Texas A&M entered this weekend 1-0, ranked 6th in both the AP and USA Today coaches polls, and looked to make a statement at home against an Appalachian State team that was coming off of a heartbreaking 63-61 shootout against North Carolina last Saturday.
In one of the ugliest, sloppiest, and just plain embarrassing performances by an Aggies team in recent memory, Texas A&M fell to the Mountaineers 17-14, as the game honestly felt like it was never in question for the king slayers of the Sun Belt conference.
Appalachian State head coach Shawn Clark came into the game wanting to control the line of scrimmage, and wear down the Aggies’ talented, but young defensive line, and that plan worked to perfection as the Mountaineers completely controlled the time of possession, holding a 41:30 to 18:30 advantage. Led by veteran quarterback Chase Brice and running back Camerun Peoples, the two combined for 246 of their 314 total yards on offense for the Mountaineers.
For the Aggies, The offensive line was once again a problem throughout the first half, while barely seeing the field in the second half to really right any wrongs. Quarterback Haynes King was erratic in the pocket (mostly due to pressure in his face), and inaccurate for most of the day, failing to hit his receivers late in the last 3 minutes of the 4th quarter with a chance to take the lead or tie the game.
With that, head coach Jimbo Fisher and select players spoke to the media after the game, as Fisher proceeded to take the mic first. Here are his most notable quotes: