Married to Megan Bock in life and in Real Estate (
@BockRealtyGroup
). Ella, Easton and Everley's dad. Saved by Grace. Former talker guy. Gig ‘em. Rangers lifer.
You'll never EVER forget where you were for Texas A&M 74, LSU 72. One of the greatest games in college football history ends in 7 overtimes at Kyle Field. Unbelievable.
This is what ESPN should be talking about with A&M. Place is absolutely packed to the gills. Fewer and fewer people are going to games and this place - despite all that took place in the last week - has turned out in full force! Special, special place and group of people.
#Gigem
In Jimbo Fisher's 3rd season at FSU, the Seminoles won the Orange Bowl with a veteran QB in his last college game. The next year, they won the national title with a Redshirt freshman QB.
In Jimbo Fisher's 3rd season at A&M, the Aggies won the Orange Bowl with a veteran QB...
Note: A&M allowed 112 yards in the first quarter and 66 yards the rest of the game. Kentucky had zero snaps - ZERO SNAPS - on A&M's side of the 50-yardline in regulation. Incredible defensive effort.
I’m beyond delighted to announce that in a vote of 5-1-1, the College Station City Council has APPROVED our initiative to name the basketball court in the Castlegate Community “Alex Caruso Court!” It’s the neighborhood court where
@ACFresh21
learned to play basketball!
#Gigem
He did it! Aggie
@CGillaspia
becomes 1st
#12thMan
ever selected in NFL Draft. Taken by hometown Texans in 7th round (Pick
#220
). In perfect "Gilly" fashion, his selection breaks A&M's record with 7 picks in a single Draft for the first time since Draft went to 7 rounds in '94.
Aggie defensive legend Tank Marshall has been in the hospital in Fort Worth for nearly a week with bleeding on his brain. He sent me this pic with a message that he is doing much better and is in good hands, but Tank wanted me to ask his Aggie Family to pray for him. 🙏🏼
Note: A&M took a 15-point deficit into the fourth quarter and outscored Clemson 13-0 in the final period. Yards differential in fourth was 199-52. Passing yards differential was 206-5. Clemson offense in the fourth...
Punt
Punt
Punt
Came up short but made big progress tonight.
They’re carrying Zach Calzada off the field! Incredible! Do you remember a one-week turnaround like this at A&M…and a feel good story quite like this? Simply amazing guys from Zach!
Interesting Note: A&M quarterback Conner Weigman threw 132 passes in 5 games (4 starts) without an interception. The freshman passed for 896 yards and 8 TDs. Feels good to know who your QB is heading into the offseason ... especially when he's something special.
Nearly 102 years ago, the original
#12thMan
never went into the game and the Aggies won.
Tonight, the Aggies lost but the current 12th Man played his absolute tail off for basically every single snap on D. Impossible to represent that number better than Sam Mathews did tonight.
Certainly not trying to be a jerk but A&M has this on the bench. 4,000 yards with 35 TDs and 7 INTs at LSU as a true FR and SOPH with massive opt outs, injuries, etc. and a coach on the way out…against the SEC. That’s pretty darn impressive.
GameDay Crew: “UNC will cover the spread. A&M always plays close games.”
Fact: A&M has won 6 straight games by double digits. Last time that happened for the Aggies was 1993.
Little known factoid: A&M freshman running back and kick returner Jashaun Corbin (
@Jashaun06
) finished the year ranked
#3
nationally and
#1
in the Power 5 in kick return average (30.14 avg. on 14 returns).
Definitely a different feel at A&M football practice. No music and the head coach is involved and intense on every play. In 15 minutes, I saw Jimbo with QBs working on center/QB exchanges & handoffs, with the special teams coaching up both sides of ball, with kick coverage, etc.
You know what? When your head coach coaches “not to lose,” your team tends to play “not to lose.”
The result? You lost.
Pathetic. Year 6 and completely pathetic. How could anyone in their right mind apart from blind homerism or loyalty call this anything but totally pathetic?
Pretty neat observation: A young kid asked Buddy Johnson for his gloves after the game but he told him they were taped up. So he went into the locker room, cut off the tape, ran back out to find the boy and gave him the gloves. It’s the little things...
Thank you so much 12th man! We have the best fans in the nation. Love this team so much! Going to miss all the seniors. Those guys deserved it all! This is just the intro! We will be back stronger next year!
#GigEm
Notes on WINNING...
* A&M has won 8 straight games ... the last 7 by double digits (first time doing that since '93).
* Ags are 26-4 under Jimbo when playing a team not ranked
#1
or
#2
.
* A&M is 11-0 under Jimbo when it wins the TO battle.
* Fisher is 3-0 in Orange Bowls.
