In what was a wild and at times very frustrating game against Ole Miss, Auburn was able to overcome some very shoddy pass coverage and 13 penalties (quite a few of those of the stupid, unneeded variety) to escape Oxford with a 35-31 victory on the road over the Rebels to stay alive in the SEC West and for a spot in the first ever College Football Playoff. Wide receiver Sammie Coates and running back Cameron Artis-Payne (Coates in particular) each had one of their two best games of the season in my mind. In what was just the second big statistical game Sammie had this season, he caught 5 balls for 122 yards and a touchdown while Artis-Payne rushed for 143 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries. Although it may not have been the best or even second best statistical performance of the season for Artis-Payne, those numbers against a defense that had been allowing just 10.5 points per game going into this matchup made the numbers much more impressive to me. But what may have saved the day for Auburn was the much maligned defense forcing two red zone turnovers late to keep Ole Miss off the scoreboard. The first of which was a Bo Wallace fumble around the five yard line, the last being one by wide receiver Laquon Treadwell just before he got into the end zone which would have given the Rebels a 38-35 lead with about a minute and a half left to play.
However, linebacker Kris Frost didn't give up on the play and neither did fellow linebacker Cassanova McKinzy. Frost forced the fumble and McKinzy recovered it in the end zone. The Tigers would hold on from there. Unfortunately Treadwell would break his leg and suffer a dislocated ankle on the tackle made by Frost where his leg got caught underneath Frost's leg. Best wishes to him in his recovery from that awful injury. Now it's back to Jordan-Hare Stadium to take on the Texas A&M Aggies. Last year in College Station, the two teams had a wild back and forth affair which ended in a 45-41 Auburn victory at Kyle Field. Despite 424 passing yards and 5 total TDs by then Aggies QB Johnny Manziel (first round pick of the Cleveland Browns) and 287 yards receiving and 4 TDs by then Aggies WR Mike Evans (first round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Auburn used 4 total TDs by Nick Marshall, a huge day rushing from Tre Mason (he was a 3rd round pick by the St. Louis Rams) and a late defensive stop deep in their own territory to hang on for the win.
To talk Texas A&M, they have gone 6-3 so far this season with a 2-3 record in SEC play. Their most recent game was a 21-16 out of conference home victory over Louisiana-Monroe at Kyle Field, a game in which true freshman QB Kyle Allen made his first career college start. Allen started due to usual starting QB Kenny Hill getting himself suspended for two games during the past week for a violation of team rules. That means Hill will also miss this game and Auburn will very likely be seeing Allen making his SEC starting debut against them. Other Aggie victories have come at home over Rice and Lamar, a neutral site victory over Arkansas at AT&T Stadium in Arlington and road wins over South Carolina and SMU. Their losses have come at home against Ole Miss and on the road against Mississippi State and Alabama. Although none of those three losses are anything to be ashamed of, the Aggies weren't really competitive in any of them. This team began the year 5-0, but then went on that three game losing streak before bouncing back with a closer than expected victory over the Warhawks. They'll be looking to get back on track in conference play.
Now to get back to Kyle Allen, he is a true freshman out of Scottsdale, Arizona. This is where yours truly lives. Not only that, Allen went to the exact same high school I went to, Desert Mountain. He was thought to be the best pro style/pocket passing QB in the 2014 high school recruiting class and chose to attend Texas A&M over a host of other offers. Some of those other offers included Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State, UCLA and of course, Arizona State and Arizona. Allen actually put together a strong case to start the season as Texas A&M's starting QB but ultimately lost out to Kenny Hill. In Allen's first career start against Louisiana-Monroe, he went 13 of 28 passing for 106 yards, a touchdown pass and an interception. Not the most impressive numbers, but this was a true freshman making his first ever college start and what matters is he and his team got the win. We'll see how he does against a conference opponent on the road. He will have to perform at a higher level if the Aggies are going to have a chance to win on the road in Auburn. Overall, Allen's numbers this season are 36 completions in 66 attempts for 370 yards, 4 TDs and 3 interceptions. Until the Louisiana-Monroe game, his stats came late in games once Kenny Hill was taken out and most of them came in Texas A&M's 73-3 win over Lamar in which Allen threw for 122 yards on 12 completions for two touchdowns and one interception.
Texas A&M's rushing attack is just 82nd in the FBS in terms of yards per game. They spread the wealth around between three running backs, none of which have really separated themselves. The leading rusher is junior Tra Carson. He's a bigger guy at 230 pounds; he has rushed for 326 yards and 5 touchdowns on 72 carries. Another guy in the mix will be another junior, Trey Williams. He is much smaller than Carson, listed at just 5'8" and 195 pounds on ESPN. He has rushed for 313 yards on 52 carries and also has 5 touchdown runs. He has also caught 12 passes out of the backfield for 176 yards. Also in the mix is yet another junior, Brandon Williams. He has rushed for 280 yards and 3 TDs on 60 attempts. Trey and Brandon are not related if you're wondering. In the Louisiana-Monroe game, Carson and Trey Williams both scored touchdowns on the ground. Carson had more yardage, rushing for 71 yards on 19 carries. Trey added 46 yards on 13 carries. The Aggie attack has been fantastic through the air, ranking seventh in the country in terms of yards per game. A lot of that though had to due with the great start to the season Kenny Hill had in his first four games in which he looked like a surprise Heisman contender. Hill has since fallen off that pace, but his numbers are still quite good. Prior to his suspension, Hill had completed 214 passes in 321 attempts for 23 touchdowns compared to just 8 interceptions.
