Four Downs: Allen, Texas A&M outlast West Virginia in Liberty Bowl
The Texas A&M Aggies outlasted the West Virginia Mountaineers in a high-scoring Autozone Liberty Bowl on Monday afternoon, winning 45-37. Here are four observations from the game:
The No. 1 quarterback recruit in the 2014 class finally showed the nation just what the scouts and recruiting services were raving about in a five-touchdown showcase against one of the better teams in the Big 12. Allen, a 6-foot-3 true freshman out of Scottsdale, Ariz., was considered the heir apparent for former Heisman winner Johnny Manziel when he chose the Aggies over practically every other school in the country, but things did not look promising at the beginning of the '14 campaign.
In a season-opening rout of South Carolina, it was Texas A&M quarterback Kenny Hill, who won the starting job out of fall camp, that was all the rage -- even among early, early Heisman circles. There was a time not so long ago that Hill was breaking Manziel's records and Allen was standing on the sidelines, watching. And when he finally got his real chance after Texas A&M's blowout loss to Alabama, things got off to a slow start against Louisiana-Monroe (13 of 28 for 106 yards, one touchdown).
It must be pointed out that this was not Allen's first big game or his only outstanding performance -- he put up 277 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Auburn then turned around and threw another three scores against SEC East champs Missouri -- but against a lackluster West Virginia defense he looked like he was in complete control of coach Kevin Sumlin's offense. He did it with his arm and his legs and the Mountaineers were left grasping for answers.
Allen posted 294 yards and four touchdowns through the air and added another score on the ground. He completed 63 percent of passes and tossed just one interception.
If Allen follows the traditional route and makes huge offseason strides between his first and second years on campus, Sumlin's offense is going to be in good hands. The Aggies should return the majority of their skill players on offense -- receiver Malcolme Kennedy and tight end Cameron Clear are the only seniors of an impressive group that includes talented wideouts Speedy Noil and Ricky Seals-Jones and the major contributors in the backfield -- and three of their offensive linemen still have remaining eligibility.
The quarterback position looks like its in good hands. Even in a disappointing 2014 season, the Aggies finished 30th nationally in scoring with 34.4 points per game. They look like they'll be even better next time around.
In our bowl preview series, the running game for both teams was pinpointed as a point of emphasis for two high-scoring offenses. The fact that offenses run by Sumlin and West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen could put up points, notably through the air, was not exactly news. These were two of the top 12 passing teams in the country. So which one could establish the run, potentially control the clock and keep its counterpart off the field?
For the better part of Monday's game at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Texas A&M was able to establish the better ground game, racking up more than 33 minutes in time of possession. Not only did Texas A&M gash the Mountaineers through the air, but it put up 235 yards on the ground. Two Aggies players posted 80 or more yards rushing -- led by Tra Carson with 133 yards. (Allen gained 40-plus yards on the ground as well until losing a chunk of yardage while running out the clock on the final play of the game.)
For comparison's sake, West Virginia gained 126 yards rushing.
Texas A&M ranked 95th in the country in rushing during the regular season, eclipsing the 200-yard plateau just twice ... in games against Lamar and SMU. Losses were defined by a lack of a running game, partially due to playing catch-up through the air. That wasn't the case against West Virginia.
This game was projected to be an uptempo, points-happy affair for a reason. Entering this bowl matchup, both defenses ranked outside the top-50 in scoring defense, and a combined 82 points won't help those final rankings for either party.
Over the past two seasons, Texas A&M has allowed 30.2 points per game. West Virginia, somehow, has been even worse, allowing 30.4 per game over that same stretch. It's the well-covered flaw for both programs in recent seasons, and one that needs to be corrected if either one wants to compete for their respective conference titles or the College Football Playoff.
It's occasionally lost in the shuffle of the Manziel/Heisman/successful SEC entrance in 2012 was the productivity of the Aggies' defense. It wasn't a shutdown unit, but Sumlin doesn't need a shutdown unit. That 2012 group was a top-30 scoring defense that allowed the offense plenty of opportunities and room for error. West Virginia is in a similar boat dating back to the 2010 season when they ranked third in the country by allowing just 13.5 points per game ... the season before Holgorsen arrived.
Total yardage was pretty much a non-factor in Memphis. Texas A&M out-gained West Virginia by just 57 yards, but the Aggies were more efficient in their per-play yardage and were a little bit better when it came time to move the chains.
The Mountaineers converted on just five of their 19 third down attempts (26.3 percent) -- and converted just one fourth-down attempt. That was partially off-set by Texas A&M doubling them up on penalties, but it was Problem A for Holgorsen's unit.
This was a departure from West Virginia's M.O. this season.
The Mountaineers converted on 43.8 percent of their third-down attempts during the regular season, and though Texas A&M's defense was far from "good", it was something for the Aggies to hang their hat on.
