Texas A&M vs. Mississippi State Preview
"I thought happiness was Lubbock Texas in my rearview mirror" - Mac Davis (also probably Mike Leach) By: The Hammer
Saturday. 3 PM CT on ESPN. We Ride.
What goes well with a big win? Another win. No time to bask in the glory of the victory over Florida, we’ve got Mike Leach and the Bulldogs to defeat. If you have been an Aggie fan for a long time, you know Leach was a thorn in A&M’s side during his unsettling tenure on the West Texas plains at Texas Tech. The Aggies went 3-7 against Leach when he was leading the Red Raiders. Ouch.
I know that was a long time ago. A&M is a different program now and Leach has graduated from locking people in sheds to captaining a Mississippi State Pirate ship, but it’s hard to erase those memories. He’s like a mad scientist patrolling the sidelines, with a long history of torturing the Aggie defense. His tenure in Starkville has just begun, so it’s hard to get a feel for this team at the moment. After bursting onto the SEC scene by beating defending National Champion LSU and breaking the SEC single game passing record in the process, Mississippi State has lost twice in a very unimpressive fashion. Two straight poor offensive performances against Arkansas and Kentucky, capped off with a hysterical 24-2 loss to the Wildcats. Yes, Mike Leach’s offense did not score a single point (obviously the two points are from a safety by the defense). Remember that bandwagon video they put out after week one? Yeah, that aged well.
A replica of the Amityville Horror Shed outside of Lubbock, Texas. Photo: Jay Calderon, The Desret Sun
This team appears to have a Jekyll and Hyde quality to it, mirroring much of Mike Leach’s career. Big wins followed by puzzling losses. Maybe LSU and Bo Pelini’s defense is just garbage (looking more and more like this each week; can’t wait for this chump to return to Kyle Field) and the LSU win should not be considered “big” because the Bulldogs have been exposed against better defensive units like Arkansas and Kentucky. It’s hard to predict how the Bulldog’s offense will look at this point, but I know this for sure: If KJ Costello continues to turn the ball over, A&M wins easily. Costello has thrown nine interceptions in three games with only six touchdowns. Leon O’Neal and Demani Richardson should be licking their chops in anticipation for this one. Arkansas and Kentucky both have solid defenses, but A&M should be able to stop these guys too. Even though Leach is a wizard, his team is not firing on all cylinders offensively at this point.
Use the Arkansas and Kentucky games as a blueprint. Rush three or four guys, drop everyone else into coverage and play a zone on the back end. I trust our defensive line to get enough pressure and stop whatever pitiful attempt at a run game Leach tries. The Aggie secondary was exposed against Bama, and Florida threw the ball easily as well (although I think the coverage was much improved), however, I think with the proper scheme Elko can cover up the holes. Just play more zone coverage, don’t give up big plays and try to jump a route or two and pick the ball off.
One thing that scares me - I am hearing Leach might play the backup quarterback Will “Wild Bill” Rogers. Now, typically a true freshman quarterback playing for the first time is great news for a defense, but A&M has a history of making freshmen QBs look like Heisman contenders, just ask Shea Patterson. Not only does Will Rogers sound like a gunslinging cowboy, descended from the great Roy Rogers, but he also ran the air raid in high school in Brandon, MS. Just something to keep an eye on.
The Aggie offense should be able to have a good day again, assuming Kellen plays well. The Mississippi State defense has actually been their strength the last two games (Kentucky had 157 yards of total offense), but Arkansas and Kentucky do not have the offensive talent as A&M. LSU racked up 425 yards and 34 points on the Bulldog defense, and I expect A&M to have a similar state line to that. Losing Chapman hurts of course, but it’s a next man up sport. Wydermyer can still ball. Chase Lane has been solid. And maybe, just maybe, we finally start to see all world freshman Demond Demas. Time will tell who steps in for Chapman, but the talent is there. I think Mond plays well again and Spiller breaks the 100 yard mark for the second straight game. It probably won't be as easy offensively as it was against Florida, but we can score on these guys.
Photo: Sam Craft/Associated Press
On paper, this is an easy win for Jimbo and the Aggies. Yet, I hear a voice in the back of my head reminding me of past trips for Starkville that did not go the Aggies way, despite how the game looked on paper. I’m not sure if it’s the cowbells or what, but something about that place makes A&M play below their ability. Hopefully the Aggies get up to an early lead and the 25% capacity crowd full of crazy cowbell ringing Bulldogs will be shut up. No two ways about it, this is a big game. A&M got the nation’s attention with their win over Florida, and it needs to keep the momentum rolling. Don’t let all this talk and praise go to your head. Take care of business and beat these jokers.
Texas A&M: 34
Mississippi State: 20
#BTHOMISSISSIPPISTATE
