COLLEGE STATION – Regardless of the outcome, Texas A&M will make history Saturday against Texas A&M.
The Aggies will be the fifth team to face two No. 1 teams in the same season when they welcome the top-ranked Crimson Tide to Kyle Field. The other teams with that dubious honor have a 4-11-1 record against the number ones. In 1970, A&M lost at No. 1 Ohio State (56-13) and at No. 1 Texas (52-14) during a 2-9 season.
“Not many people get to say they played the No. 1 team,” said junior offensive tackle Carson Green from Southlake. “We get to do it twice.”
You might remember that when A&M had a highly anticipated game at No. 1 and defending national champion Clemson, offensive lineman Jared Hocker predicted that the Aggies, a 20-point underdog, would pull an upset. Final score: Clemson 24, Texas A&M 10.
Sophomore defensive tackle Bobby Brown, who flipped from an Alabama commitment to sign with the Aggies, was asked if playing the Tide provided him with incentive. Brown sensed that he was being asked to navigate a mine field. He decided to walk the opposite direction.
If the Aggies are laughing late Saturday afternoon, it will mean the end of a six-game losing streak to Alabama. For that to happen, logic indicates that A&M needs a major boost in its running game. (Of course, “logic” rarely has any impact on a college football outcome.)
With two weeks to prepare for the Tide, coach Jimbo Fisher basically spent the first week taking his team back to fall camp with an emphasis on the mental and the fundamental.
“We’ve got a lot of young guys on the line and we’re still figuring things out,” Green said. “So far, we’ve just been making a lot of little mistakes. We’re still searching. But I think we play well when it’s up-tempo. When we do that, we just get the play and go. The defense doesn’t have as much time to react and we just block.”
In Texas A&M’s last game, it faced an Arkansas defense with a size disadvantage up front. And in its previous four games, the Razorbacks had surrendered 15 gains by opposing running backs of 10 or more yards. The Aggies’ backs in that game – Isaiah Spiller and Jacob Kibodi – combined for 16 carries and 38 yards. Kibodi had a 14-yard run in the second half, the only rush for 10 or more yards.
In three games against Power Five foes (Clemson, Auburn and Arkansas) – A&M running backs have 48 carries for 126 yards – 2.6 yards per carry. A&M backs have four carries in those three games have gained 10 or more yards.
Against Auburn, Kibodi had a long run of 22 yards on a draw play on third and 30 in the third quarter. Earlier in the quarter, Spiller gained 13 yards but fumbled, a turnover that set up the touchdown providing the Tigers a 21-3 lead.
“You may run to throw or throw to run,” Fisher said. “But you’ve got to run the football and you’ve got to have balance. Whatever offensive drives we have, they need to end with points. We’ve got to score. The running game needs to be a part of that. It’s the offensive line, the tight ends, the running backs. We need to find a rhythm.”
Alabama is occupying a familiar spot in the rankings but is doing it in an unusual way. Heading into the second Saturday in October, the Crimson Tide is third in passing offense, fourth in both scoring and total offense. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa leads the nation with 23 passing touchdowns and is third in passing efficiency. The receiving trio of Devonta Smith, Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III might be the best in the nation.
“No. 1 teams are No. 1 because they play very well,” Fisher said. “And that’s what we’ve got to do.”
Last season in the Aggies’ 45-23 loss in Tuscaloosa, quarterback Kellen Mond was the top rusher with 98 yards and a touchdown on 18 attempts. He was more involved in the running game in the 31-27 victory over Arkansas on Sept. 28.
“We need to keep their defense off balance with our run game,” junior quarterback Kellen Mond said. “Whether it’s just the run game or quarterback draws or called runs for me, we have to make them account for and respect our running game.”
In Alabama’s three games against Power Five foes (Duke, South Carolina, Ole Miss), the Crimson Tide is allowing 173.7 yards per game and 4.4 yards per carry on the ground. The strength of Bama’s defense is its secondary, since its front seven is young (on its depth chart, seven freshmen, five sophomores, two juniors and three seniors).
Fisher, like Brown, isn’t taking that bait.
“I don’t know what film you’re watching,” he said when asked about the Tide’s rushing defense. “They’ve got great size and, yes, some young players at linebacker. But those are just statistics. A lot of the rushing yards they’ve allowed has come late in games.”
A sellout crowd of nearly 102,000 (about double the crowd that showed up in AT&T Stadium) is expected. In its two games against ranked foes, A&M has been slow out of the starting blocks, trailing by double digits at Clemson and at home against Auburn. Once the Tigers jumped to a 14-0 lead, whatever electricity the crowd had at kickoff had been drained.
“Coach has been emphasizing we get off to a fast start,” linebacker Buddy Johnson said. “Those two games, we had to claw our way back. We still want to fight and claw, but we need to start fast and finish strong.”
Veteran observers of Aggie football believe that the renovation/expansion of Kyle Field removed some of the venue’s effectiveness. Maybe the Gig ‘Ems will get fired up by ESPN’s Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Chris “Bear” Fallica questioning A&M’s game-day atmosphere.
Since 2012 (the first season in the Southeastern Conference), the Aggies are 5-11 at home against ranked opponents. Last year’s seven-overtime defeat of No. 8 LSU is the highest-ranked team A&M has defeated during that span.
The Aggies who were interviewed Monday have sworn off social media, so the Instagram post from ESPN that made the rounds fell on deaf ears. But Fisher was asked if Kyle Field’s bark is worse than its bite.
“I couldn’t imagine it” he said. “I don’t know who would say that and why they would say that. I think (the atmosphere) has been tremendous. I think it’s as good as anywhere to play in the country. The atmosphere, the electricity. The fans are awesome. They’re into as much as any place I’ve been to. It’s a phenomenal place for people who love their atmosphere and environment.”
They would also love an upset of the nation’s top-ranked team.