Walk in your Swamp, take over your Swamp.
That’s a big, big win for this Texas A&M group early in the 2024 season.
The Aggies moseyed on into hostile conditions to take on a desperate, reeling Florida Gators squad and completely took over that game from the jump with a level of control that I haven’t seen on the road in almost three years, rolling to a 33-20 win that wasn’t nearly as close as the score indicates (Texas A&M played a lot of prevent defense at the end, which allowed Florida to drive a few times and get some more points after it was 33-7 late in the third quarter).
Led by a punishing, powerful run game and an inspired performance from emergency starter Marcel Reed, Texas A&M finally broke their road woes to a much-needed win this early in the Elko Era, despite a lightning delay and horrendously rainy conditions for the better part of the afternoon. And for the first time since October 16, 2021, the Aggies and the 12th Man got to saw ‘em off wearing the white jerseys.
Yes, I know this Florida team sucks. No, I don’t care. It feels great.
Now that A&M has their first SEC win and first Power 4 win under Mike Elko, the Ags will look to keep building on this with one final (supposed) tune-up before SEC play kicks into high gear. But for now, it’s been a sweet few days post-victory and just reveling in the fact that we won a road game. It’s kinda sad to say that out loud for a program like A&M, but that’s a really important stepping stone to hit. A win is a win is a win.
Let’s debrief this victory with some of the key takeaways I was able to draw.
Marcel Reed
Can’t start with talking about anyone else but 10.
Reed was announced as the emergency starter literal minutes before the game after Conner Weigman couldn’t go, and the redshirt freshman put on a really impressive performance in relief, on short notice, and on the road in his first regular-season game. He starred en route to SEC Freshman of the Week recognition, completing 11 of 17 passes for 178 yards and 2 touchdowns, while also adding 83 yards and a score on the ground on 13 carries.
Not bad for a first SEC start, huh?
Reed played with incredible poise and decisiveness against the Gators and silencing a hostile environment from essentially the jump. He particularly continued to impress me as a runner, especially since Florida were blitzing the hell out of him early on. His ability to escape the pocket when a free blitzer got through the line and his danger to defenses in the open field add a really intriguing dynamic to this Texas A&M offense. It was evident from the start - that 2nd-and-21 scramble for 31 yards kinda set the tone for the rest of the game.
It helps that he also juked Florida DB DJ Douglas out of his shoes, which… uh… the announcers enjoyed maybe a little bit too much.
He also showed some flashes with his arm early in the game. That 73-yard touchdown bomb to Cyrus Allen, the first down on the opening drive to Moose Muhammad, and his 29-yard touchdown dart to Theo Melin Öhrström were all throws that really raised my eyebrows. Over the game, it felt like offensive coordinator Collin Klein started to trust him more and more leading that offense. There are still some points to clean up as a passer, but his first conference start and win now brings a lot of optimism around the offense for the future.
He’s done enough to spark at least a conversation surrounding the QB spot.
I do think Weigman is a better pocket passer and is somewhat athletic in his own right - after all, he won the starting job for a reason - but Reed’s command, athleticism, and playmaking ability in the playing time he has earned in his short tenure so far in College Station, along with how smoothly the offense ran on Saturday, have really thrown a little (maybe big) wrinkle into this position.
Reed has proven himself to be a capable starter in just three collegiate appearances. I also believe that now, Texas A&M doesn’t have to rush Weigman back to the field. #10 has shown he can hold down the fort with ease.
It puts Mike Elko, Collin Klein, and the coaching staff in an unenviable spot to decide a starter. I mean, Klein has worked with two quarterbacks before. It could be done here as well. They’ve got a legit decision to make.
But for now, let’s give Marcel Reed his flowers. He deserves them and then some.
Adam Cushing
Adam Cushing might be the savior of this football program.
His transformation of the offensive line has been nothing short of basically a complete 180. From possibly the biggest weakness on this football team the past two seasons to now basically the identity of the offense and this program, mauling people up front and allowing this offense to operate with ease, especially in the last two weeks.
It was always a coaching problem, never a talent one. And it’s a testament to Cushing’s tutelage that such a drastic turnaround so far has been so rapid.
Chase Bisontis looks like the stud that this coaching staff projected him to be at left guard. Ar’Maj Reed-Adams was a crucial pickup at right guard. Trey Zuhn continues to flourish at left tackle, like he did last year. Koli Faaiu and TJ Shanahan look good splitting center reps. Reuben Fatheree has had a nice bounce-back, and Dametrious Crownover also looks solid at right tackle.
Over the past two seasons with that terrorist Steve Addazio “coaching” them, the Texas A&M offensive line led the nation in QB hits allowed and finished outside the top 70 in fewest sacks allowed and the top 75 in rushing offense. This season? The five up front has only given up one QB hit, one sack, ranks third in the country in fewest tackles for loss allowed, and is ninth in rushing offense.
