Texas A&M Cannot Confuse Improvement With Success After Alabama Loss

Texas A&M finally scored a touchdown on the road, which is a sentence that should never qualify as a major development for a program with College Football Playoff ambitions. But after the Aggies managed six points apiece against LSU and Missouri, Saturday's 31-20 loss at Alabama offered something unfamiliar: an offense that could actually sustain drives against SEC competition.

For three quarters, there was plenty to appreciate. Marcel Reed recovered from two early interceptions, Mario Craver found the end zone and Texas A&M carried a 20-17 lead into the fourth quarter. Under different circumstances, the performance might have been considered another step toward the consistency Mike Elko has spent his tenure trying to establish.

Unfortunately, those circumstances include a 4-4 record and four conference losses.

A Low Bar Doesn't Make It a High Standard

Reed completed 14 of 21 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown, adding another score on the ground. It wasn't an extraordinary performance, particularly with two interceptions attached, but compared with the Aggies' recent road outings, it represented genuine improvement. Texas A&M also controlled possession for more than 33 minutes and held Alabama to 68 rushing yards, giving itself a perfectly reasonable opportunity to leave Tuscaloosa with a victory.

There's a danger in treating those numbers like proof that everything is suddenly going according to plan, however. When the offense has spent weeks barely functioning, a couple of successful drives can look like an architectural masterpiece.

But the Aggies weren't suddenly transformed into an SEC contender Saturday. They simply looked capable of competing with one, which was supposed to be the minimum expectation all along.

The Fourth Quarter Told the Bigger Story

The most important numbers arrived at the end. Alabama scored 14 unanswered points, while Texas A&M gained just 15 yards in the fourth quarter. A botched fourth-down snap handed the Crimson Tide favorable field position, and the Aggies never found a response. What had been an encouraging performance became another disappointing result.

Elko's team reached the playoff last season, so the standard in College Station cannot be reduced to avoiding embarrassment against ranked opponents. There's room to appreciate Reed's resilience and the defense's work against the run without pretending an 11-point defeat represents a successful Saturday. Those ideas aren't contradictory, even if the circumstances make them tempting to confuse.

The remaining schedule still offers opportunities for individual development, and perhaps the offense can finally build on some of the improvements demonstrated against Alabama. But Texas A&M has spent enough time explaining why it's close, why injuries matter and why the signs look encouraging.

Eventually, the scoreboard has to join the conversation.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/tamu as Texas A&M Cannot Confuse Improvement With Success After Alabama Loss.