Tough Loss Against BYU

The Aggies travelled to Las Vegas to play defending national champions BYU (02/09/13).  After two disappointing performances (LSU and ASU), the Aggies were looking to restore some equilibrium.  However, BYU is an immensely talented squad and it looked like an uphill battle for TAMU going into the match.  In the end, BYU came out on top 44-5, but the final score is not indicative of the effort exhibited by the Aggies.

 

Lukas Jacobson offloads against BYU

The Aggies played an extremely physical and for much of the match, solid defense.  Unfortunately, like all great teams, the Cougars were able to turn small Aggie mistakes into points.  "I felt we played our best match of the season, but we cannot have mental lapses at key points," said team captain Conor Mills, "This is match we can use to build on for the rest of the season. We played extremely hard today and despite the final, I could not be more proud of the guys."

 

The Aggies managed to keep the Cougars tight early, much of it as a result of BYU penalties.  “Texas A&M is a solid team,” said BYU captain Ryan Roundy, “We wanted to try and put them under some pressure, but it sort of came back to bite us a bit early on.”

 

Eventually BYU's talent and size came into play and they managed to run in a series of tries in the second half to stretch the final score.  "We played a huge amount of defense today and our tackle count had to be over a hundred," added Mills, "I think our work rate began to drop a bit toward the end of the game as a result."

 

In the end, Aggie fans can be proud of the effort put forth by the team against the defending champion.  The work rate, spirit, and physically toughness demonstrated against BYU will provide the foundation for the rest of the season.

Congratulations to the Men of the Match for the BYU game - Dylan Starks (Backs) and Chris Frazier (Forwards).