After a rough 24-10 loss to No. 1 Clemson, the Aggies will return to Kyle Field to face Lamar on Saturday. Here’s what the players and A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher had to say before this weekend’s game:
Corbin is out for the season
The Aggies were plagued with injuries against the Tigers as Justin Madubuike, Jayden Peevy and Bobby Brown spent time sidelined; however, none was as detrimental as the loss of sophomore running back Jashaun Corbin. Corbin went out of the game in the third quarter and will be out for the rest of the season with a hamstring injury. With the loss of Corbin, the Aggies will be looking to freshman running back Isaiah Spiller and sophomore running back Jacob Kibodi to step up and fill his spot. Madubuike, Peevy and Brown will all return against Lamar.
“Isaiah [Spiller] has played pretty well,” Fisher said. “He can catch, he has all those skill sets [that Corbin does]. So does Kibodi. All of our backs have really good hands.”
Aggies looking to rebuild confidence before SEC play
A&M was extremely confident going into the Clemson game, with left guard Jared Hocker going so far as to promise an upset over the defending national champions. With the way the Aggies struggled on Saturday, they are looking to use this week to rebuild their shaken confidence. A&M takes on Lamar on Saturday and will then kick off SEC play against Auburn on Sept. 21. The team hopes to use this weekend’s game against the Cardinals to build the confidence they lost in the matchup with Clemson.
“This week’s going to tell us a lot about our team and how we come back,” junior wide receiver Jhamon Ausbon said.
Mond disappointed in his performance Saturday
Junior quarterback Kellen Mond was 24-of-42 for 236 yards against Clemson on Saturday — a number much lower than the 430 he posted in last season’s matchup. He struggled most in the first half, opening the game with four incomplete passes. The second half was better for Mond, but he wasn’t able to garner any momentum for the offense. Mond said he takes much of the blame for the offense’s lackluster performance.
“Sometimes you think certain things are fixed,” Mond said. “Coach always says, ‘Go back to your fundamentals.’ We had our drives, but I had a key turnover in the red zone. Key things like that, I have to do a better job of focusing.”
Focus on discipline
The team is focusing on being more disciplined in this weekend’s matchup against Lamar. The Aggies had nine penalties against Clemson on Saturday, with four of those coming from false starts, emphasizing the youth and inexperience along the offensive line.
“In those [big] games, the discipline, the little things that keep drives alive, on offense they kill them,” Fisher said. “We had a couple motion penalties on offense, and those things all magnify themselves when you play good teams.”