SB Nation - Ryan Tannehill

Baylor Game Review

Beergut — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:11:20 -0000

More photos » by Jerry Larson - AP

Texas A&M's Christine Michael (33) dives over Baylor's Jeremy Williams, left, to score on a 97-yard run during the second quarter of the Texas A&M-Baylor game. Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009, in College Station, Texas. The run was the longest in A&M's history. (AP Photo/Waco Tribune-Herald, Jerry Larson)

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It's hard to complain about a game in which you won by 5 touchdowna, and your defense holds the opponent to fewer than 300 yards of total offense and a field goal. The Aggies gained a season-high 375 yards rushing on 52 carries for 3 TDs and an average of 7.2 yards per carry. We were 19-25 passing for 153 yards and 2 TDs. We had 528 yards of total offense. The defense gave up 82 yards rushing on 26 carries for an average of 3.2 yards per carry, and 215 yards passing on 24 completions, while snagging 3 interceptions. All appearances are that the Aggies dominated the game to gain the win and bowl eligiblity. However, a closer look below the surface shows things aren't what they appear.

Offensively, I have little to complain about. I wasn't happy with Christine Michael's fumble, but I won't complain about his effort on a day he set the record for the longest play from scrimmage in Texas A&M football history. Michael does need to learn to protect the ball better. However, 114 yards rushing on 11 carries and a TD isn't too bad of a day. Cyrus Gray had 107 yards rushing on 14 carries, an average of 7.6 yards per carry. Along with Jerrod Johnson's 83 yards on 16 carries, Gray and Michael helped combine for the second 300-yard game from A&M's two starting RBs and the QB since the Tech game.

I was satisfied with the passing game. Jerrod spread the ball around to ten different receivers, and was an efficient 19-25 for 153 yards and 2 TDs. When Baylor came out in the second half and loaded the box, all but daring us to beat them with our passing game, I would have liked to see us go to the air some more, but when you can run the ball at will, like we were doing, there really is no reason to stop yourself if the defense can't stop you. Ryan Swope and Ryan Tannehill led the team with 4 receptions each, and Tannehill had one TD catch. I was also pleased to see Kenny Brown snag a TD on his one catch; his reception was on our first possession of the game, and helped us take the early lead. Considering the fact that Baylor only scored on a field goal, you could say Brown's one reception was the game-winner. Brown will be part of our future at the TE position, so it is nice to see him being productive. I enjoyed seeing Ryan Swope's role in this offense continue to grow; he is going to be a good one for us. I was surprised to see Uzoma Nwachukwu and Jeff Fuller only have 5 receptions between the two of them. I'm not sure if that is an issue of playcalling, or if defenses are doing a better job of getting help over deep to cover them, but Fuller and EZ should have a minimum of 15 receptions between the two of them each game, at least.

Defensively, out scheme continues to frustrate me. We seem to want to be aggressive on first and second down to stop the run, then drop off and keep the passing game in front of us on third down, and make the tackle. If the offense makes it down the field, we wait until they get to the red zone, then we play aggressive again, and try to force a field goal. Against Baylor, this strategy led to 3 interceptions, but better teams don't make those mistakes. We only had three sacks for the game, two of Nick Florence and one of Blake Syzmanski. We simply need to be able to bring more pressure than that. I know Baylor uses a lot of screens to take some pressure off their QB and get the ball out quickly, but we still gave Baylor too much time to pass the ball. Our run defense was okay; Jay Finley had one 26 yard run, and Jarred Salubi had a 34 yard run, but other than those two runs, we keep their ground game in check. We only gave up 177 yards passing to Florence on 21 completions, which means we were tacklng well, for the most part.

Overall, I am happy about this game, but we need to play better, especially on defense, if we want to win our next two games.

Colorado Game Review

Beergut — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:07:48 -0000

More photos » by JACK DEMPSEY - AP

Texas A&M running back Christine Michael (33) breaks a tackle by Colorado cornerback Jalil Brown (23) and runs for a touchdown during the fourth quarter of the Texas A&M-Colorado game. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

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My thoughts:

When you are on the road and faced with a 4th and goal to go situation inside the opponent's 3 yard line, I think you take the points and the FG early in the game to get on the board; late in the game, you go for the jugular and go for the TD. We did that backwards yesterday, going for the TD in the first quarter, taking the points in the 4th quarter.
I understood the reasn we went with an Empty set so often (we had the talent to exploit their secondary), but I don't like the routes we ran. If we are going to go with 0 personnel that often, we need a shallow cross or drag route over the midde so we can take advantage of their willingness to blitz. They were getting pressure on us when we went empty, so we needed to make them pay for that.
The strength of our offensive line is the guards and the center, so it is understandable why we kept trying to run up the middle. We had more our most success running against Colorado by going off-tackle, especially to the right side. I'm surprised we didn't adjust and run to that side more.

