Texas A&M Football Three Keys: Lamar

Texas A&M football faces Lamar on Saturday in College Station. Here are your three keys to a Texas A&M win over Lamar.

By Matt Zemek

The Texas A&M Aggies were unlikely to beat the mighty Clemson Tigers, no matter what they did, but the Aggies certainly have to be disappointed with their inability to make this a close game deep into the fourth quarter, unlike 2018. Everyone knows why the Aggies fell short, so that is the proper starting point for this week’s three keys against the Lamar Cardinals.

Key 1 – Kellen Mond

Everyone said it and everyone knew it before the season started: Kellen Mond was A&M’s most important player, the person on whose shoulders rested the fate and outcome of this season. You saw how good Texas A&M’s defense was in the Clemson game. You saw that Texas A&M’s offensive line kept Clemson’s defensive front at bay. The Tigers did lose Dexter Lawrence and Christian Wilkins from last year’s team. Nevertheless, it’s not as though Clemson has third-rate scrubs on its 2019 defensive line. The Aggies’ offensive front was very solid, including in the first half. Yet, Texas A&M barely scored in this game – its one touchdown coming in the final minutes of a game it trailed by 21 – because its quarterback simply wasn’t good enough… and he wasn’t good enough by a large margin.

Key 2 – Short routes

Mond can’t be expected to hit the long pass plays if he can’t hit the short ones first. He struggled against Clemson. Getting plays which involve short throws but can put fast receivers in space and generate large gains need to be a point of focus for Fisher and his staff.

Key 3 – Finding a go-to connection

There is no Jace Sternberger this year. A&M’s passing game needs to find a reliable and productive pitch-and-catch combination which steadies the offense while also forcing the defense to overcommit to one man, thereby opening up the rest of the field for other backs and receivers.

Saturday‘s game kicks off at 6:00 PM CT (7:00 PM ET). Watch on the ESPNU Network.

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