Texas A&M vs Ole Miss Preview
Texas A&M heads to Oxford for their first big time road test of the season. A pivotal game for both teams. By: The Hammer
With some injuries on the Ole Miss offensive line, I think Leal will have a great game. Photo by Sam Craft, Associated Press
College Gameday snubbed the Aggies last weekend by heading to Cincinnati to see a 3-5 Tulsa team play the Bearcats when A&M’s matchup with Auburn was objectively a far better matchup. It appears the ESPN execs found some sense this weekend though, as the Gameday crew will be heading to Oxford for the first time since Katy Perry was the guest picker back in 2014. I’m more of a fan of SEC Nation’s pregame show these days, but there is no denying the hype and energy that College Gameday brings to a campus. The Grove, The Square, and Vaught Hemingway will be rocking all day long. And what an opportunity this is for the Aggies. No better time to get a big win than on the road than in primetime with the Gameday crew in town.
I’m a little nervous as this is the Aggies first real road game of the year. This team has played two neutral site games and played on the road at Missouri at 11 am in what reminded me of a high school atmosphere. That won’t be the case Saturday night. The Vaught will be packed, and even though it only holds about 65,000 people, expect it to be loud and rowdy. Aside from the atmosphere, Lane Kiffin and Jeff Lebby are fantastic offensive minds. Regardless of how limited Ole Miss is due to injuries at wide receiver, offensive line and QB, I think Lane and this staff will have a very good plan. If the Rebels are able to hit any big plays and keep that crowd into it, we’ll have a great game on our hands.
Vaught Hemingway will be rockin Saturday night. Can the Aggies rise to the occasion? Photo via @OleMissFB
That said, I really like the Aggies in this matchup. We run the ball very well, and Ole Miss has a bad run defense. Games are won in the trenches and A&M has an advantage on both lines of scrimmage. The Rebels are currently ranked 107th nationally in run defense, allowing just over 194 yards a game. Spiller and Achane have the potential for big games in this one, and if the Rebels really load up the box and sell out for the run, Calzada throws a nice deep ball. Just watch the throw he made to Caleb Chapman last week against Auburn. So look, assuming A&M can run the ball with some effectiveness, and protect Calzada, which will be a challenge as the Rebs have 33 sacks (4th nationally) on the year, then the Aggies will be able to score points. The Ole Miss defense is improved but they still have plenty of holes that good offenses can exploit.
Defensively, I’m worried about a blown coverage or two on a great play design from Kiffin and Lebby, but other than that, I’m not sure Ole Miss will be able to move the ball with a ton of consistency. And I don't mean that as a slight to Ole Miss, their offense is very good, but I’m not sure anyone is going to move the ball much with how this A&M defense is playing currently. They have been dominant, especially the front seven. Ole Miss has two starting offensive lineman injured, plus their quarterback has a lower leg injury. Neither of those are good signs when facing the Aggie defense. Corral is tough as hell and he’s playing through the pain, but he’s just not moving like he was earlier in the year, and that plays right into Elko and this defensive line’s hands.
Ole Miss will probably spread out very wide and try to hit some runs on the outside, maybe some jet sweeps or something due to the interior offensive line injuries. This might work a time or two, but the Aggie linebackers are coming into their own as well. Edgerrin Cooper, Aaron Hansford and the nickel Antonio Johnson will be crucial to stopping the Reb’s outside run game. If they can blow up a couple of plays behind the line and stall the Ole Miss offense, we’ll be in great shape.
Ole Miss is going to need to be able to run the ball, and I’m not not sure they will be able to consistently enough to outscore A&M here. If Ole Miss were fully healthy, this would be a different story, I just don’t think they have the bodies to keep up with the Aggies right now. And there’s no shame in that. This is Lane Kiffin’s second year. Jimbo is in year four. He’s got a big head start on the Lane Train. Really, this is a game A&M should win for all the reasons I just laid out. It’s a good matchup for the Aggies and Jimbo has a two year head start on Kiffin and gets paid a hell of a lot of money to win games just like this. Texas A&M is built to win games like this in November with defense, physicality, depth, a good run game, and sound decision making. It’s possible I’m over confident here, and my BAS will come back Saturday night, but I believe in this team. Beat the hell outta Ole Miss!
Texas A&M 34
Ole Miss 21
#BTHOLEMISS
