As Texas A&M's season spiraled from College Football Playoff contention to not even in the New Year's Six bowl mix in the span of a month, one of the reasons for the struggles was the decline of the Aggies' defense.
A unit that was at times dominant in the first half of the season was anything but down the stretch. More than two weeks after a regular season-ending 54-39 loss to LSU and some time to reflect on the downfall, Aggies' coach Kevin Sumlin said fatigue might have played a key role in why it happened.
"We played more snaps than any other team in the SEC on defense," Sumlin said.