I don't know if anyone noticed, but Jerrod Johnson tied his own school record with his 21st TD pass this season. He set the school record with 21 TD passes last season.
I can't really get too angry at Terrence Frederick for his fumble on the final punt return because I know he isn't our normal returner, Dustin Harris is. He was just trying to catch the ball and make something happen, and you can't fault someone for effort. He just didn't secure the ball. I would have preferred for the coaches to tell him to let it go, and we'll make up the yards in the two minute drill.
I know we spread the ball around among seven different receivers this game, but I would like it if we focused on spreading it around more evenly. I know Ryan Tannehill is pretty much money on third down, so he is going to get a lot of receptions on third down, but our other six receivers all had three or fewer receptions while Tannehill had nine. I just think we need to call more plays for our other receivers to spread it around more. I think we need to make it a concerted effort to be as balanced as possible in our passing game regarding ball distribution.
It was nice seeing Ryan Swope getting the first start of his career. He had 3 receptions for 39 yards. I think he will be a real weapon for us in the slot.
Our offensive line gave up only one sack for the third consecutive game; their performance was solid.
Our performance in the red zone really needs some work. Part of the issue there is playcalling; I'm not a fan of going with 0 personnel in the red zone, period, unless you are planning to have the QB run the ball, and I think in that area, the defense is looking for it. I would rather go with 21 or 22 personnel, and have the option of the power running game led by a fullback or the play-action pass to the TE.
Our defense seemed to have trouble standing on their feet on some plays. I have never seen so many unblocked players simply fall down while trying to move to make a tackle.
Von Miller's two sacks keep him in the national lead, with 15.5 sacks now on the season. I believe this is the most sacks by an Aggie since we began Big 12 play; Keith Mitchell had 14 sacks in 1996. The entire Aggie defense totalled 16 sacks during the 2008 season.
A&M's 31 team sacks on the year leads the Big 12. Contrast that with last season, where we were second to last in the conference at the end of the season, ahead of only OSU.
Our defense really needs to step it up if we want to continue to compete the rest of the season.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 10.24.09

Seth C — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 10:36:21 -0000

SB Nation Week 8 College Football Preview

Much at Stake: LAJ's Don Williams writes that the Red Raiders have too much at stake and must take TAMU seriously. DB coach Simmons doesn't think the Texas Tech program takes other teams for granted:

"We’re not a program that carries that mentality,’’ Simmons said this week, "and to be quite honest, we’re not a program at that level yet. We haven’t done anything to where we can take anybody for granted. We’re a group that has to work hard every day.’’

Sharpe Making Folks Take Notice: FWST's Dwain Price features DE Brandon Sharpe, who is getting noticed on the field and DC McNeill had this to say about Sharpe:

"He’s been having very good practices, and once a player learns to carry over practice to the game, that’s when you see the dividends and the payoffs," McNeill said. "He’s been practicing very well, especially the last two weeks. We’re just hoping that he can carry his practice habits into the game."

Snip

"Brandon is one of those guys that just kept plugging away and doing the little things, and now it’s starting to pay off for him," McNeill said. "He’s got great quickness and he’s a pretty strong player. He’s got his degree and he’s working on his teacher’s certificate now. So he’s a guy that does the right things off the field in the classroom as well as on the field."

Record Crowd: SAEN's Brent Zwerneman previews tonight's game, but here's TAMU safety Jordan Pugh on the scene in Lubbock:

"Batteries, tortillas, anything you can name, I was hit by 'em," Pugh said, grinning.

Right. In all my years of going to Texas Tech football games, I've never seen a battery thrown. Maybe I'm just not hanging out in the right places.

Texas Tech Red Raider Links: LAJ's Don Williams writes that Mike Leach could tie Spike Dykes 82 win record with a win today (this is a good read and deserves your attention, I'm just in a hurry this morning) . . . RaiderAde with a look at tonight's game . . . Bring On The Cats with a roundup of this week's roundtable . . .

Texas A&M Aggie Links: B/CS Eagle's Robert Cessna has a bunch of articles this morning: the Aggies look for some luck tonight; QB/WR Ryan Tannehill a QB first and WR second (I think he should just be on the field, too talented); who has the edge in today's game; keys to the game; the Texas Tech defense is setting the tone for the Red Raiders; and his weekly picks . . .LAJ's Adam Zuvanich writes about the pass rushing threat that is Von Miller . . .

Big 12 Links: FWST previews week 8 games . . .

Five Reasons Texas Tech Will Lose :: Texas A&M Aggies Edition

Seth C — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:15:23 -0000

This weekly feature considers five reasons why Texas Tech will win and five reasons Texas Tech will lose to each opponent. Check back tomorrow for "Five Reasons Texas Tech Will Win :: Texas A&M Aggies Edition".

Reason #1 :: Miller to Meet New Left Tackle: It just so happens that Russell McDaniel, Terry's father was my freshman history teacher (way back in high school). I emailed Russell on Monday, just to let him that that I were thinking about him, that I didn't need to know about his injury, but rather that he have a speedy recovery. Looking at DE Von Miller's outstanding statistics for the year, I thought back about that email and couldn't help but think that I'd love to see McDaniel take on Miller this week after taking on the talented Nebraska defensive ends (I know it wouldn't be an exclusive matchup, but cut me some slack). It's almost a given that Chris Olson will be the replacement at left tackle and he's done an admirable job, but he'll have his hands full with Miller all game, and he'll also have to be concerned about Miller getting to Potts for any sort of hit. Sometimes, playing a little bit nervous can be a detriment, but Olson had better be lights out on Saturday.