A&M's offensive line has allowed a total of ONE sack through the first 3 games of the season. That includes playing back-to-back games vs. 2 top 5 opponents with ZERO sacks allowed in a combined 8 quarters vs. 'Bama and Florida.
How is this not an ejection but A&M lost Debione Renfro for the entire game yesterday because his helmet grazed the helmet of a receiver with absolutely no ill-intent? He literally threw three punches.
Kellen Mond breaks A&M's career passing record in by far his best and most complete game from start to finish: 25-35-0; 338 yards; 3 TDs ... when he and his team needed it most!
Is this the best A&M win ever at Kyle Field? I was at ‘02 OU, ‘10 Nebraska, ‘18 LSU and tonight…there was also the ‘75 win over Texas and the ‘98 win over NU, and of course the ‘99 Bonfire Game vs. Texas is in a class by itself. But outside of that one, this has to be
#1
, right?
At this point, why not E-Rob and give him a blank check on coordinator hires? This is the best we’ve looked in any game since 2020. And with a third string QB no less.
Stat Note: A&M QB Kellen Mond was 9-of-10 passing for 124 yards over the final 13:48 of the game at Georgia, including his only TD. The one incomplete pass down the stretch? The clear defensive holding AND pass interference on the throw to Jalen Wydermyer that was not called.
One positive coming out of 'Bama 45, A&M 23 was the kicking game. Seth Small went 3-for-3 on field goals and Braden Mann set an NCAA single-game record with a 60.8 punting average.
Note: A&M's game-by-game rushing output in 7 games vs. Power 5 teams...
* 53 vs. Clemson
* 56 vs. Auburn
* 89 vs. Arkansas
* 125 vs. Alabama
* 165 vs. Ole Miss
* 207 vs. Mississippi State
* 319 vs. South Carolina
Is this kid A&M women’s basketball’s Acie Law or what??? All she does is step up in the clutch and make huge freaking shots. Unreal. Simply unreal. 35 points for Nixon and the Aggies needed every single one of them.
Note: Trayveon Williams rushed 35 times for 198 yards & 2 TDs. It's the 3rd straight game he's rushed for 150+. He's rushed for 700 yards and 7 TDs in his last 4 games. Williams sits at 1,524 rushing yards in '18...169 yards away from the single-season A&M record (Lewis - 1,692).
The College Station Kid is now an NBA Champion! BIG Congrats to
@aggiembk
great Alex Caruso (
@ACFresh21
) on becoming the first Aggie in 62 years to win an NBA title!
#GigEm
What are you doing officiating at this level if you miss something so obvious? There were about ten of these in the game. I hardly EVER comment on officiating but it was a bad, bad day for the zebras between the hedges.
How’d that work out, hater? I don’t ever remember anyone in the media who once worked here so publicly trash it after leaving. Did you really hate your experience that much? Were people not nice to you here? Seems unprofessional but I guess that’s not important on TV these days…
Quick takeaways from College Station on Friday:
1) went to Yell Practice. still super weird
2) A&M is the highest preseason ranked team to not make a bowl since 2010 (Texas) WHOOP!
3) LSU isn't looking ahead to the SEC Championship. Saturday all about taking care of business.
This is what separates A&M’s fan base and student section from the pack…
It’s midnight.
It’s essentially a pep rally to practice the cheers/yells used in the game.
It’s Kent State week.
Spirit of the 12th Man is alive and strong as ever!
Positive post: I think we've found something with in the passing game with Evan Stewart, Chris Marshall and Moose Muhammad at receiver and Donovan Green at TE ... 3 true freshmen and a sophomore. Need to build on tonight with that group in the back half of the year.
In September, A&M was getting blown out by Clemson and Auburn before late-game scores made it look close.
Today, Aggies play
#4
to within 6 points in a true 60-minute game on road. A&M's 4 losses:
#1
,
#1
,
#4
,
#8
. At
#1
next week.
What makes you say A&M hasn't progressed?
Takeaways from Georgia’s win over Texas A&M:
- Georgia needs more, and it’s too late to assume that it has it.
- D’Andre Swift is a monster.
- Texas A&M hasn’t progressed.
Why Jimbo limited Moose’s PT is beyond anything I can fathom. The guy is an absolute playmaker. Could have made a difference in some of those close losses.
Should we expect the broadcast to proceed with ripping Florida for its less than “convincing” performance against LSU in the first half? Or is that just an A&M thing?
Note: A&M QB Kellen Mond passes for 275 yards and 1 TD and joins Johnny Manziel as the only QB in school history to eclipse 7,000 passing yards with 1,000 rushing yards. Mond's 8,468 total yards ranks 4th all-time at A&M. He needs 421 total yards to move into 2nd behind Manziel.
