COLLEGE STATION, Texas—Two weeks ago, the Texas A&M Aggies spoke confidently about achieving bowl eligibility and finishing the season strong.
Back-to-back losses have turned optimism into pressure, and A&M (5-5, 2-4 Big 12) has two chances left to earn that elusive sixth win, starting with Saturday’s game against Baylor (4-6, 1-5).
If the Aggies lose to the Bears—who whipped them 41-21 in Waco last year—then they’ll have to upset No. 3 Texas on Thanksgiving to avoid a third losing season since 2005.
“We feel a sense of urgency, just for the fact that the season’s ending,” junior quarterback Jerrod Johnson said. “We have two more games left and we want to win those games. It’s kind of getting down to the last. Of course, the bowl eligibility thing is still on our minds, but we just want to win every game we play.”
Baylor has dropped five of six games since a 3-1 start, but will still have a shot at a bowl game with wins against A&M and then Texas Tech on Nov. 28. The Bears say the possibility of a bowl adds helpful incentive this week.
“It’s huge, every game still matters,” freshman quarterback Nick Florence said. “Last year in this situation, we weren’t going to a bowl game, we were just playing for pride. But this year it’s more than that, so we’re going to practice hard and play for each other. We’re going to leave it all on that field and so are they. They’re in the same boat.”
Both teams are trying to bounce back after humiliating setbacks last week.
The Bears gave away four turnovers—three of them interceptions thrown by Florence—in a 47-14 loss to Texas. Baylor also mustered only 6 yards rushing against the nation’s top-ranked defense.
“With a team like that, we have to play extremely well, pretty error-free and win the three majors: field position, turnovers and momentum,” coach Art Briles said. “I think the outcome shows that we did not do that.”
The Aggies, meanwhile, lost three fumbles in the first half of a 65-10 rout at Oklahoma. The most distressing aspect for A&M coach Mike Sherman was that his team fumbled five times in the game on punt or kick returns.
“We definitely will put extra emphasis, more than we already have, on that part of the game,” Sherman said. “That is very important.”
As long as both offenses can keep the ball, Saturday’s game sets up as a shootout because the defenses are so bad.
Baylor ranks last in the Big 12 in stopping the run (167 yards per game), while A&M has the league’s worst overall defense in both yards (428.2) and points (34) allowed per game.
The Aggies feel fortunate that they won’t have to face quick-footed quarterback Robert Griffin, who accounted for 297 yards and threw two touchdown passes in last year’s Baylor victory. Griffin suffered a knee injury in the Bears’ third game this year, forcing the freshman Florence into the starting role.
But Florence threw for a school record 427 yards in the Bears’ 40-32 win over Missouri on Nov. 7, and the Aggies rank last in the Big 12 in pass defense, giving up 263 yards per game.
A&M defensive coordinator Joe Kines is concerned not only about Florence, but that the Aggies’ defense seems to have stopped improving.
“A couple of weeks ago, I was really pleased with how we were getting better,” Kines said. “Individually, we’ve got some guys still doing that. But this isn’t an individual sport. Collectively, we’ve got to all keep moving forward.”
A&M’s offense, meanwhile, still ranks eighth nationally after its worst game of the season. Johnson completed only 12 of 33 passes for 115 yards in Norman, and the Aggies mustered a season-low 226 yards.
Johnson is only 70 passing yards shy of setting a single-season school record. He already has 22 TD passes this year, breaking his school record from last season.
The milestones all can wait—Johnson just wants one more victory.
“We realize we’re at the end of the season, we’ve got two games left,” Johnson said. “Give it everything you have, try to bottle up as much energy as we can, and put it to the next two weeks. You can’t hold anything back. We should be playing our best football right now.”
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