Texas A&M opens post-Fisher era vs. Abilene Christian

Field Level Media|published: Tue 14th November, 19:26 2023

Nov 11, 2023; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Jaylen Henderson (16) hands off the ball to running back Amari Daniels (4) during the first quarter at Kyle Field. credits: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

Texas A&M will look to put aside its off-field issues and get back to playing football when it hosts Abilene Christian on Saturday afternoon in College Station, Texas.

This was supposed to be the "easy" week for the Aggies in a break from the Southeastern Conference schedule.

But with the Sunday firing of coach Jimbo Fisher, it's instead been a week of turbulence for Texas A&M. Associate head coach/co-defensive coordinator Elijah Robinson has taken the reins for the remainder of the season.

"When I talked to the team about the transition, I thought those guys handled it very well," Robinson said. "Those guys embraced me. I think those guys were not happy about everything that happened. They understood that what happened, happened. They're ready to move forward as far as seeing what's next. That's the mentality to have."

The Aggies (6-4) enter Saturday's game after a dominating 51-10 win at home over Mississippi State last Saturday. Fresno State transfer quarterback Jaylen Henderson rushed for two scores and passed for two more in his first start for the Aggies, who surrendered a TD on the game's opening kickoff and then took charge by scoring the next 20 points.

Starting instead of the injured Max Johnson, Henderson passed for 150 yards and had scoring tosses to Ainias Smith and Jahdae Walker. Amari Daniels also had a TD run and Shemar Stewart ran back a fumble for a score.

Abilene Christian (5-5) heads to the Brazos Valley after a 31-30 loss at home to Tarleton State on Saturday. The Wildcats led 30-14 early in the fourth quarter but allowed three TDs over the final 11 minutes

"I felt confident we would take the ball and drive down and go score," Abilene Christian coach Keith Patterson said. "I thought, 'We've just got to punt it, pin them deep, and get the ball back.' We got the punt we wanted, but we just let them expire the clock."

Maverick McIvor passed for 172 yards and a score in the loss while Jordon Vaughn had 79 yards and two TDs on the ground. The Wildcats were outgained 498-346 in the loss, which was their second in their past three United Athletic Conference games.

—Field Level Media