For many College Football fans, it has been a long 9 months. However, we are now officially in a game week! The bad news is Texas A&M fans will have to wait one extra day than most of the country when they kick off the long awaited 2011 season on a Sunday night against the SMU Mustangs. Our Game 1 Preview is below.
Main Things To Watch:
1) Aggie Offensive Line vs. SMU Defensive Line -- Many Aggie fans consider this year's offensive line featuring Luke Joeckel, Brian Thomas, Patrick Lewis, Shep Klinke/Evan Eide, and Jake Matthews to be the best the program has seen in a decade. Even though four starters return from the end of the 2011 season (5 total if you count Evan Eike who missed the second half of the season with an injury), in the coaches eyes this is still a young and inexperienced group. As great as both Joeckel and Matthews project, they are still true sophomores. Patrick Lewis and Brian Thomas are each playing new positions, and Shep Klinke could be a first time starter on Sunday night if he gets the nod over Eike. The main point? Coach Turner's group doesn't have a chemistry yet working together. However, the confidence in the group is strong. The Aggies face a tough task right out of the gates as they have to battle with 5 returning starters in SMU's front seven including all three defensive lineman. DE Taylor Thompson (5.5 TFL, 4.5 sacks) is an NFL talent according to some and is joined by 6'9 295 pound junior Margus Hunt (6.5 TFL, 3.0 sacks) who are the strong points in the SMU defense. It will be up to the two young offensive tackles to not let them penetrate in the backfield. 6'1 220 pound junior Ja'Gared Davis is SMU's version of Von Miller, leading the team in TFL (16) and sacks (9) with 90 total tackles on the season. 6'0 230 pound junior Taylor Reed (145 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 2.0 sacks) led the team in tackles last season and mans the middle of the 3-4. If the Aggies plan to get anywhere on the ground, coming off of combo blocks between Patrick Lewis and either Brian Thomas or Shep Klinke will be critical to stop the monster in the middle. However, the weak point in the SMU front seven may be right up the middle where 6'3 287 pound senior nose guard Marquis Frazier (3.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks) resides. Running right up the middle and to the sidelines, away from the two athletic defensive ends, should be the mode of attack. 2) Stopping SMU RB Zach Line early and often -- SMU's Run'N'Shoot offense gives the impression to many as a pass happy team. That is not the case at all. SMU returns one of college football's best running back's last season in Zach Line who rushed for 1494 yards on 244 attempts for a 6.1 average. Line averaged rushing a little over 100 yards a game (106.3) and scored 10 touchdowns on the 2010 season. The interesting thing about SMU is they use Zach Line as their primary running back. Their will hardly be any substitution to a 2nd back. If SMU is going to be successful in this game, they will have to find a balance between their running and downfield passing offense. They will need to run the ball on 1st and 2nd downs to put themselves in 3rd and manageable situations. If Line is able run for a consistent 3-4 yards per carry, the A&M defense could find themselves on the field for long drives to begin the game. Factoring in the heat, they could wear down early leading to problems in the 4th quarter. Below is a video of some footage of Zack Line running the football. If you watch the video it is easy to see that the running back doesn't play like a 6'1 235 pound bruiser. He is quick and agile through the holes, but leaves his pad level up. This could be a major problem for the running back as players like Garrick Williams and Steven Campbell will be gunning for his midsection standing straight up, leading to injury or possibly an early fumble. Taking the primary rusher out of the game could be a major problem for the SMU offense making them one dimensional. Also, don't count out SMU quarterback Kyle Padron who was the team's second leading rusher with a little over 400 yards last season.