Reason #2 :: Downfield Players: The Aggies do have players who can get vertical, starting with freshman WR Uzoma Nwachuksu, who is averaging 21 yards a catch. I should also mention that WR Ryan Tannehill is averaging a little over 15 yards a play. Texas Tech has done a good job of stopping opposing defenses, and thus far, the safeties have done their jobs and kept most things in front of them. I feel like a bit of a broken record in saying that RB Christine Michael has the potential to be a game-breaker, and thus far, he hasn't had the opportunity to get it done, but it only takes one time. And it goes without saying in that QB Jerrod Johnson can get the ball down the field, just as long has he has time. Johnson is averaging 7.4 YPA thus far, which is pretty good considering the sometimes short-yardage nature of the TAMU offense.

Reason #3 :: Desparate and Highly Motivated: I try not to rely on emotionally driven reasons, but it's too obvious to ignore. Desparate may be a bit much, but I do think that the Aggies want a good showing, preferably a win. I can't say that I understand the Aggie fanbase, but I think it applies to any team that gets their tails handed to them one week. The Aggies will come out to play on Saturday. Not because it's Texas Tech or any other school, but because I think that most players, who play at a collegiate level, have pride. I believe that about any team. It's easy to make light of the situation for the Aggies, but the truth of the matter is that when there are turnovers or sloppy play or penalties then bad things can happen. I'm hoping like hell that the Red Raiders consider. It really comes down to pride more than anything else, and pride can be a scary proposition.

Reason #4 :: How Ready is Potts: Isn't this the $64,000 question? Obviously, there's questions about whether or not QB Taylor Potts, who is coming off a supposed concussion, to now be in charge of the offense that he's had a break from for the past 2 and a half games. I haven't understood the personal attacks against Potts, and I can appreciate the differences of opinion, but the truth is that Potts struggled to get rid of the ball at times, which eventually led to his concussion against New Mexico, and his decision making wasn't as good as Sheffield's. Potts must from his mistakes prior to his concussion and although the concussion is a painful memory, it should serve as one. Throw the damned ball away. An incompletion is nothing to this team, but a loss for 7 to 15 yards can be tough to make up for any team. If Potts hasn't acquired that internal clock then I think that Miller could have a field day. I think we're all curious about what Potts will be like on Saturday and if he hasn't changed, it could be a long game.

Reason #5 :: Just Out Score the Red Raiders: This is probably a reach, but I do think that Aggies best attribute is their ability to score. I go back to that Oklahoma St. game just 2 weeks ago and the Aggies matched the Cowboys touchdown for touchdown for most of the game. We'll probably talk about this for the rest of the week and I've mentioned it here plenty of times, but the Aggies do have talent at the skill positions and this might be an absolutely failure of a game-plan, but the Aggies might be best suited to get into a track meet, especially with the Red Raiders getting a quarterback who hasn't played in 2 weeks and a new left tackle, maybe let the game rest squarely of the offense's shoulders.

Matchups :: Texas A&M Aggies Edition

Seth C — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:01:11 -0000

More photos » by Nati Harnik - AP

2 months ago: Texas Tech's Brandon Sharpe (92) swats down a throw by Nebraska quarterback Zac Lee (5), as Nebraska's Ricky Henry (74) and Marcel Jones (78) block Texas Tech's Colby Whitlock (93), in the first half of their NCAA college football game in Lincoln, Neb., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009.(AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

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Texas A&M Aggies (3-3, 0-2)

vs.

Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-2, 2-1)

Game Information:
Date: October 24, 2009 :: Time: 6:00 p.m. CST :: Weather: Lubbock, TX
TV: None :: Radio: Affiliates :: Game Cast: Fox Sports

The figures next to the team name are, in order, yards per game / national rank / conference rank.

Texas Tech Passing Offense vs. Texas A&M Passing Defense

Texas Tech (413.57 / 2 / 1): Not surprisingly, the Texas Tech offense struggled a bit against Nebraska, but a win is a win, especially when it's on the road against a nationally ranked opponent, and you beat that opponent by 21. QB Steven Sheffield was a manager, and since all indications lean towards Taylor Potts or Seth Doege taking the reins on Saturday, then I'm hoping that he takes the same advice that Leach gave Sheffield:

I wanted him to throw the ball and hit some fat guy in the stands. That didn’t consistently happen. We had a conversation on that.

