NEXT THOUGHTS: Defensive collapse leads Aggies to fall to Trojans 35-31

Bowl games in the modern era of college football are a discreet proposition, and this one was no exception. After departures to the transfer portal and NFL Draftand with six more starters unavailable due to injury, it was a makeshift Texas A&M team at times facing a similarly reduced USC roster. Mistakes abounded, but the Aggies appeared to have done enough to pull out the victory. But what can only be described as a defensive collapse over the final 1.5 quarters saw the Aggies fall to USC 35-31 in the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl on Friday night at Allegiant Stadium.

The Aggies scored on their opening drive to go up 7-0, but then a pair of first-half interceptions (including a would-be TD pass) stalled the offense and the teams went into halftime tied 7-7. The Ags then seemingly took command in the third quarter, scoring 17 points to go up 24-7 as Marcel Reed looked as good as he has in months. Even after USC came back and took the lead, Marcel Reed led a TD drive to retake the lead with less than two minutes left. But an abysmal defensive performance down the stretch that allowed USC to score touchdowns on four of its final five drives continued, allowing the final nail in the coffin as the Trojans scored a TD with just seconds left to seal the win .

Regardless of who was or wasn’t available in this game, it was a frustrating sight.

The Aggies finish the season 8-5, lose their last four games against Power Conference opponents, and a once-promising season ends on an all-too-familiar note. There are reasons for optimism for the future, but it’s also safe to say that Mike Elko still has a lot of work to do to turn this program around.