Learned, Loved, Loathed: Texas A&M 41, Florida 38

Kellen Mond was excellent. Isaiah Spiller was explosive. Seth Small was exact. As a result, the Aggies were exultant.

Texas A&M’s 41-38 victory over No. 4 Florida on Saturday showed coach Jimbo Fisher’s Aggies can defeat highly-ranked opponents.

That wasn’t all the Aggies showed in a performance from which much could be learned, loved and even loathed.

What we learned

Texas A&M is a College Football Playoff contender: Defeating No. 4 Florida impressed everybody, especially the members of the playoff committee. Florida was widely thought to be a national championship contender. Obviously, nothing can be taken for granted, but now, the Aggies likely will be favored in the remainder of its games. A 9-1 finish is a legitimate possibility.

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Chapman showed he could be a big-play target for Mond.

Kellen Mond can throw deep: A dearth of long completions has been a point of criticism for Mond. He responded to that criticism in a big way. Mond had a 49-yard completion to Caleb Chapman on the Aggies’ fourth play. That set up a Mond touchdown pass to Chase Lane. Mond had a 30-yard completion to Ainias Smith on the Aggies’ next series. That set up a touchdown pass to Chapman. In the fourth quarter, Mond hit Chapman with a 51-yard touchdown pass that forged a 38-38 tie. In the best game of his collegiate career, Mond completed 25 of 35 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns.

Isaiah Spiller and Ainias Smith should always be on the field: Both are running backs, so often one is not in the game. That should change. Smith is a proven big-play threat. Spiller proved something, too. He proved to be one of the best running backs in the SEC, if not the nation. Spiller rushed for 174 yards and a couple of touchdowns. He showed speed and power throughout the game, particularly on a 19-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. He trucked linebacker Ventrell Miller two yards past the line of scrimmage and then raced past Florida defensive backs into the end zone.

What I loved

A&M’s third down efficiency: Who wouldn’t love what the Aggies did on the “money” down. The Aggies converted 12 times on third down. Three touchdowns came on third down.

Offensive line play: A&M’s offensive line has been maligned at times. Its showing against Florida has to be praised. Dan Moore, Kenyon Green, Ryan McCollum, Jared Hocker and Carson Green controlled the line of scrimmage. A&M rushed for 205 yards, while averaging 5.4 yards per carry. Also, the line did not allow a sack and only marginal pressure to Florida, which had posted four sacks in each of its first two games.

Caleb Chapman: The sophomore receiver entered this season with just six career catches. He exceeded that total against the Gators. Chapman had nine catches for 151 yards and two touchdowns. He emerged as another big play threat, which brings us to …

What I loathed

Chapman’s possible injury: He came up limping after his 51-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter. He reportedly endured some type of knee injury. His status is uncertain.

Penalites: The Aggies were penalized five times for 67 yards. Five penalties aren’t necessarily alarming, but three were on defense. All three of the defensive infractions aided Florida scoring drives. One nullified an A&M interception.

Clock management: The Aggies called three timeouts in the first half with the clock stopped. One came immediately after Mond had spiked the football to stop the clock. As a result, the Aggies were forced to settle for a 19-yard Seth Small field goal on the final play of the first half rather than try to reach the end zone from the 2-yard line.