A&M offense vs. Florida's defense
AggieYell.com's look at the matchup between Texas A&M and Florida begins with a breakdown of the Aggie offense against the Gators defense.
Setting the scene
Where: Kyle Field, College Station, Texas
When: 11 a.m. central time Saturday
TV: SEC Network
Weather: Sunny with a high around 75
Texas A&M projected depth chart
QB: #15, Conner Weigman; Fr.; 6-2, 215
#13, Haynes King; RS-So.; 6-3, 205
RB: #6, Devon Achane; Jr.; 5-9, 185
#22, Le’Veon Moss; Fr.; 5-11, 200
FB: #24, Earnest Crownover; RS-Jr.-TR.; 6-3, 230
TE: #18, Donovan Green; Fr.; 6-4, 235
#42, Max Wright; RS-Sr.; 6-4, 255
WR: #1, Evan Stewart; Fr.; 5-11, 170
#3, Devin Price; Jr.; 6-3, 200
SLOT:#7, Moose Muhammad; RS-So.; 6-1, 195
#8, Yulkeith Brown; So.; 5-10, 175
WR: #2, Chase Lane; RS-Jr.; 6, 195
#9, Noah Thomas, Fr.;
#5, Jalen Preston; RS-Sr.; 6-2, 220
LT: #60, Trey Zuhn; RS-Fr.; 6-6, 320
#78, Dametrious Crownover; RS-Fr.; 6-6, 300
LG: #75, Kam Dewberry; Fr.; 6-4, 330
#54, Mark Nabou; Fr.; 6-4, 345
C: #77 Matthew Wykoff; RS-Fr.; 6-6, 330
#68, Remington Strickland; RS-Fr.; 6-4, 300
RG: #64, Layden Robinson; RS-Jr.; 6-4, 330
#70, Josh Bankhead; RS-So.; 6-5, 305
RT: #76, Deuce Fatheree; So.; 6-8, 325
#55, Hunter Erb; Fr.; 6-6, 330
Florida depth chart
DE: #33, Princely Umanmielen; So.; 6-4, 245
#12, Justus Boone; RS-Fr.; 6-3, 260
NT: #21 Desmond Watson; So.; 6-5, 415
#7, Chris McClellan; Fr.; 6-3, 305
#66, Jaelin Humphries; RS-So.; 6-3, 328
DE: #9, Gervon Dexter Sr.; 6-5, 312
#92, Jalen Lee; So.; 6-2, 299 OR #94, Tyreak Sapp; RS-Fr.; 6-2, 263
JACK: Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr.; So.; 6-2, 243
#99, Lloyd Summerall; RS-So.; 6-5, 231
#4, David Reese; RS-Jr.; 6-1, 238
LB: #51, Ventrell Miller; RS-Sr.; 6, 221
#17, Jeremiah “Scooby” Williams; RS-Fr.; 6-2, 235 OR #15, Derek Wingo; So.; 6-1, 210
LB: #2, Amari Burney; Sr.; 6-1, 228
#6, Shemar James; Fr.; 6-1, 210
STAR: #16, Tre’Vez Johnson; So.; 5-10, 194
#27, Jadarrius Perkins; Jr.; 6, 186
CB: #3, Jason Marshall Jr.; So.; 6, 198
#8, Jalen Kimber; RS-So.; 6, 178
S: #22, Rashad Torrence II, So.; 5-11, 202
#5, Kamari Wilson; Fr.; 6, 209
S: #0, Trey Dean III; Sr.; 6-2, 207
#13, Donovan McMillon; So.; 6-1, 205
CB: #23, Jaydon Hill; RS-So.; 5-11, 181
#24, Avery Helm; So.; 6, 170
Injury update
Texas A&M: QB Max Johnson (hand), WR Ainias Smith (broken leg) and OL Bryce Foster (knee), Aki Ogunbiyi (knee) and Jordan Moko (knee) are all out for the year. QB Haynes King (shoulder) is doubtful. WR Chris Marshall and OL PJ Williams are suspended indefinitely.