I do think that Potts is a quality quarterback, and if there's one thing that Leach has consistently been able to do since he's been here is to coach up a quarterback or two. I don't think that's going to stop and although Potts wasn't perfect (again, there is no perfect QB other than St. Tebow) he's still pretty damned good. If it's 3rd string Seth Doege, then I'm concerned about his ability to play on such a high level without so much experience, but I trust Leach. I think it's a testament to the receivers on this team, but each week, we're seeing a different receiver step up and make plays. In fact, after a few weeks of Tramain Swindall leading this team in receiving, Detron Lewis is back on top. And to jazz you just a tad bit more, there's less than 120 yards separating the top 4 receivers. In other words, one great game and you could see Alexander Torres, Lyle Leong, Swindall or Lewis lead this team.

Texas A&M (226.67 / 73 / 6): The Aggies really haven't played a true passing team, except for Arkansas, and TAMU promptly gave up 271 yards and 4 touchdowns. We're going to continue to talk about this until there are a few more conference games to compare, but TAMU has faced Oklahoma St. and Kansas St. thus far in conference play. Not exactly passing teams and it's hard to gauge whether or not the pass defense is truly struggling (73rd in the nation) or if it's going to get worse. I did have the opportunity to watch quite a bit of the OSU game and I thought that the Aggies do have athletes in the secondary, but they're young, and that's a bad combination going into the meat of the Big 12 schedule. A big part of the pass defense success is the outstanding play of Von Miller, who already has 10 sacks, which includes 12.5 tackles for a loss. And aside from Miller, no player has more than 2 sacks for the year, perhaps indicative of the bigger problems at TAMU, there's talent at certain positions, but it's not enough to win a bunch of football games.

Verdict: I'm nervous about this pick, especially if Potts cannot play, but I'll still take Texas Tech.

Texas Tech Rushing Offense vs. Texas A&M Rushing Defense

Texas Tech (70.43 / 118 / 12): It would be easy to say that the Red Raiders ignored the rushing game on Saturday, and there were times that I thought that the line did a good job of creating holes, but 14 rushes between RB Baron Batch and Harrison Jeffers just isn't going to be enough. Again, the rating looks much worse than it probably is, due in part because Potts took so many sacks earlier in the year (he's working on that . . . promise). The loss of LT Terry McDaniel could prove to be a huge loss for this team I don't know if OL coach Moore has many more options other than to start Chris Olson at left tackle. The only other player that's received significant time is Mikey Okafor at right guard, who was later benched in favor of moving Brandon Carter back to the right side.

Texas A&M (166.83 / 88 / 11): There's going to be a similar theme that I have with the Aggies in that I do think there's talent there, but it's young talent. The Aggies have played two teams that feature their running game and gave up 169 yards and 3 touchdowns to Oklahoma St. and 232 yards and 6 touchdowns to Kansas St. The defensive line features 2 freshmen or sophmores and the linebacking corps also has a freshman and sophomore. Garrick Williams and Kyle Mangum are the linebackers who make most of the plays. The Aggies are 37th in the nation in tackles for a loss, but as mentioned above, Miller is responsible for 12.5 of thoese tackles, which means that the Aggies have 1 player truly making plays thus far.

Verdict: Despite the Aggies looking as bad recently been.

Texas A&M Passing Offense vs. Texas Tech Passing Defense

Texas A&M (320.50 / 6 / 3): The skill position players for TAMU are actually fairly talented and for this reason alone, you shouldn't overlook the Aggies. Freshman WR Uzoma Nwachukwu has been tremendous thus far this year while WR's Ryan Tannehill and Howard Morrow each have over 20 catches. TE Jamie McCoy is an offensive threat, with 21 catches for 251 yards. QB Jarrod Johnson has been remarkably good, not Heisman worthy, but he's been pretty good with a horrible offensive line. Johnson isn't as accurate as you might want him to be, but he's still completing 57.8% of of his passes and has 16 touchdowns to only 3 interceptions. As mentioned before, the offensive line has allowed 2.67 sacks a game, which is good for 95h in the nation. That's been Johnson's problem all year, the young offensive line,

Texas Tech (238.57 / 89 / 8): The Texas Tech pass defense has been good, not great and this is something that I keep mentioning, and it's something that's going to have to continue this week, is not to ge beat deep. The pass defense isn't great, but the pass efficiency defense (I really don't know what this is) is at 40th in the nation. In any event, the secondary is also healthy, except that S Will Ford may be out, but there's been enough guys who have seen sufficient reps that I'm not too concerned about losing Ford. The Red Raiders are 8th in the nation in sacks, led by their DE's: Brandon Sharpe (8), Daniel Howard (5) and Rajon Henley (3).

Verdict: I like Johnson, Tannehill and Nwachuksu, but it's the pass blocking that's the problem.

Texas A&M Rushing Offense vs. Texas Tech Rushing Defense

Texas A&M (156.83 / 49 / 5): Prior to this game, I wondered how much the Aggies were actually running the ball, expecting a bit more production from RB's Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael. Both are supposedly heralded, especially Michael, who's had 11 to 14 rushing attempts since the first game. This unit isn't bad, in fact the Aggies are 49th in the nation in rushing offense, which is pretty good, but maybe the point I was trying to make at the beginning, is that why not slow the game down just a tad bit more, in the hopes that the Aggies could hang onto the ball, and chew up some of that time of possession.

