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The friendly confines of Truist Stadium once again became a Little Shop of Horrors for A&T’s football team as 12-ranked Monmouth lived up to their billing last Saturday and thoroughly embarrassed the Aggies, 63-19, on Senior Day.
It was the second straight home game that A&T has allowed an opponent to score more than 60 points and the third time that’s happened this season. The Aggies have now surrendered a total of 263 points at home this year, which is a school record.
The home field advantage that previously helped the Aggies enjoy miracle wins against Hampton and Campbell was non-existent against the high-powered Hawks who amassed 696 yards of total offense and led 42-13 at halftime.
"Honestly, those guys are bigger, stronger, and faster," said A&T head coach Shawn Gibbs afterwards. “They wore us out. We gave it a little bit of a fight, but we were overmatched in every aspect.”
Now, the Aggies (2-9 overall, 2-5 in the Coastal Athletic Association) hope to somehow turn the page and finish the 2025 season on a positive note with a road matchup this Saturday at 2 p.m. against nearby rival Elon.
A&T currently leads the all-time series between the two schools 8 to 6, although the Phoenix (5-6, overall, 3-4 in the CAA) have captured the last two meetings including a 31-21 win last year.
While many Aggie fans might be ready for the season to come to a merciful end, Gibbs knows an offseason of important work and tough decisions is just ahead.
During his final weekly press conference on the season, Gibbs hinted that some major personnel changes were coming to the program, both in the locker room and within his coaching staff.
“I’m tired of coming here, week after week and saying the same things. But as the head coach of a football team, I understand that’s my responsibility,” Gibbs said.
“I have to own the way that we’re playing and quite frankly it's embarrassing. But I’m fully committed to changing this program for the better."
Gibbs acknowledged that he feels pressure from the fanbase to show rapid improvements after the program has now suffered three consecutive losing seasons, but said he embraces that challenge.
“I believe in the now. Every week this season, my only concern has been to do everything we can to try and defeat our opponent. I believe in getting it done now. I believe we can and we could’ve gotten it done now. But to get this program to where it needs to go, we need coaches and players who are ready and believe we can get it done now. Not later and not when things settle, or not when we get our players in here, but get it done today. Get it done now. I need guys who are concerned about beating Elon this week rather than thinking about what school they’re going to transfer to next season.”
“If you’re not all in, if your mind and your heart and your soul are somewhere else, then leave. Go ahead and leave now.”
One A&T player who Gibbs will surely hate to see walk out the door is graduate kicker Andrew “Money” Brown who dazzled in his final home game last week with a perfect 4-for-4 performance on field goals including a record three made kicks of more than 50 yards.
Brown, who was named CAA Special Teams Player of the Week for the third time this season, currently ranks 20th in the nation in field goal percentage and 15th in field goals per game.
He is now 5-for-5 from 50 yards or more this season and has made seven 50-plus yard field goals in his career.
When asked if he thought Brown was a first-ballot entry into the A&T Sports Hall of Fame when his tenure in the blue and gold ends on Saturday, Gibbs responded as if that was a no-brainer.
“If you’re the greatest at your position, how are you not? I don’t think it’s a debate on who the greatest is.”
