COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS – Despite finishing with a 27-10 win over Auburn, it seemed like an early kickoff almost caught Texas A&M. Following a hit late in the second quarter, Aggie quarterback Conner Weigman limped off the field into the locker room and ultimately did not return.

“I don’t know; we’ll wait and see,” head coach Jimbo Fisher said postgame. “The x-rays were negative. We’ll see where he’s at and how he feels.” 

With no exact word or timeline on the injury Weigman sustained, the state of the offense remains in limbo. Fortunately for the Aggies, redshirt sophomore Max Johnson proved that there might not be much to worry about moving forward. 

THREE THOUGHTS FROM THE WIN

Quarterback trouble is back: Things weren’t looking good for A&M’s offense following Weigman’s early exit. After spending most of last season dealing with quarterback injuries, the Aggies may have themselves back in the same position. However, Johnson did a heck of a job for the Aggies and it seems like if worse comes to worst, he’s capable of leading this team. The former LSU starter started the second half with two touchdowns (one of which to his younger brother) on back-to-back drives and finished off the game with 11 attempts for seven completions, 123 yards and two touchdowns.

“Honestly, I wasn’t really nervous at all,” Johnson said. “I’ve been in these situations before and I was excited to be out there with those guys. I feel like we did a great job of going out there and executing.” 

Defense does its job: While the offense struggled throughout the matchup, the defense took charge and was electric for A&M. By the end of the first half, the Aggies had sacked Auburn’s Payton Thorne four times. True freshman Taurean York led the team as he finished with 11 tackles and half a sack. Throughout the entire game, the defense was excellent in its coverage and only allowed eight completions. 

As opponents become increasingly more difficult, today’s performance is encouraging for A&M. The ability to not play down against Auburn’s shaky offense shows that this unit is hungry and able to cause some headaches for offenses down the line. 

Looking ahead the schedule: One SEC matchup done, seven more to go. This game was expected to be a test for the Aggies and the first look at how this new and improved offense would look against SEC opponents. The entire game itself offered several challenges to overcome as the momentum flowed between the two teams.

“There’s going to be a lot of those games in this conference,” Fisher said. “That’s just the way this league goes when you play good people and I’m very proud of the way we kept competing in the game.”