Texas Tech (101.86 / 24 / 5): The rush defense has been consistently good all year, and I keep mentioning this point, but the key to a good defense is being able to stop the run. The rush defense is only allowing 3.05 yards a game and despite some rough patches against Texas (135) and Houston (144), the Red Raiders only gave up 70 yards to Nebraska that is averaging 151 yards a game and 116 yards to Kansas St. that is averaging 184 yards a game. DT's Colby Whitlock and Richard Jones aren't showing up in the box score, but coupled with the outstanding and oftentimes overlooked play of the linebackers, this unit is slowly but surely becoming adept at stopping the run. I thought DE Rajon Henley's play last week deserved mention, especially against the run. I thought he was outstanding.

Verdict: I'll take the Red Raiders again.

KICKING THE TIRES: Texas A&M University

BracketCat — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 22:30:17 -0000

Kansas State Wildcats (3-3 | 1-1) VS. Texas A&M Aggies (3-2 | 0-1)

Harley Day
Bill Snyder Family Stadium - Manhattan, Kan.
Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009 - 6:00 PM CST

FCS

Strike up "The Cross of Galahad" and kick-start your Harley, because the Fighting Texas Aggies are coming to town for a rumble. Gig 'em on past the jump for a preview of this week's opponent.

KEY PLAYERS

K-State

Passing
Carson Coffman (66 of 111, 815 yards, 2 TD, 4 INT)

Receiving
Brandon Banks (24 catches, 294 yards, 1 TD)

Rushing
Daniel Thomas (127 carries, 578 yards, 4 TD)

Wild Card
Attrail Snipes (14 catches, 242 yards, 2 TD)

TAMU

Passing
Jerrod Johnson (127 of 211, 1,579 yards, 14 TD, 0 INT)

Receiving
Ryan Tannehill (20 catches, 308 yards, 3 TD)

Rushing
Cyrus Gray (72 carries, 314 yards, 2 TD)

Wild Card
Von Miller (24 tackles, 11 TFL, 9 sacks, 1 PBU, 1 FF)

KEY STATS

Rushing Offense
TAMU (28) > K-State (38 | -2)

Passing Offense
TAMU (9) > K-State (91 | -1)

Total Offense
TAMU (4) > K-State (75 | -12)

Scoring Offense
TAMU (12) > K-State (99 | -12)

Rushing Defense
K-State (50 | -12) > TAMU (81)

Pass Efficiency Defense
TAMU (67) > K-State (84 | -62)

Total Defense
K-State (53 | -37) > TAMU (83)

Scoring Defense
K-State (66 | -37) > TAMU (85)

Net Punting
TAMU (39) > K-State (92 | +9)

Punt Returns
K-State (28 | +3) > TAMU (62)

Kickoff Returns
K-State (23 | -19) > TAMU (54)

Turnover Margin
TAMU (26) > K-State (61)

Pass Defense
K-State (65 | -58) > TAMU (81)

Passing Efficiency
TAMU (26) > K-State (71)

Analysis

Holy shit, that's a lot of red.

As you might expect, our painful encounter with the Red Raiders pretty much resulted in Mike Leach tentacle-raping our way-overinflated pass defense statistics. What I didn't foresee, though, is that Tech's normally impotent running game had the same effect on our rush defense statistics. Net result? An uncomfortable similarity to Ron Prince-era defensive numbers. We're not quite back to the triple digits yet, but we still have Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri to look forward to.

Time to get Halloween started early with my scary thought for the week: Texas A&M actually is ranked higher than Texas Tech in several offensive categories -- most notably rushing offense, of course. This does not augur well for a beleaguered and confidence-less defense limping home from the South Plains.

And if seeing Sticks Sheffield tear us apart wasn't fun enough, now we get to enjoy the same treatment whilst also watching our defenders bend down and grasp their ankles while Jerrod Johnson does his best Austen-Arnaud-times-two impression tomorrow night.

We have two chances to keep this game close and possibly even winnable in the fourth quarter. The battle plan is the same as last week; we just need to execute it 500 percent better. A&M has a weaker run defense than we do, and we need to not abandon the run in the first quarter like we did in Lubbock. Daniel Thomas should be able to net yards on these guys. That's key, because regardless if Carson Coffman or Grant Gregory gets the start, the pass rush they witnessed in Jones SBC Stadium will seem like being charged by geriatrics in walkers, compared to what Von Miller is going to do to Clyde Aufner.

On top of that, we have to make plays on special teams. Kick returns, punt returns, blocked kicks... I really don't care what. But it's become painfully clear that our offense never is going to score enough points to challenge "normal" Big 12 offenses conventionally, so our special teams need to manufacture scores to make up the difference. I'd say our defense could force turnovers to help, but despite Jeffrey Fitzgerald's wonderful interception runback, our defense in general is going to have little success doing so because you actually have to hit a guy before you can jar the ball loose.

All I can say is this: Thank God it's a night game at the Bill and it's Harley Day. The atmospheric boost we will get from that just might jar the Aggies enough in their first game outside the state of Texas, and away from friendly crowds, to crack open the door to victory ever so slightly.

