COLLEGE STATION, Texas — “The Voice of the Aggies” Andrew Monaco recently joined Brian Fitzgerald and Chad Hastings on Talk 1370's "The Thing About Sports" to break down the Aggies' performance and preview their upcoming contest against Arizona State.
Evaluating Texas A&M's 50-0 season-opening win against Missouri State, Monaco touched on early red-zone execution and overall focus. "Red zone is an important part," Monaco explained. "On the first red zone trip, they come up empty, and then they score in the next seven.”
He also pointed out early-game jitters along the offensive line, where Mark Nabou was the only returning starter for the Aggies. Newcomers and transfers, including Blake Ivy, had to adjust to the speed of the game. "They were anxious, then they settled down, and I think that was the big thing," Monaco observed. "More than anything through all of this, the depth, the participation, the meaningful snaps are important, but here's you also have 60 minutes of tape that you get to look at."
Regarding the team falling two spots in the national rankings following a dominant win, Monaco brushed off the relevance of early polls. "Style points... I think what gets away from A&M is you know that Missouri State, it's the second year in FBS coming up from FCS," Monaco stated. "The pollsters only look backwards when they do the preseason poll. They have no idea what all 130 programs have done in the offseason, who's the impact guy, who's going to play well."
Turning his attention to Arizona State, Monaco noted the necessity of establishing an early rhythm against Kenny Dillingham's fast-paced Sun Devils offense. "If Arizona State comes out first as the road team, that kind of momentum at the start will be huge for the Sun Devils," Monaco said, observing that the 11 a.m. local start feels like 9 a.m. for Arizona State.
Additionally, the game features a red, white, and blue stadium display at Kyle Field honoring Sept. 11, echoing the original 2001 student-driven movement. "That scene of seeing a red, white, and blue Kyle Field, you thought, okay, we're going to be okay," Monaco remembered. "I thought that game at Kyle Field allowed us to begin to heal."
“The Thing About Sports” airs every Saturday morning on Talk 1370 - this week, at a special time, from 7-8am.
