Texas A&M eyes repeat of Week 3 history vs. Louisiana Monroe

Discouraged Aggies seeking encouragement can find it in the past — both recent and distant.

Long-suffering fans of Texas A&M football were dealt another blow last weekend when the then-No. 23 Aggies, now 1-1, fell to Miami, 48-33.

The loss extended what has become a disturbing trend of disappointment. Yet, the A&M faithful can look ahead by looking back.

First off, under coach Jimbo Fisher, the Aggies are 5-0 in the third game of the year. That has included a 2020 upset of No. 4 Florida, which ignited an eight-game winning streak.

Similarly, the Aggies rebounded from a second-game loss to Oklahoma in 1993 with a nine-game winning streak. Two years before that in 1991, A&M suffered a stunning loss at Tulsa, but also won nine straight after the fact.

The Aggies hope to begin duplicating that history on Saturday at 3 p.m. when they face Louisiana Monroe (2-0) at Kyle Field.

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An emerging star, Weigman enters Saturday having thrown for 1,468 yards with 15 scores in his first eight games.

The matchup is notable because ULM’s head coach, Terry Bowden, was Fisher’s collegiate coach and later gave Fisher his first coaching job.

Beyond that, the clash seems like a typical early-season mismatch of an SEC team against an overmatched “Group of Five” opponent willing to sacrifice a loss for a big paycheck.

Fisher doesn’t see it that way, though.

“They have a very good team,” Fisher said. “They’re a no-huddle team on offense, who goes fast. They play a lot of three and four wides. The receiver is really a good player for them. The transfer.

They do a good job up front. Big offensive linemen that can maul you. The run counter and zone schemes.

Defensively, they’re unorthodox. They play a lot of different fronts. Sometimes you’ll see one of their backers playing safety, other times he’s linebacker, other times he’s on the edge.”

ULM’s pair of victories came over Army, 17-13, and Lamar, 24-14.

Running back Hunter Smith has posted back-to-back 100-yard rushing games. Receiver Tyrone Howell, a transfer from Kansas State, has caught 13 passes for 132 yards. Defensive tackle Adin Huntington, a transfer from Kent State, has a team-leading 19 tackles. Versatile linebacker Michael Batton, a former quarterback at Katy Seven Lakes High School, has 18 stops.

But realistically, the Aggies are more worried about themselves than their opponent.

Last week, they couldn’t mount much of a pass rush. They blew coverages and missed tackles in the secondary. They turned the ball over three times, missed a field goal and squandered two opportunities for touchdowns.

Still, A&M has major advantages. Quarterback Conner Weigman is playing at a high level. Receivers Evan Stewart, Noah Thomas and Ainias Smith should pose major problems for ULM’s secondary. A&M’s run defense hasn’t allowed an opponent to reach 100 rushing yards this season.

ULM is largely dependent on its running game, so A&M’s 29th-ranked run defense suggests the Aggies could dominate.

Again, Fisher cautions.

“You want to dominate every time you play,” he said. “Every time you go out there as a competitor.

That’s the ‘i’ in win. You’ve got to dominate your position and do it collectively as a unit.

(ULM) is a good team. You want to dominate everybody you play, but that can be tough at times.”

The frustrated Aggies faithful know that all too well. Still, they can expect domination on Saturday. Then, they can hope for a repeat of 2000, 1993 and 1991.