HEADLINE

No. 16 Texas A&M takes aims at Lamar after loss

Field Level Media

September 10, 2019 at 11:12 pm.

For No. 16 Texas A&M, Saturday night’s home game against FCS opponent Lamar represents a chance to pick up the pieces from last week’s 24-10 loss at No. 1 Clemson.

It also gives the Aggies (1-1) an opportunity to figure out their situation at running back after sophomore Jashaun Corbin, their top rusher in the first two games, sustained a season-ending hamstring injury against the Tigers. Corbin ran for 137 yards on 35 carries with a touchdown this season.

“We’re just keeping the same rotation,” said Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, whose team won its Aug. 29 home opener 41-7 against Texas State in College Station. “We’ve got four really good players.”

Isaiah Spiller, Cordarrian Richardson, Deneric Prince and Jacob Kibodi should all get carries with Corbin on the shelf. Spiller, a true freshman, led the team in rushing against Texas State, ripping off 106 yards on just seven attempts, thanks in large part to an 85-yard run. He probably will start Saturday.

Spiller also has two catches for 22 yards.

The Aggies found out the hard way that rolling up yards and points against Texas State is a lot easier than doing so in Death Valley. The Tigers allowed Texas A&M to gain only 289 yards and hassled quarterback Kellen Mond into an ordinary performance, as he went 24 of 42 for 236 yards with an interception and a garbage-time touchdown.

Despite the result, Fisher is taking positives from the defeat. Texas A&M’s defense performed fairly well, aside from a 17-point second quarter, allowing just 121 rushing yards to a team that usually peels off about 200 or more most weeks.

“We said with all the mistakes we made, the score was 24-10 in a football game against the No. 1 team in the country on the road with a lot of very young players,” he said. “I feel very comfortable with this team.

“It’s just a matter of us having the experience to make those critical plays. It’s the first time since we’ve been here we went into a game against the No. 1 team in the country and people expect us to have one heck of a chance to win.”

Lamar is off to its first 2-0 start since 1985 after a 23-20 overtime win last week over Mississippi Valley State, thanks to a 44-yard field goal by Bailey Giffen. It was his third field goal of the night.

“This was an ugly win, but a win is a win,” Cardinals coach Mike Schultz said. “This is a game I don’t think we would have pulled out two years ago. I thought Bailey had a good night. He hit some kicks in critical times.”

The Cardinals needed a 2-yard touchdown run from quarterback Jordan Hoy with 31 seconds left in regulation to force overtime. They clobbered NAIA opponent Bethel (Tenn.) 65-16 in their opener.

Hoy has completed 39 of 63 passes for 459 yards, with three touchdowns and two interceptions. He also is tied for the team lead in rushing with 118 yards and is first with five scores on 28 carries.

Lamar was picked for a fifth-place finish in the Southland Conference preseason poll.

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