It’s time to bring back the Maroon Goons moniker. And the Goons were gooning all afternoon in Gainesville (Goonsville?).
And it’s all thanks to that man Adam Cushing.
The Running Game
The conditions in Gainesville Saturday afternoon were dreadful. The rain poured basically all game long, it was muggy, and overall the playing surface was miserable.
Basically peak football weather. And you know what that means!
Run the damn ball. Texas A&M did just that, and they did it at a premier level once again.
After running for 333 yards against McNeese State, the Aggies followed that up with a 310-yard performance on the ground. Led by Le’Veon Moss’s 110 yards on 18 carries, Marcel Reed’s 83 yards on 13 totes, and 68 yards from Amari Daniels on 13 tries, Texas A&M just ran the ball down Florida’s throats all day en route to the W. If people wanted to point out Reed’s low passing yardage total, it was because he didn’t really even need to throw the ball - the Ags were just so proficient running it that they kept doing it for the whole game.
Moss and Daniels look really, really good so far, man. #8 looks like a legit NFL running back - he’s got a blend of power and athleticism that allows him to be a really viable threat on any down, while Daniels is more of the lightning of that duo with his speed. Also, a lot of the credit has to go to the offensive line - their blocking has been excellent. Just look at the 99-yard touchdown drive at the end of the first half. Florida couldn’t get off blocks! A&M was just able to run, run, run all the way down the field and basically end things after the first 30 minutes.
When Collin Klein was hired, a lot of the fanfare around him had to do with his exotic run looks and the success that Kansas State had running them. Now, it feels like Texas A&M is following in those footsteps, and it really seems like the identity of this offense is starting to be established.
The Front Six
The guys on the d-line and at linebacker played fast, man. Both in the run and pass game.
I was a little worried how the Aggies would handle a solid SEC running back in Montrell Johnson and the dynamic DJ Lagway, but they kinda made their lives hell for 60 minutes. Johnson finished with negative rushing yards after averaging almost 7 yards an attempt heading into this one. Florida finished with just 52 rushing yards in the game.
The defensive line played like animals all game. Nic Scourton and the Shemars really got after it. Rodas Johnson was impressive, as well. Cashius Howell was able to get his first sack in the Maroon and White. Rylan Kennedy continued to shine in the rotational reps he got. It was a tremendous performance from them to shut down the run and make the Gators one-dimensional.
I also really liked how Taurean York and Scooby Williams flew around as well. Against his former squad, #0 was flying, and the captain York played with a fire and intensity I hadn’t seen from him since he stepped on the field for the first time as an Aggie, really shit-talking Lagway and being extremely vocal.
The front six had a really great day at the office, and they set the tone for the defense as a whole to have a really good showing on the road.
Randy Bond
I just had to go and nitpick one thing, right?
Listen, I think Randy Bond has been solid to start the season. It helps when Texas A&M actually hired a special teams coordinator this offseason rather than just leaving it up to some random assistant. He’s got a cannon of a leg, and he looked good through the first half of Saturday’s contest.
I know that the conditions at The Swamp were particularly nasty, but c’mon Randy. You gotta be consistent with your field goal attempts.
He missed two 40-yarders - kicks which he can very much make - after hitting a 48-yarder earlier in the contest. He just gotta be more consistent/accurate. Please.
Prevent Defense
Texas A&M had damn near-complete control of this game basically from the jump. The Aggies went up 20-0 at the half and were up 33-7 in the third quarter.
But then they kinda took their foot off the gas a little bit to end the game to produce a misleading scoreline for how dominant the Maroon and White were. They were letting up some big passing plays particularly on crossers late in the game, which had to do a little with how conservative the defensive play-calling was as the contest was winding up.
I know that the game was basically over and that this is kind of a nitpick more than anything, but I just wanted to see A&M keep their foot on the gas to the finish. Was just a bit annoyed about the prevent defense that was being called late in this one.
It’s not really the secondary’s fault, either, because they made some really big plays in this one, namely the Bryce Anderson pick-six, a late interception from Jayvon Thomas, Marcus Ratcliffe continuing to do a little bit of everything, and a critical breakup from Will Lee to lead to that defensive touchdown.
Just wanted the play-calling on defense to not be prevent. But hey, we move.
That’ll basically do it for this game. A couple of other quick points before I go:
Loved seeing Theo Melin Öhrström get his first career touchdown. Feels like he’s earning a bigger role in the offense by the week.
Dalton Brooks - dude. Pick up your head next time you tackle. That’s two targeting penalties in three games. For the sake of this team and your health.
I’d argue that Marcus Ratcliffe has been Texas A&M’s MVP through three games so far. He’s been absolutely incredible in the secondary to start 2024. Other candidates have been Will Lee and Le’Veon Moss.
EJ Smith getting carries against the school his dad played for was super cool to witness. He didn’t do too shabby, either!
Anyways, see you all in a few days for the Bowling Green preview. Take care!
-Sourav