Kansas is the worst team in the conference. They are one of the worst Football Bowl Subdivision teams in the country. And the team was the perfect tonic for a struggling Texas A&M team in a 45-10 dismantling Saturday in Lawrence.
Let’s get that out of the way before we heap praise on this 4-3 Aggie squad or anoint junior quarterback Ryan Tannehill as the second-coming.
However, following a tumultuous, turmoil-filled week, Head Coach Mike Sherman’s team dominated a game the team simply had to have. His team eased the criticism and stopped the bleeding, if only for a week.
Against an inferior opponent and in a non-pressure situation, Sherman made the move Aggies everywhere had been begging and imploring for. In replacing struggling senior quarterback Jerrod Johnson with Tannehill in the second quarter, Sherman altered course for the first time in 2010.
“We just wanted to give Ryan a chance to show what he could do,” Sherman said following the win. “… I made the decision after last game…We just lacked consistency, and I thought shaking it up a little bit and getting some competition at the position would be a good thing.”
He also ended talk of a quarterback controversy brewing in Aggieland. Because Tannehill needs to be the guy from here on out.
With bowl eligibility still a major question mark and the brunt of the schedule still on the horizon, this team doesn’t have the slightest clue what they have in Tannehill. For that reason, and that reason alone, No. 17 should be under center for the duration of 2010.
Could he be the spark that lights a fire under this team? Could he restore faith in this season and the direction of the program? Or could Saturday have been merely a mirage? Could he just be another average Aggie signal caller?
Who knows?
Sure he showed a strong arm, good decision-making, sound mechanics and poise in the pocket in a 155-yard, three touchdown performance. But, again, it was Kansas.
It was a team that has been outscored 159-24 in three games. A team that lost to Football Championship Subdivision school North Dakota State in coach Turner Gill’s debut.
“I’ve waited a long time to get in there and finally got my opportunity,” Tannehill said.
Seven games into 2010, these Aggies have been a major disappointment. Sherman’s reluctance to bench his starting quarterback has been bemusing. And the “opportunity” he gave his backup quarterback needs to be a permanent move.
Because with rival Texas Tech, resurgent Baylor and conference powerhouses Oklahoma, Nebraska and Texas still on the docket, the jury is still out: on the team’s resiliency; on Sherman’s job security; on Tannehill’s ability as a quarterback.
For one week, the ship was righted. For one week, Aggie football isn’t crumbling before our eyes.
These next five weeks, however, will tell the real story.