The Touchdown on Tour in Texas: Ep 2 – Ole Miss @ Texas A&M

First things first… Kyle Field… wow. I’ve been fortunate enough to visit a number of impressive stadia all over the world (Camp Nou in Barcelona always stands out), but I have truly never seen anything like Kyle Field. The sheer size is insane, but the noise that permeated the Press Box in the lead up to kick off was scarcely believable. There were what felt like a healthy number of Ole Miss fans tailgating outside the stadium, but as the 12th man filed in slowly to Kyle Field I became precisely aware of just how big a Home Field advantage there was in play. A sea of maroon dwarfed the small pocket of red and blue behind the south end zone.

The sun set beautifully over the stadium, and we got underway… but not before THE ENTIRE press box shook and swayed from left to right, and right to left, as the Aggie War Hymn was performed. There was a disclaimer on the Press Box info sheet that they gave us upon arrival saying that this would happen, but I still wasn’t anywhere near prepared for it. I’ve never felt like an entire room was on a rollercoaster before, but now I have. Truly wild. 

Once we kicked off, Kiffin’s Rebels came FLYING out the traps, and were up 7-0 before you could blink. It was largely the run game that got them there, as huge holes opened for Quinshon Judkins, who had 5 carries for 50 yards on the 1st drive. Jaxson Dart only threw one pass, but it was the 18yd TD pass to Dayton Wade that got Ole Miss on the board.

Fisher’s Aggies said “anything you can do…” and responded in kind. You could’ve forgiven Conner Weigman for looking nervous on his first start as the Aggies QB, but that wasn’t what we saw at all. Weigman hit TE Max Wright for a big 31yd gain to get A&M into scoring position, before a gutsy 4th and 1 call to leave the ball in the hands of Weigman rewarded Jimbo Fisher with a Touchdown of his own, as the wonderfully named Moose Muhammad III caught Weigman’s pass on a slant into the endzone. 

Weigman would follow this up with an equally impressive 2nd drive, and would finish the 1st Quarter 6-6, for 94yds and 2TDs, as A&M took a 14-7 lead into the second stanza. Devon Achane started to get himself going, breaking off a 31 yard gain to start the 2nd quarter, as the game almost became a duel between the two running backs, with Judkins and Achane seemingly attempting to outperform one another. However, both offenses slowed a bit as the defenses made some smart in-game adjustments, and we went into the halftime break at 14-10 A&M.

During the break, we got the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band performing on the field. Marching bands never fail to fascinate me, and I can’t think of many things more cool than watching a Marching Band perform, and yet also can’t think of many things more mind-numbingly dull than actually being IN one, with all the practice and coordination it takes to pull off those performances. It’s an amazing sight to see though, and passed the time as the entire press box tucked into some surprisingly good Hot Dogs. 

We restarted, and Ole Miss started to assert themselves on the game. It may have taken Jaxson Dart until midway through the 3rd quarter to complete a pass to someone other than the aforementioned Wade or Jonathan Mingo but, having hit Mingo for 56 yards to get into the red zone, Dart finally found Casey Kelly for a 1yd TD that gave the Rebels the lead back, 17-14.

Weigman’s early promise had not developed into many explosive plays down the field, as A&M struggled to make headway against the Ole Miss defense. The Rebels took complete control and extended their lead to 24-14 when Dart threw his 3rd TD pass of the day, this time to Mingo himself. Ole Miss’ offense was weird, in that almost all their damage was done on the ground, but all their TDs came through the air. It was run, run, run, until you’re in the red zone, then chuck it into the end zone. 

At this point, it felt like the Aggies were in a deep hole, as they hadn’t scored since the 04:16 mark of the 1st quarter… and here we were entering the 4th and they still only had 14 points. Weigman started moving the ball a little better, and finally had a scoring drive, connecting with Evan Stewart for 36 yards, leading to a 2yd TD pass to Noah Thomas. 24-21 Rebels, with a little over 9 minutes to play.

But Quinshon Judkins wasn’t done yet. The Rebels went right back down the field, with Judkins having a 61 yard scamper to set them up in the red zone. He would then finish the drive, forcing his way for Ole Miss’ lone rushing score, and re-extend their lead to 10pts, 31-21, with 7:18 to play. The drive took Judkins over 200yds for the day. 

With about 5 minutes left, we were allowed to head down to field level, and really got to experience the Kyle Field atmosphere properly. White hankies waving all over the place, and that cannon they fire off when they score… is really loud! A&M attempted a furious rally, and managed to get back within one score. A roughing the passer penalty aided the drive, but Conner Weigman (who finished the game 28-44, for 338yds and 4TDs) found Achane in the flat, who danced around a defender and into the corner of the end zone.

The deficit was cut to 3, Kyle Field got loud, and louder still when the Aggies forced a rare 2nd half 3 & out, to give themselves hope of a last-ditch comeback. However, a fantastic punt from Aussie Punter Fraser Masin pinned the Aggies deep, and they couldn’t move the ball down the field. A 4th down stop gave the Rebels the ball back, and kneel-downs ensued, with Ole Miss victorious 31-28.