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The Aggies were so close they could taste it.
Up nine points with just over two minutes left against Bryant last Saturday night, A&T was ready to celebrate its second straight conference win – one that would have solidified their program’s resurgence and could have potentially altered the trajectory of their remaining season.
Just one week after an upset win over nationally ranked Rhode Island, the Aggies continued to ride that momentum for most of the night against Bryant before an improbable late-game collapse saw the Bulldogs score 10 points in just over two minutes to escape with a 31-30 win.
“That was a heart-wrenching loss,” said A&T head coach Shawn Gibbs, who saw his team fall to 1-5 overall and 1-2 in the CAA. “I felt like the guys played hard and they played good enough to win but there were certain things we didn’t do to win the football game.”
What would have been the Aggies’ first winning streak in four years and their first road win as a member of the Coastal Athletic Association, instead became a painful reminder that nothing is certain in football until the final clock reads zero.
After A&T took a 30-21 lead on a 68-yard touchdown pass from Kevin White Jr. to Michael Carlock-Williams, the Bulldogs got the ball back with 2:18 left on the clock and responded with a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to pull within 30-28.
At that point only 39 seconds remained in the game and, with no timeout at their disposal, Bryant executed a perfect onside kick that A&T looked unsure on how to handle. The Bulldogs would recover the ball at the 50-yard line and, after three quick pass completions, kicked a 25-yard field goal for the game-winning score.
Afterwards, Gibbs acknowledged that A&T could have managed the game’s final minutes much better from both a player and coaching standpoint.
“There were a couple of things that should have been done better,” he said. “We should have executed better. That starts at practice. And honestly, I should have called a timeout to make sure we were on the same page.”
Ironically, this heartbreaker was the opposite of what transpired just a year ago against Hampton, when the Aggies recovered an onside kick that led to a miracle victory. In that contest A&T somehow scored 10 points in just over 90 seconds to tie the game at the end of regulation, before eventually winning 33-30 in double overtime.
This time around, the football gods were not so kind.
“We did enough stuff to win but at the end of the day you’ve got to find a way to close games out and win games that you are supposed to win,” said Gibbs. “We were in position to do it and we just didn’t get it done. That’s on me. We’ll get these guys learning how to finish games and close out, and we’ll make better decisions as we go forward.”
For the second straight week, A&T got off to a fast start – leading 17-7 at halftime and 20-7 at the end of the third quarter.
A&T quarterback Kevin White Jr. threw for 181 yards on 12-of-18 attempts and tied his career high with three touchdown passes.
Utilizing four different running backs, the Aggies combined for 175 yards rushing and averaged 4.6 yards per carry.
A&T outgained the Bulldogs in total offense 356 to 345 and limited Bryant to just four of 12 conversions on third down.
Gibbs applauded his team’s improvement on offense but said they still needed to work on closing the deal when they get near the end zone.
“We were 5-of-6 in the redzone with three field goals. We talk about how offensively when we get inside the redzone, we need to score touchdowns. We don’t want field goals. We’ll take them if we have to, but we want to score touchdowns. And on the flipside of that, (Bryant) was 5-of-5 in the redzone with four touchdowns.
Now the Aggies must somehow find a way to reset emotionally and regain their focus for another big conference matchup this weekend when they host New Hampshire. Kickoff is set for noon at Truist Stadium in what could be cold and rainy weather conditions.
The Wildcats enter the contest with a 2-4 overall record and are coming off an impressive 30-23 home win last week against Elon. New Hampshire advanced to the FCS playoffs each of the last two years and have still displayed the pedigree of a title contender this season.
The Wildcats are led by senior quarterback Brooks Bentley who ranks fifth in the conference with 1063 passing yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions in six games.
On paper, both teams appear to be equally matched and are ranked near one another in a number of statistical categories. One key area the Aggies will focus on this week will be reducing their number of penalty yards.
“We went into the game telling the guys that when you go on the road you’ve got to play clean, disciplined football and throughout the first half we had zero penalties,” said Gibbs. “In the second half we had seven penalties.”
