The Texas A&M Aggies needed a lot more time on Saturday in Tuscaloosa to even have a chance of scoring against the Alabama Crimson Tide in a 59-0 blowout.
A third straight loss has sent the Aggies -- and their fans -- into a tailspin and has the fans questioning everything. How bad did things get?
The good folks at Good Bull Hunting put up the post-game thoughts at halftime, which wasn't much longer than the text below:
Alabama is good, but they are not this good.
This is the kind of loss where heads should roll.
This is the kind of loss where starters should get benched.
This is the kind of loss that affects recruiting.
Obvious statement coming, but today is the absolute worst day of Kevin Sumlin's tenure as head coach of Texas A&M.
Coach, you make 5 million a year. I expect decisive action come Monday morning. I don't know what that action is, but something has to change.
The numbers were pretty ridiculous for a game between a team ranked No. 21 that had been as high as No. 6 going into the game against Mississippi State -- Alabama gained nearly 300 yards on the ground on 6.6 yards per carry, threw for over 304 yards at 8.4 yards per attempt, and held the formerly potent Texas A&M offense to 172 total yards, eight first downs, and 2 of 13 on third downs.
Former Aggie quarterback Johnny Manziel just wanted it to be over, but later went back and deleted the following tweet:
#GigEm pic.twitter.com/jmSRpxczVM
— Justin Wells (@justinwells2424) October 18, 2014
How does all that resulting pain look in visual form?
FORTY FIVE TO ZERO AT HALFTIME http://t.co/LyAk0Nnj1W
— cuppycup (@cuppycup) October 18, 2014
And those DJs at practice? Fun and maybe even a good recruiting tool for some kids, but something that is apparently easy to skewer even for A&M fans:
Exclusive footage from Aggie football practice this week http://t.co/FPiIxoOlEx
— cuppycup (@cuppycup) October 18, 2014
It's over. http://t.co/x1yrJXspiQ
— cuppycup (@cuppycup) October 18, 2014
Check the rest of cuppycup's timeline for more pain. And, of course, for the brave, intrepid lovers of schadenfreude, there's always the cesspool known as TexAgs.
The trolls were out in force, as well:
Sorry, couldn't help myself. pic.twitter.com/GuUxupRcVs
— Ryan Dunsmore (@d_more55) October 18, 2014
Live view of the swagcopter #pooraggies pic.twitter.com/n2zZqfAeqo
— Jeffrey Davidoff (@JDavidoff21) October 18, 2014
Overrated. . . #PoorAggies
— Longhorn Humor (@LonghornHumor) October 18, 2014
Why does this matter besides the fact that Aggie tears still taste oh so sweet?
Because the Aggies remain a major recruiting rival and the self-destruction of the Kevin Sumlin regime is the best thing that can happen to convince recruits that playing college football in College Station isn't as cool as they thought it might be.
Texas defensive end commit Charles Omenihu hasn't been afraid to make his voice known on the recruiting trail and he had a point that most orangebloods will likely find compelling:
2015 defensive A&M commits there is still spots left at Texas come play under a great defensive staff ✊✊
— Charles #⃣7⃣ (@charless_94) October 18, 2014
Offensive players are welcome too !!!
— Charles #⃣7⃣ (@charless_94) October 18, 2014
You paying attention out there, Malik Jefferson?
Former Longhorns pitcher Nathan Thornhill played quarterback at Cedar Park and knows something about football -- and disliking Aggies:
Today's lesson.. If you are a defensive recruit in Texas, you want to play for Coach Strong #HookEm
— Nathan Thornhill (@NathanThornhill) October 18, 2014
With the continued defensive struggles, there's a chance that the one of the possible changes could be firing defensive coordinator Mark Schnyder, whose job is increasingly imperiled.
There's some time to right the ship with a bye week and then Louisiana-Monroe before another potential disaster at Auburn, but right now, Texas has a chance to capitalize in recruiting by continuing to perform well defensively and starting to win some games.
Besides Jefferson, other pending head-to-head battles on the defensive side in 2015 include defensive backs Kris Boyd, Holton Hill, and Kendall Sheffield, as well as 2016 defensive backs Deontay Anderson and Brandon Jones, among others. Jones is in Austin today.
Let's ride.