With less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter, Texas A&M was leading Arkansas by one possession, and head coach Jimbo Fisher wasn’t happy about it.
A&M had several missed opportunities in the red zone, narrowing their victory. Eight of the 12 A&M possessions resulted in a turnover, punt or missed field goal.
Fisher, who has been animated on the sidelines all season, was visibly angry with his team following the 24-17 victory over Arkansas. In the postgame press conference, Fisher said he was glad to get the win, but wasn’t pleased with the fundamental aspects of the game.
“I’ve got to continue to teach, educate and make sure that doesn’t happen,” Fisher said. “We’ve got to get better.”
Junior linebacker Tyrel Dodson was on the receiving end of one of Fisher’s teaching moments. Dodson got into an argument with an Arkansas player following a punt in the third quarter, prompting Fisher to grab Dodson by the face mask and reprimand him mid-game.
Fisher said he won’t tolerate one of his defensive leaders risking a flag or ejection over an argument.
“He is a great player,” Fisher said. “Emotions get in football. It’s an emotional game. But you’ve got to play intelligently.”
The incident caught the attention of spectators and players alike, including senior defensive lineman Daylon Mack.
“I guess that would be the most animated he’s been in the middle of a game,” Mack said. “But we’ve seen more.”
As reactions to Fisher’s outburst began to swirl on social media, Dodson provided his own take on the situation via Twitter.
“Coach Fisher is an amazing coach,” Dodson wrote. “He did the right thing. I let my emotions get the best of me at that certain moment.”
Junior running back Trayveon Williams said the team was aware that Fisher was unimpressed with their performance.
“We weren’t consistent,” Williams said. “Throughout the game, he was preaching on me, ‘We’ve got to finish. We’ve got to do the right things.’”
Fisher said if the Aggies are going to have a chance in the grueling SEC West, the team will need to make adjustments before next week.
“I don’t know if it was a step backward — we just didn’t play very well,” Fisher said. “We have got a lot of things we’ve got to fix and work on if we’re going to play in this league and play at a high level.”
Texas A&M will host No. 17 Kentucky at home on Saturday.