POST-GAME THOUGHTS: Texas A&M Aggies outlast Bowling Green with 26-20 win

I think my heart stopped when Le’Veon Moss fouled the ball in the 4th quarter, but the Aggies managed to survive and pull out another win. It wasn’t pretty and I have a feeling a lot of Texas A&M fans will be disappointed.

The Aggies will need to improve dramatically as the conference progresses to avoid a disappointing season, but it’s better to talk about improvement after a win than after a loss.

Marcel Reed

NCAA Football: Bowling Green at Texas A&M

Marcel Reed came back down to earth in his second stint as quarterback for Texas A&M. The throws weren’t great for Reed, but his legs made some good plays. He’ll need to be more accurate as the Aggies get into conference play.

Reed had 91 yards on the ground and considering the struggles in the air, his running was great. In the air, Reed was 16/29 for 179 yards and two touchdowns.

Offensive line

The first half was this team’s worst performance of the season, as Texas A&M struggled to get anything going in the run game. The pass defense was a little better, but after completely dominating the Florida Gators last week, this was a disappointing performance. Texas A&M also lost TJ Shanahan early, who was replaced at center by Kolinu’u Faaiu. This is the second significant injury for Texas A&M at the position, as Mark Nabou is already out for the year.

The running game was better in the second half, but only slightly. If A&M wants to be competitive in SEC play, it will have to try much harder the rest of the season.

Setting the edge

The Aggies once again struggled to maintain control of the running game this week, a worrying trend going forward as they will face teams in the conference that are much faster in the running game.

Texas A&M definitely needs to get better at perimeter protection as the season progresses, because another performance like this would spell disaster for the Aggies against teams like Mizzou and LSU who can capitalize on it.

Get to work

Bowling Green had the ball and good field position for much of the first half. It was impressive that Texas A&M limited the damage to just three points in the first half. This game easily could have been just a one-point lead at halftime if this defense hadn’t risen to the occasion.

In the third quarter, Bowling Green blocked a punt and had a first and goal. The Aggies again stepped up and forced a field goal – a kick that the Falcons missed to maintain their 20-17 lead. The Aggies scored a field goal on the next possession to take a 23-17 lead.

The defense limited the Bowling Green offense to just 89 yards of rushing. That’s something to build on.

Harrold Fannin Jr.

I have to mention Bowling Green’s star tight end. He’s a damn good player and gave the Aggies trouble all night. Texas A&M knew he would be a problem from the start. Let that be a lesson for when the Aggies face opponents who can dictate the game later in the season. I’m especially concerned about Mizzou’s Luther Burden.

A win is a win. It wasn’t an impressive performance, but the Aggies got the job done. We move on to next week.