Jimbo Fisher says Texas A&M needs to run ball more, push tempo in second half

Texas A&M played a pretty mundane first half until the final minute, where they hit on a 63-yard bomb. But otherwise, the Aggies lead 17-0 and have remained a brick wall on defense while working through some hiccups on offense with in Week 1.

At halftime, Aggies coach Jimbo Fisher reviewed quarterback Haynes King’s half of play, lamenting one mistake while praising him otherwise.

“He made one bad mistake. He should’ve checked it down on first down. Had a chance to free one out of there. Made a couple really nice throws after that. Made some big plays on third down. And then, really big vertical throws. A solid first half. Just a couple things [to work on].”

Fisher would also like to see king get some help from the ground game.

“But also, got to play a little bit better around him. We got to run the football. We’re not running the football enough. We’re getting behind on the sticks a little bit.”

Lastly, Jimbo Fisher addressed the slow-tempo play of Sam Houston and also credited his defense for a good first half performance.

“They got us right there a little bit on it. But that’s smart play by them. We gotta try to turn the tempo up a little bit maybe and do that. But our defense has played outstanding. Really happy with those guys up front and in the secondary.”

Haynes King and Ainias Smith connect on 63-yard TD

Quarterback Haynes King hit star A&M wide receiver Ainias Smith for a 63-yard touchdown on third down and six with just under a minute to play in the half. Smith caught it the pass in stride, then dusted several defenders on his way to the end zone. Check it out:

Sheesh.@haynes_king10 → TD → @ainias_smith

📺 @SECNetwork pic.twitter.com/b8tXsv36IU

— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) September 3, 2022

Texas A&M and Haynes King were about to go into the locker room with just 10 points to show for their first half of football. Instead, the Aggies head into the locker room with a 17-0 zip lead as their offensive exploded late and the defense held firm against an inferior opponent.