Never thought it could get worse than losing 2 5-star QBs within a week of each other right before a bowl game, and then…
I never thought it could get worse than blowing a 34-point lead in 17 minutes at UCLA, and then…
…
The Aggies score 17 fourth quarter points to knock off the 3rd-ranked Florida Gators on a game-winning 26-yard field goal by Seth Small, 41-38! It's A&M's first win over a top 5 team since 2014 win at
#3
Auburn. The score of that game? 41-38.
Defensive notes from the Gator Bowl win over NC State...
* 0 points allowed over final 40:45 of the game
* 2 INTs, including a Pick 6
* 2 sacks
* 11 TFL
* Held NC State to 0-of-13 on 3rd down
* Held QB Ryan Finley to 139 passing yards and just 34 yards in 2nd half
A&M held MSU to just 217 yards of total offense on Saturday (219 passing; -2 rushing). That's the 2nd-lowest total yardage output of Mike Leach's head coaching career. The lowest was a 200-yard effort vs.
#1
Nebraska in 2000...Leach's first year at Tech (20 years and 3 days ago).
Note: A&M has won 7 consecutive games in an SEC-only schedule...6 straight by double digits. The last time the Aggies won at least 6 games in a row by 10+ points was 1993 in SWC. At 8-1, this is the first season since A&M's move to the SEC that it lost fewer than 2 league games.
Note: A&M safety Charles Oliver had 6 pass breakups vs. South Carolina. SIX. A&M as a defense produced just 12 games with 6 PBUs the last 7 seasons heading into Saturday's game. Big night for the lone A&M senior defender in his last home game.
Softly call the muster,
Let comrade answer, “Here!”
Their spirits hover ‘round us,
As if to bring us cheer.
Mark them "present" in our hearts,
We’ll meet some other day.
There is no Death, but Life Eterne
For heroes such as they!
Yep…interesting tidbit that Aggie legend Domingo Bryant is the uncle of new A&M 5-star commit Terry Bussey. Domingo’s youngest brother is Terry’s Dad. Domingo said he shed tears of joy when he watched Terry pick the Aggies!
Note: A&M sophomore edge rusher Tyree Johnson entered the Texas Bowl with 2 sacks on the season. He had 2 tonight vs. OSU and both came on third down immediately after turnovers by the A&M offense. His 2nd sack was followed by the shanked punt, leading to A&M's first score. Huge.
Can’t say enough about the Aggie pitching staff and what they did against one of the most explosive offenses in college baseball. A&M pitching combined for 44 strikeouts and just 5 walks in 3 games vs. Arkansas, allowing just 3 runs in the last 2 games. Incredible job.
An emotional good bye...my last 2 minutes as host of
@TexAgsRadio
! Very, very thankful to so many who have made this chapter of my life so enjoyable and fulfilling. Excited for what's ahead...
Only ONE player at The Combine has run a faster time in the 20-yard shuttle than A&M punter Braden Mann's 4.13. He also owns the 9th fasted 3-cone run at 7.03 and ran the 40 in 4.86.
#Athlete
Note: A&M's 52-point margin of victory is the largest for a head coach in his Aggie debut since DX Bible (66-0 win over Austin College in 1917 ... 101 years ago).
Conner Weigman tonight: 28-44-0, 338 yards, 4 TDs
Last A&M QB to pass for 300+ yards, 4+ TDs, 0 INTs ... Nick Starkel (421 / 4 / 0 vs. New Mexico on 11-11-17).
Last Aggie QB to do it vs. a Power 5 school ... Johnny Manziel (382 / 4 / 0 vs. Duke in Peach Bowl on 12-31-13).
Johnny Manziel just tried to "Kick 6" the short field goal from LaCamera. And out of nowhere, the 12th Man - Cullen Gillaspia - came out of nowhere to chase him down. That was awesome.
Pure GUTS from Jacob Palisch to get the best hitter in the nation down looking and strand the bases loaded. Can’t tell you the last time I was that nervous with an 8-2 lead. 🤣😫
One day after Dave Goff's passing, the Aggies paid tribute to their great former point guard by doing what he helped A&M do 38 years ago ... beat UNC in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
We lost a legendary Aggie character with the passing of
#94
Steve Solari. A one-of-a-kind personality that had so much love for life and people. As great a representative of A&M as I know. Pray for his wife and kids as they deal with this incredible loss.
#KAPOW
🙏🏼
There is a lot to like about this Marcel Reed kid. Put into an impossible situation and you couldn’t ask any more than what he has given his team tonight.
Note: A&M punter Braden Mann averaged 59.6 yards vs. Kentucky. His 82-yard punt was the longest in FBS in 2018 and third-longest in school history...and longest A&M punt in 74 years. The FBS single-season record for punts over 60 yards is 13. Mann has 12 this season.