Saturday's game was military appreciation night. The flyover was performed by a huge Sikorsky helicopter, the Band did an extended halftime performance, and former President Bush and Secretary Gates presented a former student and Marine Corps Lieutenant with a commendation for his service in Iraq. It added to the night environment at Kyle Field and the crowd of over 85,000 was definitely ready for the game.
WWII Jeeps in honor of Military Appreciation Night
Well, as usual, the great team we saw a week ago was replaced by a lackluster team last night. After completely dominating Nebraska in Lincoln in just about every phase of the game last week, the Ags came home and laid a big egg against Kansas.
All week long, I listened to news commentators and sportscasters talk about how Kansas' Top 10 ranking was suspect and that their great defensive numbers were questionable because they hadn't really played anyone. I listened to 'knowledgeable' people talk about A&M pulling the "upset." All of that turned out to be pointless.
Kansas players getting fired up before the game
To be fair, it wasn't until the second half that Kansas really pulled away. The defense did a great job of keeping Kansas scoreless in the first half. They put a lot of pressure on Kansas QB Reesling and did a pretty good job in coverage. They were a little weak against the run but that was largely because they played back a little to avoid giving up the big plays. Of course, it helped that Kansas missed not one but two field goals, but they couldn't really put together a solid scoring drive in the first half. In the end though, with an A&M offense that couldn't get anything going until the end, the defense was just out there way too long and you knew it was only a matter of time before Kansas started to score.
As mentioned, the A&M offense was pretty much stifled throughout the game. They made only minimal attempts to pass the ball and even then it was mostly short-yardage stuff out to the flats. It was our impression that McGee held onto the ball too much in running the option. Land and Goodson missed a couple of pretty good opportunities. What was most dissappointing was to see the great job Kansas did bottling up Lane. Of course, since the Ags are no threat to pass, Kansas did what Nebraska wouldn't, they put their eight guys in the box to stop the run. Eventually A&M would pass, and with some success, but by then it was too little too late. Despite a promising last-minute A&M drive, Kansas would go on to win the game.
All in all it was a deflating performance. It reminded me of Iowa State a couple of years ago. Once again Francione got a national TV game at home at night. He got a huge turnout (85K+) and a big emotional boost to the crowd via Military Appreciation Night. The former President Bush was on hand along with Secretary of Defense (and former A&M President) Gates. Francione would waste all of that with anemic offensive playcalling and a stubborn refusal to make changes to his game plan.
The guys and I are pretty much convinced we've seen our last realistic shot at a win go out the window...at least until Thanksgiving. Oklahoma is next and we don't realistically see A&M putting up a good struggle against the Sooners. Then the Ags head to Missouri. That also looks to be a tall challenge at this point.
Kansas Coach Mark Mangino
However, since you never know which team shows up, we still haven't completely written off the end of the season. It will be interesting to see how the month of November unfolds.
BTHOou
Patrick
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