3) SMU Passing Routes vs. DeRutyer's Pressure Defense -- Again, a common misconception about SMU's offense is of a short, quick passing game. Their offense is not like a Missouri or Baylor where a lot of their game will be short screens or other passes at the line of scrimmage. SMU will want to have routes that go at least 5 yards down the field, with most going anywhere between 7-15 yards. They will want to pick up passing yardage in chunks. The only problem with that philosophy is those routes will require time to develop, which means time to protect from QB Kyle Padron from A&M pass rushers. The good thing for SMU is they return maybe the most experienced offensive line in college football with over 180 starts between all starters. 6'3 306 pound Kevin Beachum Jr. at left tackle may be a future NFL player and the SMU offense will also return guard Josh LeRibeus after missing last season due to academic issues. However, a weak point for SMU may be 6'5 330 pound J.T. Brooks at right tackle who struggles in his kick backs in pass protection. He needs to become quicker if he intends to deal with an edge runner like Damontre Moore or freshman Tyrell Taylor. The best thing to help out the SMU offensive line? A running game with Zach Line and the ability to use draw plays to keep the Aggie defense honest and not letting their offense become one dimensional. If the Mustangs can't make headway on the ground and get themselves in 2nd and long or 3rd and long situations, DeRutyer and the Wrecking Crew will send the house and that combined with longer routes needing to develop down the field may be a long day for QB Kyle Padron.Aggie Concerns Going Into the Game
1) Injuries -- There are three injury concerns that should give the Aggies pause as they head into the opener. The first and most concerning injury for it's potential long term is DB Coyrell Judie's shoulder. While Judie has continued to practice, he has done so in a black jersey, meaning little to no contact. Judie is the Aggies best corner and a future NFL draft pick. He is the closest thing to a lock-down corner the Aggies have, and he brings a physical game. How much will his shoulder allow him to be physical not only with a receiver at the line but also in coming up and helping defend against Zach Line and the Ponies ground attack? We will have to watch just how much Dustin Harris and Lionel Smith are subbed in for Judie early in the game to give us an indication. Jeff Fuller is another concern for the Aggies. Like Judie, he continues to practice but has been limited. A lot of the routes that Jeff Fuller runs -- the comebacks that are on him right as he makes his cut back to QB Tannehill -- are based off of timing. How much will this timing be affected? Will the Aggies biggest play-maker at receiver be limited in the first game of the season? The final injury is Stephen Barrera, and is the only injury that looks to be long term stretching into October. The concern is depth at the nose guard position. Both Eddie Brown and Kirby Ennis will be more than solid contributors, but Coach DeRutyer would like to have a third nose guard. The depth has been so much of a concern that freshman center Ben Compton was moved to the position to try him out and see if he can contribute. With the heat of early September on Sunday night, the Aggies will have to be conditioned to play well for all 4th quarters.
2) Kicking game -- the one major disappointment leaving fall camp was the struggles in the kicking game once again to open the season. Not only has punter been a concern where Drew Kaser has been out for most of camp dealing with a hamstring injury, but snapping and getting the ball to the punter also seems to be a concern. Battling Kaser for the job will be Ryan Epperson. Epperson has potential, but has been inconsistent. A&M will possibly be playing a team on Sunday that is in the top half of their opponents in term of difficulty and will be tougher than some Big XII games. If the game is in fact close, a special teams mishap giving the Mustangs a quick touchdown or a short field to work with could be the difference. It would be a shame to have a loss pinned on this facet of the game.
3) Focus -- This A&M ball club is a senior and experienced group. They know how to prepare and come into a game ready to get after it. Still, the game is on a Sunday night, the day after most of the college football world kicks off. Its not hard to imagine the team sitting in the hotel room on Saturday and early Sunday too amped up to get things underway. They will have to keep their energy in check. Also, there is the possibility big news involving A&M's conference affiliation comes down later in the week on Thursday or Friday (although highly unlikely). If such a scenario were to happen, the Aggies would have to push their excitement level down that will be felt all across campus and in College Station and continue to remain focused on SMU, because the Mustangs won't care which conference the Aggies will be playing in 2012.
Quick Hitting Keys to the Game
1) A&M's ability to stop Zach Line and the running game to turn it into a one dimensional game for SMU
2) A&M's offense able to be consistent; converting third down putting together drives for scoring opportunists. Also being able to score touchdowns in the redzone in case this is in fact a high scoring game
3) A&M's defensive backfield being able to match-up with SMU play-makers at receiver 5'9 senior WR Cole Beasley (87 catches, 1060 yards, 6 TDs) and 5'10 junior Darius Johnson (78 catches, 845 yards, 6 TDs)
4) Not giving this potent SMU offense a short field to work with because of turnovers and kicking game woes leading to easy points
5) Getting pressure on SMU QB Kyle Padron not allowing him to throw deep routes and big plays down the field
Final Analysis
It will be interesting to watch what kind of football team the Aggies will be entering into Sunday night's game. Will the Aggies be the same team that went on the six game winning streak to close out the regular season playing good football or will they play a sloppy, mistake filled game like most teams will during the first weekend of the season? The answer to that question will determine a lot on how the game is played. We see the Aggies just being too much to handle on offense, particularly on the ground with Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael. The Aggies should attack the middle of the SMU defense, and on the outside edge, away from the two talented DEs in Thompson and Hunt. If the Aggies are able to control the line of scrimmage, this game should be easily handled. Where the game could get ugly is if the Aggies come in inconsistent on offense, or committing turnovers giving the Mustangs a short field and easy points with to work with early. Miscues will cost the Aggies dearly against an experienced team like SMU. If the Aggies are able to build an early lead and stop the Mustangs on the ground, they will make the game one dimensional and that will play right into the hands of Tim DeRutyer and the Aggie's Wrecking Crew defense. Kyle Padron should have a tough day having a clean pocket to step up and throw in; making it a long Sunday night for SMU. The score will be closer than the game will actually be played, with SMU scoring later in the game. However, don't be surprised if it takes the middle of the 2nd quarter or later for the Aggies to separate themselves from the Mustangs.
Final Score: Texas A&M 42, SMU 24.
BTHO SMU!