Game grades - Aggies at SMU

This is going to be short because, frankly, SMU is just awful and that was a glorified scrimmage. In some ways, I think Lamar was more competitive, at least in terms of effort and system.

Because I think it will set a tone, let's start here:

Overall - B. This was an ok effort by a team that had one last chance to really rev up before playing in the toughest division college football has ever seen (not hyperbole, folks. Check it out. This is not a good thing. Google is your friend). We will see details below, but there were some things from this that did not sit well with me. Not something that I am ringing alarm bells over, mind you, but things that raise an eyebrown and gets a hard "let's not do that again, we should be better than that" look.

QB - B. Hill threw his first interception, but ran for an almost touchdown when a play broke down. I did really like that he threw the deep ball well near the end of the first half for a touchdown. Allen was good but not great. Possibly unfairly, but I am putting some of the early mistakes on Hill here. Especially with his position and his own clear ability to handle the moment, he is one of the tone setters and overall leaders on the team, and the early penalties and mistakes are a concern.

RB - B. Brandon - seriously? Not the way to start the game. Overall, very good again, and efficient for so much of the game.

WR - B. RSJ - same thing as Brandon. That was not good. Overall, though, good effort.

OL - A. Once again, we could run at will and Hill had all the time in the world to pass. Love this unit.

DL - A. Eight sacks is really good. Wish Myles would have found a way to beat a double-team, but that is part of the growing process - now he has to adjust.

LB - B. I cannot put into words how happy I was to see Jordan Mastrogiovanni and Shaan Waashington back. This is a unit that is going to be severely tested over seven of the next eight games and we need every capable player back.

DBs - B. A few breakdowns again. I know they are going to happen, but against this team, we should be able to mask them more than we did. It was good to see De'Vante Harris back. That depth will be important.

Coaching/scheme - B. The use of returning players and keeping players fresh was well handled. Giving Allen time with the first OL was good. I put the early game jitters and mistakes, though, on everyone who committed them or should have had a hand in leadership, so this is on them a bit. We have one game left where we *might* be able to get away with a start like that (ULM) and hopefully the staff can use this to make that point, but it was not good to see.

I thought about going into the start of the game a bit more here, but with such a big game coming up, I think I am going to put it in its own piece so look for that later. Suffice to say, though, this team has a defense that needs the breathing room of a lead. Surely it is better, but not good enough to survive the SEC West. This team cannot afford a start like Saturday's in any of their conference games.