Texas A&M vs. Florida preview
“I get knocked down, but I get back up again. You’re never gonna keep me down” -Chumbawamba
By: The Hammer
Saturday. 12:00 PM ET on ESPN. We Ride.
I sure hope the Ags have been spinning Chumbawamba on repeat this week (although I doubt it) because they could sure use that message. A&M got knocked down hard last week against Alabama. But that game is over and done - we are on to Florida. Such as life in the SEC, Florida has looked great so far this year and is ranked #4 in the country. Too bad we don’t have Fresno State, the team originally scheduled for October 10th, to pad some stats.
Coming into this game, it feels similar to Alabama in the sense that A&M will need to play very well to win - but let's not confuse Florida with the Tide. They are a great team, but Bama is on another level. This is the perfect time for Jimbo and his guys to rise up when no one believes in them. We can beat these guys.
The Aggie secondary was exposed last weekend, and Florida can sling the dadgum ball. Kyle Trask has looked incredible through two games, throwing for 681 yards, 10 touchdowns, and one interception. All while completing over 70% of his passes. His stepbrother Kyle “Stinky” Pitts has been equally impressive as a pass catcher. The highly touted tight end has lived up to the hype, catching 12 balls for 227 yards and 6 touchdowns in those two games. Pitts is a matchup nightmare for any defense, especially one that appears to be very susceptible to big plays. If Elko can scheme up something to slow down Pitts, I like our chances. Of course, they have other athletes at wide receiver (Kadarius Toney) and running back (Dameon Pierce) who can hurt you, it's Florida. But Pitts is clearly the biggest threat and go-to option for Trask.
Photo: John Raoux, AP
Florida’s rushing attack does not scare me and I expect the Aggies to stop the run again. If our front seven did not give up anything on the ground against Najee Harris and the Alabama offensive line, then we ain’t giving anything up to Florida either. The Gators only ran for 80 yards against South Carolina, and our front seven is more talented than the Gamecocks’. The key here is the pass rush. We need to be able to generate pressure with four guys. Trask is not that mobile but he is great at shuffling around the pocket, similar to Mac Jones. The defensive line needs to make him uncomfortable. It’s risky blitzing right now because our secondary is very suspect. We need as many guys back in coverage as possible right now. If A&M can get in Trask’s face without bringing additional players on a blitz, we can disrupt the Florida passing game and cover many of those secondary deficiencies.
Offensively this should be a solid game for A&M. I said in the Sunrise Yell Newsletter on Wednesday morning that the Aggies need to break 30 in this game. It will be hard to keep Florida under that number given the groove they are in offensively. So it’s time for Kellen (or Haynes) and the offense to step up. Florida gave up 613 yards and 35 points against Ole Miss and 329 yards and 24 points to South Carolina. Much of that yardage discrepancy is due to the different styles of offense those teams play. While South Carolina did not have a ton of yards, they racked up 24 first downs and dominated time of possession 36 minutes to 23. Point being, we can move the ball against these fools.
I really like A&M’s run game in this one. I hope Spiller gets 15 carries and Kellen has a handful as well. Winning time of possession will be big here because I want Trask and Pitts matched up on our secondary as little as possible. Ainias is definitely the best big-play threat we have so between runs and passes out of the backfield, he needs double-digit touches too. Starting to sound like a broken record here even though it’s only two games, but we still need a receiver to step up. No, they have not been awful but we need a real weapon on the outside. Someone who strikes a little fear in the defense. Yes, Wydermyer is a stud but he is more of a safety blanket and red-zone threat. He’s not going to beat anyone deep and take the top off the defense.
Jimbo Fisher on a gator hunt, date unknown.
Right now, it does not look like anyone on A&M’s offense can do that. Yet, the same thing I said against Bama rings true here as well: we need to have a downfield threat. Florida claims to be “DBU” so you can bet if their secondary is not worried about the Aggies taking shots and getting beat deep, it could be a long day again. There’s only so much room in the short to intermediate passing game when there is no fear in the opponent’s secondary. Everything gets pinched down and you are forced to throw into much smaller windows, leaving little opportunity for yards after catch, and making it more likely for a DB to jump the route and intercept it (see Bama’s pick-6).
A&M should be able to run the ball effectively and set up some play-action downfield. We just need Kellen to be accurate and a receiver to get some separation. As explosive as Florida’s offense is, we’ll need some chunk yardage to keep pace. Can’t just methodically move the ball and expect to keep up - look at South Carolina vs Florida for evidence. The potential is there and it’s time for the Aggies to step up. Be smart but aggressive and do not be afraid to air it out a few times. Have to keep Florida’s secondary honest.
I sure hope this team is fed up with how they have been talked about this past week. They better come out fired up and ready to make a statement. Hit these Gators right in the mouth. You know Florida will be cocky and think they can score all day on this defense. Shut‘em up. Call me a homer, but I think Jimbo will have this team juiced and the Aggies pull off a thrilling upset.
Texas A&M 34
Florida 31
#BTHOFLORIDA
