As blasphemous and flippant as this might appear, Texas A&M and Texas are on parallel tracks as we head into the season’s fourth week.
Both teams have gone win, loss, win, with the losses coming to ranked foes. Both the Aggies and the Longhorns bounced back from their losses with business-like performances against overmatched foes last Saturday.
And this week both A&M and UT start conference play with home games with the similarities continuing. Both opponents – Auburn and Oklahoma State – are 3-0 and are having success with freshmen quarterbacks. The biggest difference is that the Tigers are ranked eighth while the Cowboys are unranked. Also, both games are on national television (Auburn-A&M on CBS, Oklahoma State-Texas on ABC).
At some point, the paths for the Aggies (ranked 17th) and the Longhorns (ranked 12th) will diverge. For this week, though, here are the topics and issues facing both teams for their conference openers.
Texas: Defending national leaders
Tom Herman went to the movies to describe Oklahoma State’s offense: “It’s a scene from Armageddon, scariest environment imaginable,” the Texas coach said Monday.
The Cowboys have the nation’s leading rusher in sophomore Chuba Hubbard and the top receiver in junior Tylan Wallace (Fort Worth South Hills), who is averaging 26 yards per catch. Last season in Stillwater, Wallace had 222 yards on 10 receptions against Texas. Redshirt freshman quarterback Spencer Sanders from Denton Ryan is 14th in FBS in passing efficiency and averages 6.4 yards per rush attempt.
For a Longhorns defense that has yet to prove it can contain an explosive attack, slowing down Oklahoma State will be Job One in the Big 12 opener.
“It’s going to be a challenge, for sure, but you can’t sell your soul to stop one,” Herman said of the Cowboys’ trio. They’ve got the nation’s leading rusher, an All-American wide receiver, a quarterback that cannot only throw it to that receiver, but is a threat with his running ability, too. You’ve got to be sound.”
A&M: Handling Auburn’s defensive front
The Aggies failed in their big test in Week Two because Clemson’s rebuilt defensive line – which so far is outperforming last season’s group that helped the Tigers win the national championship – kept A&M from mounting an offensive challenge.
Auburn has held two of its first three opponents to fewer than 100 yards rushing and the Tigers’ defensive front might be the best in the SEC. Thus far, the Aggies’ offensive line has been inconsistent in both run blocking and pass protection. Against Clemson, A&M generated just 53 yards rushing.
“Auburn’s defensive front is big and physical, and it might be the best in the nation,” A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said Monday. “They try to make sure the quarterback doesn’t have much time and has to make the ball come out quickly.”
Junior quarterback Kellen Mond has improved in his ability to withstand pressure in the pocket, something that he struggled with last season. Auburn’s defense will no doubt try to make sure Mond doesn’t getting settled when dropping to pass.
A&M: Limiting Auburn’s run game
The Tigers are relying on freshman quarterback Bo Nix to be a game manager. His numbers thus far are average at best, with his signature moment a game-winning touchdown pass in the final minute of the season opener against Oregon.
Auburn wants and needs to rely on its running game to ease the mental and physical pressure on Nix. In last week’s victory over Kent State, the Tigers had three running backs rush for at least 100 yards – JaTarvious Whitlow (135), Joey Gatewood (102) and Shaun Shivers (102). Whitlow, a sophomore, is the main man after being productive as a backup last season.
Texas A&M’s defense has allowed just 251 rushing yards thus far and ranks 21st in FBS I rushing defense. The Aggies allow 3.3 yards per carry and 83.7 yards per game. Making Auburn one-dimensional will be a crucial factor. Under coach Gus Malzahn, the Tigers are 42-11 in games where they have a 100-yard rusher and 13-0 when two runners break the century mark.
Running backs
Both Texas and Texas A&M have been dealing with injuries that have thinned their running back corps.
The Aggies lost starting running back Jashaun Corbin to a season-ending hamstring injury in the second half of the Clemson game. Thus far, the team’s most productive back has been freshman Isaiah Spiller, who is averaging 8.8 yards per carry. He didn’t start against Lamar last week and the biggest concern is a rookie handling blocking schemes to help protect Mond.
The Longhorns’ depth at running back was bolstered by the return of Daniel Young last week. Sophomore RB Keaontay Ingram leads the team in rushing and is averaging 5.3 yards per carry. Backup Roschon Johnson, a freshman who was moved from quarterback to running back a month ago when injuries depleted the position, is averaging 4.7 per carry.
“(Having) two scholarship running backs and a third converted quarterback playing that position very well allows you to take a deep breath a little bit in terms of the crazy contingency plans that we were all trying to dream up,” Herman said.
Defending home field
The past is merely prelude but the recent history of the series between Oklahoma State-Texas and Auburn-Texas A&M provides plenty of fodder for the fans and the media.
The Cowboys have had a galling – for Burnt Orange fans – hex over UT. In addition to a four-game winning streak over the Longhorns, Oklahoma State has won five consecutive games in Austin – a feat never before accomplished by a Texas opponent.
Since the Aggies joined the SEC in 2012 and became regular foes against Auburn in the West Division, the series has oddly favored the visiting team. Prior to the Tigers winning last season in Jordan-Hare Stadium, the visiting team had traded victories.
Both the Longhorns and the Aggies need to defend their home fields in their conference openers. Neither team can afford a second loss before the end of the season’s first month. For A&M, this is the second game in two weeks against a top 10 foe. In three weeks, second-ranked Alabama will visit Kyle Field.