Time for the Rocky Top Stomp
Who’s ready for a humdinger in the Smokies? Grab the moonshine and take a look at the Texas A&M vs Tennessee Preview. By: The Hammer
The Fightin’ Texas Aggies will travel to Rocky Top on Saturday to take on a struggling Volunteer team. Since joining the SEC, the Aggies have only played Tennessee once and it was a memorable game. In 2016, Alvin Kamara, Josh Dobbs and the Vols came to Kyle Field undefeated and ranked #9 in the country. The Aggies, led by Trevor Knight, were also undefeated and ranked #8 in the country. A&M pulled out a thrilling victory in overtime thanks to an Armani Watts interception. What a great game that was.
Unfortunately, both teams stumbled to the finish line after that midseason top 10 bout. Tennessee finished the 2016 season 9-4 after starting 5-0. And our beloved Aggies finished 8-5 after a 6-0 start. Sheesh. It’s no coincidence that both schools made coaching changes after the 2017 season and just like that the Butch Jones and Kevin Sumlin eras were over.
Since that game in 2016 and the subsequent coach dismissals after 2017, these programs have been going in different directions. The Aggies got their man in Jimbo Fisher and are trending upwards quickly. Tennessee botched their coaching search after nearly hiring Mike Leach and Greg Schiano before settling for Jeremy Pruitt. Pruitt ended last season with a 6-game winning streak which prompted the brass up on Rocky Top (Phillip Fulmer) to give him a contract extension. Well, now the Vols are 3-6 and look completely lost so that extension did not age well.
Enough with the setup, let’s dig into the matchup this weekend. Spoiler: it’s going to be a long day for Smokey because Reveille is coming to crack skulls in this mascot battle. The Aggies have everything to play for: an 8-1 season, a chance at the College Football Playoff, and at worst a New Year’s Six bowl bid. Something we have not seen since Johnny Manziel walked the campus. Tennessee, on the other hand, has nothing to play for except pride and gaining experience for next year. I don’t think the Vols will fire Pruitt but then again, I didn't think Auburn will show Gus Malzahn the door either. And Hugh Freeze has still not taken a big-time job so all bets are off.
I love Smokey, but I hope he looks this sad on Saturday.
The Vols are just not a very good football team this year, and their biggest issue is at quarterback. Eric Gray is a talented running back and their receivers are decent but the quarterback situation is a dumpster fire. Jarrett Guarantano is the same as he’s always been: average and very, very turnover prone. Harrison Bailey and JT Shrout have also seen time under center but neither has been great. Last week, Guarantano saw no playing time, while Bailey started and Shrout got a similar amount of snaps. With the coaching staff constantly juggling between those three players, no one has had a shot to get in rhythm. They may not even be good enough to get in any sort of rhythm but I don't think anyone, other than Garrettano, has gotten enough playing time to settle in.
With the uncertainty at quarterback, the Tennessee offense has suffered. They are just 10th in the SEC coming into this game with an average of 361 yards and 22.4 points per game. I expect the stout Aggie defense to feast in this game. The Tennessee offensive line is not bad, but their best player Cade Mays will be out with injury. And so far no one has really been able to block the Aggie front seven. Load up the box to stop Eric Gray and make whoever is playing QB beat us because they can’t. Our secondary is playing very well and could easily pick off a few passes this weekend. I’ll be surprised if the Vols get to 21 points on Saturday. Shut them down from wire to wire.
Photo: Michael Miller, The Eagle
On the other side of the ball, Tennessee is slightly better but nothing special. Their defense is 7th in the SEC giving up 397 yards and 29 points per game. I think the points per game is inflated a bit because the Vols defense is constantly put into tough situations from turnovers. That said, the Aggies should have a relatively easy day offensively. Tennessee is pretty average at every spot defensively so A&M can pick and choose how they want to attack.
Look for a similar gameplan to the one against Auburn. Run heavy with Spiller, Achane and some Mond/Smith mixed in then hit the play-action passing game with a heavy dose of Wydermyer. I think we’ll see more of that option look as well considering how effective it was against Auburn. Even Mond, and I can't believe I’m saying this given his fumbling history, looked solid running the option and made great decisions.
There’s been a ton of chatter about how A&M has not looked impressive in their wins. We’ve addressed that nonsense multiple times so I’m not going to beat a dead horse. But I do think that changes this weekend. Although I don't think Jimbo cares what people say, he isn't deaf and neither are these players. They will be looking to make a statement and impress the committee as much as possible in their final regular-season game. There will be no doubt who the better team is in Neyland Stadium when the final whistle blows.
I don’t see Jimbo or these players taking their foot off the gas as they have in other games like Arkansas, LSU, and maybe Mississippi State. Not sure it will be as ugly as the South Carolina game, but it might be close. This is an exciting time to be an Aggie fan and no matter what happens this weekend and how the CFP rankings shake out, be proud of this team and what they accomplished. A&M is trending up and is here to stay, and this group is laying the foundation for years to come.
It ain’t gonna be like it used to be.
Texas A&M - 38
Tennessee - 14
#BTHOTennessee
