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The Texas A&M Aggies offense was supposed to sizzle under new coordinator Bobby Petrino in 2023. Since the start of conference play, the hype around that side of the ball has fizzled.
The Aggies (4-3, 2-2 SEC) are coming off back-to-back lackluster losses to Alabama and Tennessee where the offense never found a rhythm. Play-calling was mediocre in the second half of outings, but so was on-field execution.
Saturday's matchup against South Carolina could be viewed as a "must-win" game to salvage expectations set at the beginning of the season. It's also a moment where quarterback Max Johnson returns to winning form.
No, Johnson hasn't been the only culprit of mixed results in conference games, but his struggles were evident in losses to both the Crimson Tide and Volunteers before the bye week.
"It is unfortunate that Conner (Weigman) was injured, but Max (Johnson) stepped in and has played really well," said A&M coach Jimbo Fisher during Wednesday's SEC coaches teleconference. "We’ve got to play well around him. And he’s got to continue to keep growing as a player himself."
Quarterback injuries have become a common theme in College Station as of late. In the previous three seasons, the Week 1 starter has missed extensive time, thus forcing Fisher to turn to the backup.
Johnson's not your ordinary QB2, though. He started 18 games at LSU and competed with both Haynes King and Weigman for the starting job since joining the program in 2022. Last season, Johnson played well enough to retain the starting job through Week 5 after King was benched, but a hand injury sidelined him for the remainder of the year.
For the most part, Johnson's done what's been asked through three starts. He secured a win over Arkansas in Arlington and picked up momentum early against the Crimson Tide. But a road trip to Knoxville rattled the confidence and stat line a tad. Johnson completed less than 50 percent of his passes and threw to interceptions in the fourth quarter that negated all comeback conversations.
Fisher, however, hasn't wavered his confidence in Johnson's capabilities coming off a week to regroup and learn from previous mistakes.
"He has a lot of experience and knows what to do," said Fisher. "Very solid and a very good player.”
The Gamecocks (2-5, 1-3 SEC) have struggled to eliminate opponents' passing attacks this season under third-year coach Shane Beamer. Against Florida, South Carolina allowed Graham Mertz to throw for over 400 yards and three touchdowns to secure the Gators' 41-39 comeback.
Last week against Missouri, the Gamecocks allowed over 400 yards of offense, 205 of which came through the air with the combination of Brady Cook and Luther Burden.
Johnson's not in jeopardy of losing starting reps, but Fisher has been pleased with the progression of Fresno State transfer Jaylen Henderson, crediting Petrino's attention to detail in practice.
"He gets better and better each day. He is running as our No. 2 guy right now," said Fisher. "He is a good athlete and can be a really good player.”
Kickoff from Kyle Field is scheduled for 11 a.m. This season, A&M is 2-0 in early-game start times.
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