Texas A&M vs New Mexico Preview
Jimbo and Calzada cooking up some offense this week.
After narrowly escaping Mile High Stadium with a 10-7 victory, the Aggies get to return home to Kyle Field. The New Mexico Lobos will be coming to town for an early kickoff. Back in the day, I had a dynasty with New Mexico on NCAA 2007 where I took the Lobos to unprecedented heights by winning a national championship. While this current Lobo team is undefeated right now, that won’t fool anyone into thinking they can compete for a national title. This is just what the doctor ordered for A&M: a reprieve.
I don’t mean to disparage New Mexico, and we have no right to be cocky after what happened last week, but this is just being realistic. Texas A&M is the better, more talented team by a wide margin in this match up. It should be a great opportunity for Zach Calzada and the rest of the offense to figure some things out. And there is a TON to figure out if A&M still has hopes of competing with Alabama and potentially making a run at the CFP.
Some of the key questions I have coming into the week:
How will Calzada look after a full week of practice as the starter?
How does the game plan shift to better fit Calzada’s strengths?
Can the offensive line get some chemistry and push the Lobos off the ball?
Are wide receivers able to separation consistently?
I think Calzada will look way better. Partially because I don’t think much of New Mexico’s defense, but also because I expect him to be way more comfortable. He came into a tough situation last week and seemed to get get more comfortable as the game went on, culminating in his 4th quarter comeback. This is not a tough situation. You are now the starter, and your team is way better than the opponent. He should be calm, confident and consistent in this game. I think he will be all of those things, but if he isn’t we could be in trouble moving forward.
Calzada celebrates with Ainias Smith after taking down Colorado. Photo by Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
I’m also really interested to see how Jimbo adjusts the game plan and play calling to put Calzada in the best position. I was not happy with the game he called last week, but I know a good portion of the game plan had to be scrapped once King went down. Jimbo is a good offensive coach so I’m counting on him to have a good plan this week. Going hand in hand with that, wide receivers need to be able to get open consistently. I think in some cases last week, the play call ended up looking like a dud but the real issue was a lack of open receivers or Calzada just missing them. That needs to be improved upon, but Jimbo can do a much better job of scheming guys open as well.
Now to the offensive line - Colorado’s front was far better than I anticipated, but I know our offensive line can be better than they showed, too. Now is the time to show it. We all saw what Arkansas did to Texas in the trenches - they are physical. We have to be ready for them, so this week is huge for getting reps and improving that offensive line communication and chemistry. We should be able to run the ball well on Saturday and I’m hoping Spiller and Achane run wild on the Lobos. But that starts up front. We need better play from the offensive line.
Defensively I have no worries. That group is so damn good, and with the return of McKinnley Jackson, just got even better. New Mexico is led by former Kentucky quarterback “back it up” Terry Wilson Jr. No clue how he ended up there, but Wilson isn't a bad QB. Well, maybe he is a bad QB, but he’s at least athletic. And for what it’s worth, he has solid numbers through air so far this season with 560 yards and 6 touchdowns on 48/65 attempts through two games. Wilson can make some plays but I just don’t see him finding much room in this game. The Aggie front seven should be in his face all game and the secondary can lock down the wide outs. A tough afternoon ahead for Wilson and the Lobo offense.
This game is less about the final score and more about how A&M executes. Everyone knows this defense can execute, it’s the offense that we’re worried about. This game should be a good litmus test for the offense as a whole and Zach Calzada. There should be no pressure in this game so it’s the perfect scenario to leave behind any nerves and just play ball. Just do your job. Play sharp. Execute. If they can do can do that against New Mexico, the score will take care of itself and Aggie fans across the country will be much more confident about this team moving forward. I have faith in this team and Jimbo to right the ship, if you recall A&M didn’t look too hot after two games last year, so I know it can be done. Saturday is the first step in doing it again. Beat the hell out of New Mexico and go 3-0.
Texas A&M 41
New Mexico 10
#BTHONEWMEXICO
