Marty Smith: A&M's second half overwhelmed LSU in all three phases

Key notes from Marty Smith interview

• The second half performance... That is one of the hardest places to play in the world. It is. In that second half, it was such a complete and dominant performance by A&M in all three phases. Cashius Howell was hell bent for leather. He was talking the smoke and backing it up. A&M was moving the ball down the field offensively and returning kicks.
   
• Marcel Reed used his legs to create throwing lanes. It was impressive. It was a bit of an evolution for him. He showed incredible confidence. I have not met Reed, but he seems like a confident man. A fantastic skill set, an incredibly athletic family and a great leader for that team. Smiling with his guys, they seemed like they knew exactly what to do and did it at a high level. They’re a problem. Kudos to Mike Elko and the staff. They are doing a fantastic job. There is an expectation at Texas A&M. You have those resources, top recruiting classes, portal commits, and something doesn’t live up to their potential. Man, are they doing it this year in a league that is so hard. There is so much parity in the league and nationally, for that matter. Just an incredible job by everybody on that staff.
   
• I would imagine that the win gave some serious validation for some people. The weight room really reveals itself in those second-half performances. The strength coach is so important. They are not just building physical strength, but emotional strength. All of us have stuff we are going through. Certainly, these 19-20-year-old men. These strength coaches hear it all. They are conduits. They are imperative to a program, and Tommy Moffitt is one of the greatest to do it.
   
• I was surprised by the Brian Kelly firing. Everything in this life is context. He said he came here to win national championships. He left Notre Dame. His math was not easy because Nick Saban, Les Miles and Ed Orgeron all did it by their third season. That is a very high expectation, and it is the expectation in Baton Rouge. We get the best players and win the national championship. Kelly was unable to make the playoffs in his tenure. Watching Saturday night, seeing the sideline demeanor of players, the interaction with Garrett Nussmeier, all of those things started to indicate that it had hit another level. In a world where we are fools to be surprised by anything, I was surprised.
   
• The fact that there aren’t just jobs open. Now, LSU, Florida and Penn State. We are talking about traditional powerhouse, well-heeled, great talent programs that are now in the job market. With great brands that have been down on their luck. Arkansas and Virginia Tech are great places. They have to get the hires right. There is a sense of urgency for these programs to make these hires fast. There are great jobs open all over the country, very coveted positions. Do you make the coordinator hire? Do you take one of these guys on the market that are proven, maybe it didn’t work at that place? People are throwing names out. We don’t know anything. Why are we here? You figure it is the confluence of NIL, the 12-team playoff, and the playoff has now become the goal. Yes, you want to win national championships, but when you have programs that have been built from the ground up, like Vanderbilt, Indiana, or Georgia Tech. There is no patience.
   
• Lane Kiffin said something to me. I wrote a book a couple of years ago, and I interviewed a bunch of coaches, including Kiffin. My criteria is that these coaches were that they were champions. Kiffin won as Nick Saban’s offensive coordinator. I wanted his wisdom in this book. With every coach I talked to, their number one pillar was trust. Kiffin said it was talent. He said talent is what separates. Then, once you are able to accrue it, trust comes with time. Look at Matt Corral and Jaxson Dart. Kiffin is relatable to them. They see a brother, somebody they can cut up with. For quarterbacks, they see a servant on offense. They know he is going to put them in a position to be successful. I found that to be a fascinating answer from him.
   
• You mentioned previously, they want developmental programs. As a man and father, I admire that. Today’s college football is transactional. It is pay for play. So, that patience piece of it, you have to develop them so fast within the system you want to run. That is a hard thing to do. Coach Elko is so no B.S. He is direct and is not up and down. He is steady. They have a plan. He has good coordinators. He has talent. Crazy talent. Look how great y’all did in the portal. The quarterback at Indiana is doing well, but you’d be hard-pressed to find two guys who are contributing like KC Concepcion and Mario Craver out of the portal.
   
• You guys live Texas A&M Athletics. I follow it closely enough. I think this game was Howell’s “Hey America!” party. Two huge brands, an undefeated team, to have that kind of performance, to be unblockable all night long, he flew off the screen. If this team goes on to have the uber special season, and that certainly looks plausible, that moment of Howell talking is going to live forever in College Station. It embodies that we aren’t going to be denied personality. Just an immeasurably great performance.
   
• There are some really tough games ahead for some tough teams. People can stub their toe and not have the performance that they expected to have. We have to remember that a lot of teams are beat up. Vanderbilt, this weekend is not going to be easy. We will be there for SEC Nation. It will be intense. Vanderbilt still has to go to Neyland Stadium. Tennessee is good. Their offense is prolific. Four SEC teams in the playoffs would be a great statement for the league.