There are two ways to look at Texas A&M’s victory over Arizona State, and too many Aggies fans are choosing the wrong one.

I get it. The performance wasn’t perfect. Arizona State was shooting themselves in the foot, and if the Sun Devils played a cleaner game, the fourth quarter gets a lot more uncomfortable. I’m not going to sit here and pretend that didn’t happen.

But here’s what I think people are completely glossing over: Texas A&M had a clean sheet on penalties. That’s fantastic. The penalties had been hindering this team since last season, and to see the Aggies capitalize on those moments instead of giving them away is a massive step in the right direction.

The Aggies’ offense needs patience, not panic

And you may say, Tegan, the offense looked rough at times. You’re right. But Aggies need to remind themselves that this is a first-time play caller running a brand new offense with a ton of moving pieces. Growing pains are inevitable. Just go look at Oregon. They’re dealing with the same thing, and they have a ton of talent.

The offensive line is still working through it too, but you saw the good moments, especially late in that game when the physicality took over. The difference of having an Isaiah Horton has shown its benefits time and time again, particularly in the red zone. And Jamarion Morrow has been electric. The kid has popped every time he’s touched the ball.

Now, I completely understand if people want to point to Marcel Reed and some of the inconsistencies. I will even admit that going into SEC play, there are definite concerns. But I’m looking at this as a brand new offense that is gelling together, and there is room for this group to play much cleaner and better football as the season goes on. We talked about it all offseason: Texas A&M has such a back-end loaded schedule that they have plenty of time to ramp up and get to that point.

The defense is the story no one is talking about looking ahead

Now let’s look at the positives that people seem to be ignoring while they lose their minds. The defense played phenomenal. They broke Arizona State by the end of the game. Marco Jones looks fantastic. Anto Saka looks like a first-round pick. There is so much to like about this defense, and frankly, it’s the side of the ball that should have Aggies feeling confident heading into conference play.

The road game against LSU is looming, but if you watched LSU this week, they don’t look like the world beaters everyone expected after they beat down on Clemson. There’s still so much to be excited about with this Texas A&M team.

Take a deep breath. Enjoy being 2-0. Kentucky is on deck at home, and then the preparation for LSU begins in earnest. This Aggies team has legitimate upside on both sides of the ball, and a 2-0 start with a clean penalty sheet and a defense playing at this level is exactly where you want to be heading into the meat of the schedule.