• E-mail

Mike Sherman's honeymoon at Texas A&M officially ended at about 9:03 p.m. Saturday

On the list of disastrous college football openers Saturday, A&M's ranked near the top. Maybe the pain was greater at Clemson or Pittsburgh, because the expectations were greater.

At A&M, it was more about the embarrassment following an 18-14 loss to Arkansas State.

The Red Wolves of the Sun Belt Conference had played Big 12 opponents 15 times without recording a win until Saturday. So much for a new era.

Fan reaction was fast, furious and even funny, in a dark way

The message boards overflowed at TexAgs.com. Everything was questioned. One thread asked if A&M could give itself the NCAA "death penalty." Another demanded an explanation from athletic director Bill Byrne. Sherman's coaching and his all-khaki wardrobe were scrutinized.

If this wasn't the 77-0 loss to Oklahoma in 2003, it was close.

What the loss did immediately was ratchet up the pressure on everybody in the program – players, coaches, administrators.

Even departed Dennis Franchione had managed to beat Arkansas State in his opening game five seasons ago.

Byrne had targeted Sherman almost immediately in his search. Sherman was the anti-Fran, an old pro with ties to A&M going back to the R.C. Slocum regime.

Today, he's not the former NFL coach who opened up both the offense and practice. He's just the guy who lost to Arkansas State, and he will face more comparisons to failed Nebraska hire Bill Callahan.

Saturday's game at New Mexico has a new sense of urgency. So does a Sept. 20 payback game with Miami. What seemed to be a manageable schedule looks anything but.

Kyle Field is a big place, and Aggie fans, for all their devotion, like supporting winners.

Is that fair? Not at all. It does represent reality in what Franchione once called a "microwave society."

"Am I discouraged? No, I'm not discouraged," Sherman said late Saturday. "But I am disappointed."

His biggest problem will be correcting everything exposed by Arkansas State. The Aggies blew a 14-3 lead, turned the ball over four times and allowed 280 yards rushing.

A rebuilt offensive line struggled in the second half. Kicker Richie Bean missed field goal attempts of 25 and 32 yards. The wide receiver corps is painfully thin, so much so that backup quarterbacks Jerrod Johnson and Ryan Tannehill each caught passes.

Sherman's history shows he finds a way to succeed, whether as a college assistant or head coach of the Green Bay Packers.

"Well, you know I've been in situations like this before, and I told the guys you can learn more about yourself from adversity than you even can from winning a football game," Sherman said. "My biggest concern was there would be a deflation when we weren't executing very well. And I didn't feel that.

"There was a sense of urgency in talking to the players. ... No hang-dog attitude about it. We'll learn more about them in the next couple of days with how they respond to this."

Staff writer Bobbi Roquemore contributed to this report.

1. Oklahoma (1-0, 0-0)

2. Missouri (1-0, 0-0)

3. Texas (1-0, 0-0): Sophomore TE Blaine Irby could be the heir apparent to David Thomas and Jermichael Finley. After recording just two catches in 2007, Irby had seven receptions for 62 yards and a TD against Florida Atlantic. Irby provides another weapon for Colt McCoy.

4. Kansas (1-0, 0-0)

5. Texas Tech (1-0, 0-0): The Red Raiders face by far their toughest nonconference test Saturday, at Nevada. The Wolf Pack has played in three consecutive bowls under coach Chris Ault. Nevada rushed for 426 yards in a 49-13 win over Grambling State and could test what is supposed to be a much-improved Tech defense.

6. Oklahoma State (1-0, 0-0)

7. Colorado (1-0, 0-0)

8. Nebraska (1-0, 0-0)

9. Kansas State (1-0, 0-0)

10. Texas A&M (0-1, 0-0)

11. Iowa State (1-0, 0-0)

12. Baylor (0-1, 0-0)