seen in the Jimbo era. It’s a massive game for Texas A&M and I think we should win, but what we should do and what we actually do have not lined up as of late. What really gives me hope here is how we’ve seen A&M play at home when facing adversity in the past. Jimbo is 9-3 following a loss at A&M and Kyle Field will be absolutely bonkers on Saturday night. I don’t think Miami will have seen anything like the atmosphere in Kyle at night, and A&M feeds off that energy. They did it against Bama last year. So between a new QB, the home field advantage and a ton of motivation to not get embarrassed two weeks in a row, I think A&M wins this ball game. It won’t be easy, but I’ve convinced myself that A&M will win this game and I am undoubtedly ready to be hurt again.
Texas A&M 24
Miami 20