Similarly to their ground attack, the Aggies also spread the wealth around when they throw it, as they have five guys who have at least 377 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions on the season. The leader of the group is sophomore Josh Reynolds. He has 34 receptions for 573 yards and 8 touchdown grabs on the season. His 6'4" height undoubtedly helps him create a lot of mismatches on the outside. Second leading receiver is a 5'11" true freshman who may have one of the top names in all of college football, Speedy Noil. That name of Speedy obviously has to be well earned in some way, you would think. The true freshman was considered to be the best athlete coming out of the high school ranks this past recruiting season. Speedy did a little bit of everything in high school, he caught passes, ran the ball and even played quarterback, putting up some great numbers in the process. Texas A&M was able to pluck him out of Edna Karr High in New Orleans, very likely much to the dismay of LSU in particular since that's right in their backyard. Speedy has caught 36 balls for 461 yards and 4 TDs on the season. He was the main weapon for the Aggies in the win over Louisiana-Monroe, catching 5 balls for 69 yards and a score and he also set up a touchdown with a 39 yard punt return. Aggies head coach Kevin Sumlin wants him to touch the ball 10 to 15 times per game and it sounds like he will even get some work in at QB in practice this week in wildcat formations as well as very likely in case of an emergency. Edward Pope is another tall guy, the 6'4" sophomore receiver has caught 27 balls for 436 yards and 4 scores. He sounds like he could be a dangerous deep threat. Ricky Seals-Jones is another guy to watch out for. He ended up being redshirted a year ago due to a serious knee injury. This kid brings an unbelievable combination of size and speed at 6'5, 235 pounds. Seals-Jones is another guy who was very highly recruited out of high school. Like Speedy Noil, Seals-Jones also played some QB in high school (also played some on defense). Although I haven't heard about him getting any potential reps at QB in practice this week like Noil will supposedly get. He chose Texas A&M over many offers, including one from Auburn. Sounds a little like a less experienced D'haquille Williams to me. The senior leader of the WR core is Malcome Kennedy. The senior WR has caught 38 balls for 386 yards and a couple scores.
Although the Aggies defense has struggled some in conference play, you can't blame that on true freshman defensive end Myles Garrett, who has more than done his part. In the Louisiana-Monroe game, Garrett picked up a sack which gave him 8.5 sacks on the season. That broke the SEC record for most sacks by a true freshman, which was held by former South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, who was the first overall selection by the Houston Texans in the 2014 NFL Draft. Garrett could be on his way to joining Clowney as a number one overall pick if he keeps it up. In that Louisiana-Monroe game, Garrett picked up two more sacks, which gave him three for that game, and 10.5 sacks on the season. With a probable bowl game on the horizon, he'll very likely have four more games to add to that impressive sack total. Auburn's offensive line will have their work cut out for them in trying to slow him down. Texas A&M's second most productive defensive lineman has been defensive tackle Alonzo Williams. The junior defensive tackle has recorded 3.5 sacks, 4.5 TFL. The secondary is led by a senior as well as a true freshman. The senior is cornerback Deshazor Everett. He has picked off a pass this season and come up with 54 total tackles. He appears to be getting mid-to-late round consideration for the 2015 NFL Draft. The true freshman is safety Armani Watts. Watts has picked off a couple passes and has 42 total tackles. Watts and Everett have the only three interceptions recorded by the Texas A&M secondary, which unsurprisingly enough, has them near the bottom of the FBS ranks in terms of interceptions. Only Washington State has fewer interceptions with two; although six other teams only have three INTs themselves. Texas A&M does rank tied for seventh in the FBS in QB sacks with 30; a lot of that in large part due to Myles Garrett. The Aggies are 75th in the FBS in pass defense, allowing a shade over 236 yards per game. Their rush defense is 95th in the FBS, giving up nearly 178 yards per game. Bo Wallace, Dak Prescott and Blake Sims ran for six touchdowns on the ground combined between them, so there could be a few chances for Nick Marshall to do some damage on the ground for Auburn offensively.
Reading my preview, you might think this should be a game Auburn should win fairly easily. They might, but one thing I'm not overlooking is the fact that the Tigers are coming off a very emotional road victory over Ole Miss and following this game with Texas A&M is a road game in Athens with rival Georgia. Although Georgia may have struggled mightily in a loss to Florida (more on that in the top 25 predictions), you can be sure Auburn will be getting the best shot Georgia will have to offer. I'm also not overlooking the fact that Texas A&M was not competitive in those losses to Alabama and both Mississippi schools. This is something that could carry over to this one or could inspire them to want to make amends by at least making a game out of this one. I'm certainly not overlooking these Aggies and neither should the Tigers. They're young and although they've struggled recently in SEC play, they have a ton of talent. Auburn's offense should be able to move the ball just fine against this defense. Nick Marshall should have success both throwing and running, he's in for a huge game. The Aggies offense will show better than they did against Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Alabama, but they won't be able to keep up for the full 60 minutes. Auburn gets it done offensively and although I'm kind of expecting true freshman QB Kyle Allen will put up some solid stats against an Auburn secondary which has recently struggled, I do also think they'll force him into a couple mistakes and the team pulls away in the second half for a fairly comfortable victory.
My Call: Auburn 48, Texas A&M 27
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