Heading into Tuscaloosa, Texas A&M leaves no doubt

STARKVILLE, Miss. — The decibel levels produced from relentless clanging of cowbells seemed to indicate a massive herd was stampeding through the Davis Wade Stadium bleachers Saturday morning.

But that was before Texas A&M’s offense did some stampeding of its own.

Ben Malena, Christine Michael and Johnny Manziel ran for touchdowns to stake A&M to a 21-point lead before noon. By halftime of a dominant, 38-13 college football victory over Mississippi State — the Aggies’ second straight lopsided triumph — there was only the lonely clanging of one last bell. It was as if a sole remaining steer was limping toward the meat grinder.

That’s how good the 16th-ranked Aggies have gotten. And they insist they can get much better.

“We have a lot of things that we can still clean up,” senior linebacker Sean Porter said. “We haven’t reached our potential yet.”

How silly those August concerns of Texas A&M’s ability to compete in the Southeastern Conference seem now. After chasing a 63-21 blowout of Auburn with a 38-point outburst against Mississippi State, which just two weeks ago was undefeated and ranked 12th in the nation, the (7-2) Aggies are closing in on the top 15 and could make a run at the top 10.

They even appear a legitimate threat to No. 1 Alabama, which A&M faces next week in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama has the nation’s best defense, but the Crimson Tide hasn’t faced an offensive unit as lethal as A&M’s. The Aggies could be the irresistible force that moves the immovable object.

It’s a classic confrontation. Are the upstart Aggies ready to challenge the defending national champions? How confident are they? What would it take to frustrate Crimson Tide quarterback A.J. McCarron and slow Alabama’s running game?

Those are all intriguing questions that beg for answers.

But first-year coach Kevin Sumlin has a 24-hour rule. It provides a window for celebration. His players aren’t allowed to turn their attention to the next opponent until that window is closed.

He wasn’t about to change that rule now.

“We have done things the same way every week,” Sumlin said. “The more you win, the bigger the games get week by week. Consistency in preparation is the key for us. We will approach this week just like we have done every other week.”

So, the Aggies wouldn’t look ahead to next Saturday. And perhaps that was good if only because this Saturday’s game was so eventful.

It started with Mississippi State using the game as occasion to commemorate its 43-41 Independence Bowl victory over A&M in 2000 which was played in a freak snowstorm. The Bulldogs wore snow white uniforms. The cowbell-clanging fans were decked out in snow white T-shirts. They should have brought white flags, too.

Meanwhile, the Aggies bucked tradition — usually seen as blasphemy in College Station — by wearing all black uniforms instead of the traditional maroon and white.

Sumlin said the Aggies were psyched up for the black-on-black look and that might have contributed to their fast start. Seriously, who knows what goes on in the mind of 20- and 21-year-olds.

“When they first brought the uniforms in, there was screaming and yelling like we had just won a game,” junior defensive end Damontre Moore said. “There were rumors we would have the all-black uniforms at the beginning of the season, so when we didn’t get them we were disappointed. When they brought these out they caught us off guard.”

The Aggies weren’t caught off guard nearly as much as the Bulldogs were.

After forcing a punt on Mississippi State’s first possession, the Aggies methodically marched 72 yards in 10 plays for Malena’s 1-yard touchdown run and a 7-0 lead. Another defensive stop led to another scoring drive that Michael capped with a 22-yard scoring run, which featured an ankle-breaking cut back that left Mississippi State players dumfounded.

Then, another defensive stop set up a third straight touchdown, which was scored on the game’s most outstanding play. Facing third-and-10 at the Mississippi State 37-yard line, Manziel dropped to pass but instead scrambled into the open field and weaved his way for a touchdown with nearly 12 minutes remaining in the second quarter.

Predictably, no replay was shown on the scoreboard Jumbotron.

It was just another spectacular play in a spectacular season for the redshirt freshman that may soon start getting the recognition as a bona fide Heisman Trophy candidate that he so much deserves.

Manziel completed 30 of 36 passes for 311 yards against an accomplished Mississippi State secondary that includes All-American cornerback Jonathan Banks. Manziel also rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns.

“Manziel … he is a ball player,” Banks said. “He did a great job managing the offense. They got the job done.”

The Aggies added a short Taylor Bertolet field goal just before halftime. And in the second half Michael and Manziel each added touchdowns.

But Bertolet also missed two field goals. Manziel lost a questionable fumble into the end zone to squelch a scoring opportunity. The defense gave up two touchdowns in the second half.

“We were a little sloppy in the second half,” Sumlin said. “We have to continue to work on our kicking game. We left some points out there, field goal-wise, before the half and in the second half. We missed some tackles in the second half. There are a lot of things that we can continue to get better at.”

That’s what is so impressive and perhaps tantalizing about these Aggies. They score quickly. They play solid defense. They’re reducing mistakes. They’re running. They’re passing. They’re pressuring the quarterback. They even forced Mississippi State quarterback Tyler Russell to throw a rare interception.

And yet, they still insist they can play at a higher level and will work to do so.

But they won’t until at least 24 hours have passed.

“Mondays are big days for us because we’re honest with ourselves,” Sumlin said. “A lot of times when you win, it’s easy to overlook things. These guys have done a really good job of coming in on Monday, putting the last win behind them, learning from their mistakes and trying to improve. As long as we continue to do that and get that type of leadership from our seniors and the guys in the locker room, we’ll continue to get better.”

Maybe they will even get good enough to beat Alabama. They were more than good enough to silence a whole bunch of cowbells.