Despite shutout win, Fisher unhappy with A&M performance

Anguish and frustration fell on Kyle Field like rain on Saturday.

Wait… it was actually rain that bombarded 84,748 spectators in Texas A&M No.7’s 34-0 win over New Mexico.

This downpour of the second half was a fitting metaphor for Aggies Day. It started with an extremely bright outlook and ended with clouds of uncertainty hovering above.

The clash with the outraged visiting Lobos (2-1) featured Devon, Demond, defense and a deluge of distress.

Devon Achane caught a 26-yard touchdown pass from Zach Calzada in the Aggies’ third game of the game. Demond Demas caught a 70-yard touchdown pass on his fourth. The defense recorded their first shutout in five years and extended a streak of seven consecutive goalless quarters.

Yet in the aftermath, there was as much consternation as celebration.

It may be a good thing.

A&M (3-0) went so far in Jimbo Fisher’s tenure that even in shutouts there were cries of annoyance.

Fisher, appropriately dressed in a white shirt, led the screams.

“Up front we didn’t play very well,” said Fisher. “I thought (New Mexico) was playing harder than us. I thought they were physical. I thought they were hitting us.

“They kept chasing us. We have to learn to grow and play a lot more physically.

What exactly this means could be left to interpretation.

Maybe that meant the offensive line couldn’t allow three sacks and struggled to maintain consistent running play. Maybe that meant the Aggies couldn’t fall into the doldrums after a quick start. Maybe that meant better decisions had to be made.

Fisher was more than willing to translate.

“You can embarrass someone and block people. I don’t want that, Fisher growled. “I want people to move, and (A&M’s offensive line) they can. I watch us do it on our guys.

“You have to want to be mean. That’s a grown man’s bullet in there, man. It’s the boys’ ball. It is not for the faint of heart. You have to put your nose in it and love it.

At halftime, the Aggies had only managed 34 rushing yards against a New Mexico defense that last week gave New Mexico State 109 rushing yards.

The line came into play in the second half for running back Isaiah Spiller for 117 yards and a touchdown. Also, the Aggies lacked starting right goalie Layden Robinson, who was resting an injured right leg.

But if A&M couldn’t put together a consistent racing game against New Mexico, how can they expect to fight against the next SEC rivals Arkansas, Alabama, Auburn and Ole Miss?

“This team (Arkansas) that we’re about to play is very physical,” said Fisher. “And the rest of them in this league… that’s the big ball. You better grow up.

At first, the Aggie celebrated the growth of Calzada. He was dangerously erratic replacing injured starting quarterback Haynes King in Colorado’s 10-7 breakout last week.

This time he had 275 yards and three touchdowns. The first two quick strikes from Achane and Demas gave A&M a 14-0 lead.

Missed opportunities followed.

A long punt return from Ainias Smith was wasted when Achane was thrown for a five-yard loss on the first down, and Calzada took a nine-yard sack on the second. After an incomplete pass, the Aggies kicked.

Later in the second quarter, A&M hit the New Mexico 21-yard line but settled for a Seth Small field goal and a 24-0 halftime lead.

A&M opened the third quarter with Calzada re-connecting with Demas for 30 yards, but the Aggies also ended that streak with a small field goal.

“Sometimes when you play really well you keep thinking it’s all a home run,” Fisher said of Calzada. “Just hit baseball. It’s not about throwing touchdowns. It’s about pitching to the right guy.

“The game is bigger than anyone who has ever played or trained it. He’ll bite you right in the tail when you think you’re just going to go out there and do this and that. He has abilities, but you have to keep making the right decisions with every game. ”

To his credit, at the end of the third quarter, Calzada made a good decision and a better pass to Muhsin Muhammad III, who achieved an acrobatic one-handed recovery in the back of the end zone to close the victory of 34 points.

Despite the resounding victory, Fisher rated the Aggies as just average.

“We are much more capable of what we can do,” he said. “Potential is the worst thing you can have. It means you haven’t.

“I hate the word potential. Someone says you have the potential to have a good team. It drives me crazy. It means that I am not training well and that they are not playing well. We need to improve in all of these aspects. We have to grow in everything we do and play with a lot more consistency. “

All-American Kenyon Green, who went from tackle to goaltender to replace Robinson, agreed the Aggies are just average.

But he came up with a list of requirements for the Aggies line to improve quickly.

“The intensity throughout the practice all the time,” said Green. ” Stay focused. Stay intense. Stay stuck. Making sure we pay attention to everything we need to be able to play as fast and as powerful as possible.

In short, to prove that they are ready to put their nose in there and that they like it.