But it's hard for me to forget that Ron Prince had to break Bill Snyder's five-game losing streak to the Aggies, a team that has given him even more heartache than Texas Tech over the years. As in the 2005 game, which we lost 30-28, I think the Cats will put up a game effort, but fall just short of victory. Unfortunately, that really could unravel the season.

Prediction: Texas A&M 31, Kansas State 30

BracketCat's Projected Starters

QB: Carson Coffman
FB: Braden Wilson*
RB: Daniel Thomas

WR: Brandon Banks, Attrail Snipes, Lamark Brown**
TE: Jeron Mastrud
OL: Nick Stringer, Zach Kendall, Wade Weibert, Kenneth Mayfield, Clyde Aufner

DL: Daniel Calvin, Jeffrey Fitzgerald, Raphael Guidry, Brandon Harold
LB: John Houlik, Joseph Kassanavoid
DB: Troy Butler, Stephen Harrison, Emmanuel Lamur, Torrell Miller, Joshua Moore

*if we start with a fullback and two wide receivers
**if we start with three wide receivers and no fullback

Elsewhere in the Big 12...

Good matchups this week. I predict a slew of close, exciting games. And yes, I do think the Huskers' defense is that good. More specifically, I think Ndamukong Suh is that good. I also liked what I saw out of Baylor last week -- I think they might be good enough across the board to survive in Ames.

#20 Oklahoma vs. #3 Texas (in Dallas) (ABC)
Longhorns 18, Sooners 17

Texas Tech at #15 Nebraska (ABC)
Cornhuskers 24, Red Raiders 10

#17 Kansas at Colorado (FSN)
Jayhawks 31, Buffaloes 21

Baylor at Iowa State
Bears 30, Cyclones 28

Missouri at #16 Oklahoma State (ESPN2)
Cowboys 22, Tigers 20

All helmet images are courtesy of The Helmet Project. Check it out - it's pretty cool.

Five Questions with I Am The 12th Man

TB — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:03:28 -0000

In an attempt to garner more information about this week's K-State opponent, I posed five questions to Beergut of the Texas A&M blog I Am The 12th Man. You can also check out my answers to his questions here.

BOTC: The Aggies are much improved this year on the offensive side of the ball. What's been the biggest change?

12th Man: Maturation of our keys players at the skill positions. Jerrod Johnson was a redshirt sophomore last year, Cyrus Gray was a true freshman, Jeff Fuller was a true freshman, Ryan Tannehill was a redshirt freshman, etc. All of those guys are a year older and a year more mature, physically and mentally.

A switch to a no-huddle attack has helped immensely, too, helping us get more plays on offense and wear down the opposing defenses. We're averaging a little over 86 plays per game on offense, which is a lot of opportunities to move the ball.

Mike Sherman has also done a good job recruiting on offense; true freshman Uzoma Nwachuwu and Christine Michael have been key contributors as true freshmen this season.

BOTC: Despite the offensive improvement, the offensive line play has been atrocious at times. What's the primary factor?

12th Man: Last season, we entered the year with 6 scholarship offensive linemen, so we had no depth. We are still trying to create some depth, while putting a capable line on the field, and it has been a struggle. I think we're still a year away from having a competent offensive line. Our biggest issue has been youth at key positions. We've started a true sophomore or a true freshman at LT in all of our games this season. That menas at times we're playing an 18 year old five months removed from high school against 21-22 yr old men; the physical difference along is staggering.

BOTC: Texas A&M is mired in a historically bad stretch of football right now. What is the time frame for the Aggies getting back to being competitive with Oklahoma and UT in the South?

12th Man: I think we expect to be competing with and possibly beating both of those teams by next season, at the latest. I think expecting to compete for the South division title in the third year of a coaching regime is not an unrealistic expectation, and I think that is where we will be in 2010.

BOTC: Other than Von Miller and Jerrod Johnson, give us a player on each side of the ball to keep an eye on Saturday.

12th Man: Offense: Uzoma Nwachukwu, WR

He is simply an athletic playmaker with ridiculous leaping ability. He has 16 receptions for 309 yards and 4 TDs on the season so far, with a rushing TD to his credit.

Defense: Trent Hunter, SS

He is the best strong safety in the Big 12, and one of the best in the nation.

BOTC: In lieu of a score prediction, give us some keys for Texas A&M to win this game.

12th Man: We need to stop your running game early. I expect Snyder to try to run the ball as much as possible, especially against our defense. We need to stop the run, and force y'all to pass the ball. It would be very helpful if we can get some early scores on the board, and force y'all to play catch up.

On offense, we need to spread the ball around in the passing game, and get it into the hands of our playmakers like Nwachukwu, Jamie McCoy, Ryan Tannehill, and Christine Michael. Keeping Jerrod Johnson upright and keeping the defensive pressure off of him is imperative.

