No. 16 Texas A&M topped Lamar 62-3 on Saturday in its last game before conference play kicks off. Here’s what we learned.
A&M’s run game finds success without Corbin
There were many questions surrounding the strength of A&M’s run game after the Aggies lost sophomore running back Jashaun Corbin to a hamstring injury last weekend. Those were mostly answered as freshman Isaiah Spiller and sophomore Jacob Kibodi stepped up to fill that role. The Aggies had 223 rushing yards against the Cardinals, and Spiller led with 116, adding two touchdowns. Kibodi had 45 yards and one touchdown.
“Each and every time [Spiller] goes out there, he’s getting better,” A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher said. “He’s never perfect because there’s a lot to learn. But you can’t complain about a guy who’s had two 100-yard games now.”
Mond bounced back from Clemson struggles
After struggling to get the offense rolling against No. 1 Clemson, junior quarterback Kellen Mond was more in control on Saturday. He threw 20-of-28, much improved from the 24-of-42 he threw last weekend against the Tigers. In the third quarter, Mond became the ninth player in A&M history to reach 5,000 career passing yards as he had 317 yards and one passing touchdown.
“Kellen had a tough week mentally, but it was a great confidence builder and just reminded him it’s just football, at the end of the day,” junior wide receiver Jhamon Ausbon said. “It’s just football and going out there and executing plays. No special plays or no special techniques are going to be needed. It’s just doing your job on each play.”
Penalties continue to be an issue
The Aggies had seven penalties for 53 yards against the Cardinals, following up last weekend’s nine penalties for 85 yards against Clemson. With Southeastern Conference play on the horizon, that high number of penalties will become increasingly costly.
“We still need to be a little cleaner on offense, but I’ve never been in an offensive game that I thought shouldn’t have been cleaner,” Fisher said.