By Hunt Palmer
It’s time to start to look ahead at LSU next opponent, the Texas A&M Aggies. The teams have enjoyed mirroring starts to the season. A&M lost a tough game in the opener to Notre Dame but has since rattled off six straight wins. Mike Elko has a confident team in his first season as the head coach in College Station. He’s also got a confident fanbase that will pack Kyle Field with more than 100,000 Aggies Saturday night. The winner of the game will emerge as the outright Southeastern Conference leader entering November. The loser will find its College Football Playoff margin for error gone. Here’s a purely statistical look at Texas A&M
(For perspective 1st is always the best, even if the number is lowest. 16 is always worst)
Texas A&M Offense:
Scoring Offense: 9th 31.4 points per game
Total Offense: 11th 404.7 yards per game
Rushing Offense: 2nd 218 yards per game
Rushing Attempts: 3rd 407 attempts per game
Runs for 10+ yards: 4th 39
Passing Offense: 13th 186 yards per game
Passing Attempts: 15th 24.2 attempts per game
Passes of 20+ yards: 11th 20
Sacks Allowed: 2nd 7 (one per game)
Third Down Conversions: 5th 45.4%
Red Zone Touchdowns Percentage: 3rd 70.3%
Plays: 11th 65 plays per game
Time of Possession: 5th 31:43 per game
The Aggies want to run the football. No matter if Connor Weigman or Marcel Reed is at quarterback, the running game sets the tone for the offense. In the Aggies’ best performances of the year, blowout wins over Missouri and Florida, the Texas A&M ground game took over. The Aggies ran 55 times for 310 yards in the Swamp and 36 more time for 236 yards against Missouri. Take the offense’s weakest efforts, the loss to Notre Dame and the narrow win over Arkansas, and the rushing totals in those two 146 and 134 respectively.
The passing game has been spotty. Weigman really struggled against Notre Dame, Throwing for just 100 yards, and Reed was not much better when he went down.
Texas A&M wants to stay ahead of the chains, pick up third downs and finish in the redzone. It sounds simple and cliché’, but this is a simple offense. It’s not been explosive or consistent.
Texas A&M Defense:
Scoring Defense: 6th 17.7 points per game
Total Defense: 8th 325 yards per game
Rushing Defense: 11th 116 yards per game
Yards Per Carry Allowed: 13th 3.76 yards per carry
Passing Defense: 8th 209 yards per game
Opponents Completion Percentage: 1st 54%
Opponent Third Down Conversions: 6th 31%
Sacks: 7th 17
Tackles for Loss: 6th 51 (7.3 per game)
Opponent Plays of 20+: 7th 24
Opponent Runs for 10+: 12th 27 (3.9 per game)
Opponent Passes of 20+: 3rd 14 (2 per game)
Opponent Red Zone Touchdowns Percentage: 7th 50%
Elko did a great job with the Aggie defense during his stint as defensive coordinator under head coach Jimbo Fisher. He also worked in the same role under LSU head coach Brian Kelly at Notre Dame. His first unit back in College Station has been about league average across the board this far. Granted, the offenses A&M has seen haven’t been elite. None of the Aggies’ four league opponents rank in the Top 7 in scoring offense. Missouri ranks eighth, Florida 10th, Arkansas 11th and Mississippi State 14th.
LSU will be the best offensive Texas A&M has seen thus far. The Tigers rank fifth in the league in scoring and total offense. The interesting statistic here is the Aggies leading the conference in completion percentage allowed. Florida’s Graham Mertz did complete 12 of 15 throws against A&M, but the Aggies did pick him off.
The Tigers proved to be a step up in weight class for Ole Miss and Arkansas. We’ll see if that holds against Texas A&M.