Q&A: Talking Aggies with I Am The 12 Man

Arkansas Expats — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:30:12 -0000

As part of our ongoing public service to bring you, the Razorback fan, the best and most in-depth information about the Hogs and their opponents, we like to invite our fellow bloggers over to our little corner of the Internet to give us the scoop on their teams.

In our latest installment, we're pleased to present a Q&A with Beergut from I Am The 12th Man, SB Nation's Texas A&M blog. Many thanks to Beergut for his time and insights. (And be sure to visit I Am The 12th Man to check out our answers to his questions.)

We're not all that familiar with A&M this year. Give us a quick overview of the Aggies' strengths and weaknesses.

On offense, a strength is that we run and pass the ball fairly well (avg 244 rushing, 330 passing per game), and we tend to score (avg 45 ppg currently). A weakness is our offensive line, which is still developing. We feature some youth on the OL, and will probably start true freshman Stephen Barerra at LT on Saturday.

Defensively, a strength is our pass rush; we have 14 sacks on the year so far, not a bad stat after only three games. A weakness is our run defense; we give up an average of 146 yds rushing per game, at 4.2 yds per carry. We really need to improve on run defense idf we hope to become a good defense.

Our secondary isn't very good at getting turnovers; we have no interceptions on the season to date.

Who are the A&M players (on offense and defense) poised to have a big game against Arkansas, the guys that Hog fans are likely to be cursing come Saturday night?

Jerrod Johnson, QB
Christine Michael, RB
Cyrus Gray, RB
Uzoma Nwachukwu, WR
Jamie McCoy, TE
Ryan Tannehill, WR/backup QB

Johnson is the guy who makes our whole offense go. In our last game, aganst Alabama-Birmingham, he had three TD passes and three rushing TDs. He is a mobile QB who is capable of gaining yards with both his arm and his legs. When he plays mistake-free football, he is a damn good QB. He has played mistake-free football for the majority of the season so far.

Michael is our best all-around RB, but he said out the last game after an injury against Utah State. He should be healthy and ready to go on Saturday. Michael runs with power and speed, and explodes through the hole. If he can get our running game going on Saturday, it will go a long way towards helping us win the game. Cyrus Gray is speed to Michael's power; he can deadly when receiving the ball in the flats, too.

Uzoma "EZ" Nwachukwu is probably our most explosive wide receiver since Jeff Fuller went down with an injury. Against Utah State, Nwachukwu handled the ball four times, three receptions and one rush. He scored 4 touchdowns. He is an explosive player who can make things happen with the ball in his hand. Defenses focusing on stopping EZ opens things up for everyone else.

Jamie McCoy might be the best tight end in the Big 12, since Jermaine Gresham went down with injury. McCoy is an exceptional receiving TE, and he has becme a very stellar blocker. The coaches move him around a lot, using motion to align him at wingback and fullback so he can lead-block on running plays.

Ryan Tannehill was one of our best wide receivers last season, but he has seen limited action this year because he is our #2 quarterback, and we want to keep him healthy. He is often Johnson's favorite target on third down, which is usually when he comes out onto the field.

Defense:
Von Miller, OLB
Eddie Brown, DT
Trent Hunter, SS

Miller plays a hybrid, LB/DE position we call Jack, which is basically an OLB position in a 3-4 defense added into a 4-3 scheme. He currently has 8 sacks on the season so far, and is adept at getting pressure on the QB. The opposition usually double-teams him, but he has still be productive.

Eddie Brown is a stellar presence on the line in our defense; he has 8 tackles and 2 sacks on the season so far.

Trent Hunter might be the best strong safety in the nation not named Eric Berry. Hunter leads our team in tackles with 20 on the season, and is a steadying presence in our secondary.

What's your take on the job that Mike Sherman is doing? After a period of coaching turmoil, is Sherman the guy for the long term?

I am a big fan of Coach Sherman. I think he is the right man for the job at A&M. Coach Sherman has impressed a lot of Aggies with his no-nonsense attitude, and his willingness to hold himself accountable when things go wrong. More importantly, Coach Sherman worked here before as an offensive line coach, so he is familiar with A&M, and embraces our unique culture and traditions. Coach Sherman "gets" A&M, and the fans appreciate him for that.

How do Aggie fans feel about playing Arkansas again? Is there any extra excitement because of the teams' history in the SWC, or is this just another non-conference game for you guys?

I think most Aggies are excited about playing Arkansas again. I think the excitement over the game has more to do with it being a non-conference game against another BCS conference team than it does with facing an old SWC rival, although I'm sure the familiarity doesn't hurt. I don't thnk it is "just another non-conference game" for us, simply because having it at a neutral site in Arlington ensures a bowl-type atmosphere, and differentiates it from other non-conference games. I think most Aggies are excited about having a long-term opponent from the SEC on our schedule for the next 10 years.

What is your prediction for the game?

I don't think it will be that close of a game; I have a feleing it'll be a win by double=-digits, one way or the other. Either you'll win convincingly, or we'll wn convincingly. I think it might start as a shooutout, but one tea will establish itself as clearly superior in the third quarter and go on to win the game. Turnovers will play a big role. I'm gonna be a homer, and say Ags win, 37-24.

