Momentum Shifts: Feeling frustrated and encouraged at the same time

Man, That one stung, didn’t it?

I know we can all agree on that, and I can guarantee you that every single person inside the Bright Complex (players, coaches, equipment staff, trainers, strength & conditioning, academic team, nutrition, media) is feeling that sting more than us fans.

That was a hard-fought, SEC West battle, played on national TV in front of millions of college football fans. There are so many opinions and hot takes from A&M fans, national talking heads, commentators, former players, etc.

One thing everybody can say is that these young men on the Texas A&M football team played their hearts out.

I’m super proud of them and the way they played. I’m encouraged by the fight they showed, especially on the road, playing without so many starters and key players and with so much youth on the field. They played with toughness. They played with hunger and a desire to win. They played like a young team with something to prove.

Writing this article can be extremely challenging to do following a loss, especially a loss to the No. 1 team in the country, on the road, with a chance to win the game as time expires.

It’s challenging for a lot of reasons. One of those is trying to pick one play or series that potentially singles out a young man or two that is laying it on the line.

I don’t ever want to be perceived as a person (or former player) that tries to crap on the program that I love so much, especially those young men whose shoes I was once in. I know firsthand what it’s like to receive a ton of negative feedback from fans and to be disrespected by strangers that don’t know anything about me. I also know what it is like to receive praise and compliments from strangers, as well.

That is part of the game and part of what everyone that plays sports signs up for. It comes with the territory of playing a sport that generates hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

I will always try and highlight Texas A&M University and our football program. I love it as much as anyone. If you know me or anything about me, you have no doubt that I want nothing but the best for this program. I am blessed enough to travel the state and country to speak about how my life has changed because I had the opportunity to play here. I believe the people of Texas A&M and the core values of our school are second to none. That will never change.

At the same time, I think it is OK to be very frustrated and very encouraged after what we watched on Saturday night. I believe it is possible to experience both emotions at the same time.

If you will, do me this favor and follow along with why there are some frustrations with where we are as an offense. I’ll get to the obvious momentum-changing play in a bit.

As it stands right now, in year five of the Jimbo Fisher era, coming off of four consecutive top-10 recruiting classes, the Texas A&M offense is dead last in the SEC.

We are 14th out of 14 in total offense.
We are 13th out of 14 in scoring offense. 
We are 12th out of 14 in passing offense.
We are 12th out of 14 in rushing offense.

In the entire country, we are 131st in offensive plays per game.
We are 116th in the nation in time of possession.
In third-down conversions, we are 95th.

In our last two games, our first seven drives resulted in punts, and those drives averaged five plays or less and only 20 yards. With Saturday's game, A&M punted on its first five drives, all lasting an average of about two minutes or less.

Our defense fought like hell and created four turnovers in that football game and also made more than enough plays for us to win that game. They gave our offense short fields and momentum multiple times.

I’m the biggest Jimbo Fisher fan of the bunch!

Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports

Jimbo Fisher is one of two former Nick Saban assistants to beat the seven-time national champion, and on Saturday, he almost beat him a second time.

I think the man is a phenomenal head coach, a phenomenal recruiter and a genuinely good person. I think he is a great fit for this university. I can tell he gets along with and relates to all players and their families, and he has proven he can win at the highest level in college football.

All that can be true, and it can also be OK for frustrations with the lack of production from this offense. It’s OK for those to be unacceptable results from our offense — in the system that he has built — five years into this thing.

The only teams in the country that recruit better than us are Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State, yet our production level on offense isn’t even in the same atmosphere and hasn’t been for almost two years.

I don’t know what the answer is, but I do know we have to get better and will never win big with that type of production on offense. Is that being too critical, or is that just pointing out the obvious?

I believe that he is building something extremely special in the Bright Complex. I believe and have now seen the amount of young talent on both sides of the ball. The roster is talented enough to win very big. Right now. Today. As it stands. There is absolutely no doubt about that.

As far as the play or series that altered the outcome of the game, that play for me is obviously the ill-advised throw that resulted in a turnover and led to three points for Alabama before the half. That hurt bad. I know Haynes King was running for his life and trying to make something happen, but you have to get rid of that ball and live to fight another day.

We had all momentum.

We had battled back and created multiple turnovers to tie the game. There was only a minute or so left, and we gifted them those points. If that didn’t happen, instead of trying to draw up a play with two seconds left, we are all watching another game-winning field goal against Alabama as time expires.

Jamie Maury, TexAgs

Haynes King passed for 253 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s loss to Alabama.

But let me say this: #13 fought his freaking butt off on Saturday night.

That young man wants to win, and he cares. I absolutely love his passion and toughness, and I think he can lead this team with that type of effort.

I’ll finish with this: If any of you like to read, I encourage you to read “Good to Great” by Jim Collins. It is an older book but a very humbling and convicting read. It’s a leadership book about why some companies make the leap from good to great, while others don’t. Fascinating. 

As I think about the many areas of Jimbo Fisher’s resume and make-up as a coach that are great but how lately the offensive system has struggled, I’m reminded of a few quotes from the book that challenged me in my own life.

“It is very important to grasp that Level 5 leadership is not just about humility and modesty. It is equally about ferocious resolve, an almost stoic determination to do whatever needs to be done to make the company great.“

The other is a quote Collins shared comes from Harry S. Truman: ”You can accomplish anything in life, provided that you do not mind who gets the credit.”

Jimbo has brought us to levels of talent we have never seen. We’ve recruited like we never have in the past. We have had some awesome momentum and some big-time wins. If he makes a few small tweaks, I think this truly explodes in the future.

I trust that he will do whatever is necessary to take this program from good to great. I will continue to support him and this football team, regardless of any frustrations, and I believe that he will do all he can to put this talented young football team in a position to win big.

BTHObyeweek