(Wait! Before you stop goofing off at work, be sure to visit I Am The 12th Man to check out our answers to Beergut's questions about the Hogs.)

UAB Game Review

miketag — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:51:38 -0000

Just watched the UAB game DVD. I saw a lot of good things. UAB may have been the worst team we played so far. They definitely had the worst pass defense. As bad as they were, it is still fun to see our defense improve game by game. Also fun to see guys like Bradley Stephens score TDs. Here are a few thoughts on the game:

First and foremost, we have found ourselves a left tackle. Stephen Barrera is the best LT we have put on the field so far. He was very impressive in pass pro. He did have a freshmen moment on the first series when on a 3rd down screen play he rushed out and blocked Brandal Jackson. Barrera had a better game at LT than Danny Baker had at RT. Barrera will take his lumps as a freshman. He still still ahead of where 99.9 percent of freshmen are in pass pro and he looks like a natural tackle.

Sean Porter is a very nice special teams player. More time than not on punts and kickoffs he is going to make the tackle or be right around the tackle.

Terrence Frederick had one of those highlight reel type hits that Sherman has been lamenting that have been missing for the past few years.

Defense struggled early with tackling, but got better as the game went along.

Glad to see the coaches calling some running plays for JJ. We are going to need him to use his feet and arm if we are going to make a bowl game.

Still amazed we had over 200 yds rushing with Chrisine Michael on the sideline.

Ryan Tannehill is one of the finest athletes to put on an Aggie uniform.

I am convinced that Von Miller would have fit right in on any of the great Wrecking Crew defenses.

When I was at A&M in the mid to late 90s, we would blow out the teams we were supposed to blow out. We are slowly but surely approaching that level again.

UAB Postgame Stat Review

Beergut — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:23:44 -0000

Final - 9.26.2009	1	2	3	4	Total
UAB Blazers	3	3	6	7	19
Texas A&M Aggies	7	21	14	14	56

Complete Coverage >

SB Nation Full Boxscore

vs UAB / 9.26.09	Passing					Rushing
	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	TD	Rush	Yds	Avg	TD
Jerrod Johnson	23	29	80.0	290	3	14	61	4.4	3

vs UAB / 9.26.09	Rushing				Receiving
	Rush	Yards	Avg	TD	Rec	Yards	Avg	TD
Cyrus Gray	19	99	5.2	1	1	0	0	0

vs UAB / 9.26.09	Receiving
	Rec	Yards	Avg	TD
Howard Morrow	5	71	14.2	0

vs UAB / 9.26.09	Receiving
	Rec	Yards	Avg	TD
Jamie McCoy	5	59	11.8	0

vs UAB / 9.26.09	Passing					Receiving
	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	TD	Rec	Yds	Avg	TD
Ryan Tannehill	1	1	100.0	8	0	3	101	33.7	1

vs UAB / 9.26.09	Receiving
	Rec	Yards	Avg	TD
Ryan Swope	2	12	6.0	1

First fo all, it has to be mentioned that Jerrod has broken set another school record, becoming the first Aggie QB to have three passing and three rushing TDs in the same game. Cyrus Gray stepped up big; Gray and Johnson were the Aggies' running game, combining for 160 of the team's 236 total rushing yards (68% of their production). Jamie McCoy and Howard Morrow were two of Jerrod's favorite targets, with 5 receptions each. Ryan Swope finally broke into the stat column, garnering his first career reception and his first TD catch. Ryan Tannehill was his usual awesome self, but the big thing to me is that Jerrod hit other receivers (McCoy among them) on third down, so he's not just focusing on Tannehill; he is spreading the ball around.

vs UAB / 9.26.09	Tackles			Sacks		Interceptions
	Solo	Ast	Total	Sacks	Yds	Int	Yds	IntTD
Von Miller	3	2	5	2	8	0	0	0

vs UAB / 9.26.09	Tackles			Sacks		Interceptions
	Solo	Ast	Total	Sacks	Yds	Int	Yds	IntTD
Matt Featherston	2	1	3	1	7	0	0	0

vs UAB / 9.26.09	Tackles			Sacks		Interceptions
	Solo	Ast	Total	Sacks	Yds	Int	Yds	IntTD
Eddie Brown	3	2	5	1	5	0	0	0

Von Miller turned in another solid performance, but the big news in his backup, Matt Featherston, getting his first sack of the season. We apparently had both Featherston and Miller on the field at the same time on some downs, an alignment I was hoping for in the offseason. I think they make a fearsome duo in the pass rush.

Eddie Brown had another solid outing, collecting 5 tackles and his first sack of the season. Brown, Featherston, and Miller combined for all four sacks in the game, a nice accomplishment on a dual-threat QB like Joe Webb. We're going to need a good [pass rush next week in the Southwest Classic against Ryan Mallett and Arkansas.

Overall, you have to be happy with the way this game turned out. We got the blowout win we needed, we were able ot get some more players involved in the offense and defense, and we didn't have any significant injuries.