Florida: LB Diwun Black and CB Devin Moore are out. LB Jeremiah Williams is questionable. LB Brenton Cox has been dismissed from the team.
Texas A&M statistical leaders
Rushing: Achane, 142 carries, 765 yards (5.4 YPC), 4 TD
King, 27 carries, 95 yards (3.5 YPC), 1 TD
Passing: King, 81-142 (57%), 941 yards, 6 TD, 6 INT
Max Johnson, 43-71 (60.6%), 517 yards, 3 TD
Weigman, 36-59 (61%), 429 yards, 4 TD
Receiving: Stewart, 38 catches, 478 yards (12.6 YPC), 2 TD
Muhammad, 23 catches, 342 yards (14.9 YPC), 3 TD
Ainias Smith, 15 catches, 291 yards (19.4 YPC), 2 TD
Florida statistical leaders
Tackles: Torrence, 66
Miller, 54
Dean, 52
Tackles for loss: Cox, 8
Burney, 6
Umanmielen, 5
Sacks: Burney, 4
Cox and Umanmielen, 2
Interceptions: Burney and Hill, 2
Forced fumbles: Burney, 2
Four players with 1
Fumble recoveries: Five players with 1
Head-to-head
| Category | Texas A&M | Florida |
|---|---|---|
|
Total offense/yards allowed |
359.5 YPG (95th nationally, 11th SEC) |
445 YPG (117th nationally, 12th SEC) |
|
Scoring offense/defense |
22.6 PPG |
29.9 PPG (95th, 11th) |
|
Rushing yards/yards allowed |
123.6 YPG (102nd, 12th) |
119.8 YPG (118th, 12th) |
|
Passing yards/yards allowed |
235.9 YPG (72nd, 8th) |
253.2 YPG (95th, 11th) |
|
Third down conversion percentage/defense |
34.3% (106th, 14th) |
52.3% (130th, 14th) |
|
Red zone conversion percentage/defense |
88% (40th, 5th) |
83.3% (61st, 9th) |
|
Sacks allowed/sacks |
17 (74th, 9th) |
13 (97th, 9th) |
|
Tackles for loss allowed/tackles for loss |
5.25 per game (54th, 7th) |
5.2 per game (86th, 8th) |
|
Time of possession |
28:35 (95th, 10th) |
27:09 (119th, 12th) |
|
Turnovers/forced |
11 (54th, 8th) |
16 (16th, 1st) |
|
Turnover +/- |
Even (67th, 7th) |
+6 (21st, 2nd) |
What A&M wants to do
How about a repeat of the first half of last week? Have the offense go through Achane, running him and then using Weigman's ability to get the ball out quickly to his receivers to push the ball down the field.
Even though the offensive line gave up two sacks last week, they really weren't their fault. They were on back-to-back plays where Weigman simply slipped when trying to run. All the same, you don't want to give a defense -- even one as confused as Florida's is -- a chance to get pressure. So get the ball out fast like you did last week. Find Evan Stewart and Moose Muhammad and let them make plays. Get the ball to Donovan Green down the seam.
For the offensive line, just keep it simple. Run power right at Florida and do it until they make you stop it. Take a page from the third quarter of the 2020 game. Get physical and go right at them. They've had trouble stopping the run all year and have had nightmares on third down. So find their terms acceptable and take advantage of them.
What Florida may do to counter
This is a little tougher because Florida's defense doesn't really have an identity. While A&M's offense has gone from awful to just bad over the past few games, Florida has remained stuck on awful. One thing they do extremely well: force turnovers. They're +6 in turnover margin, which is pretty impressive.
So what do you do? Try to maximize that stregnth. Give Weigman a bunch of different looks, blitz heavily and try to pressure him. Blitzing may also help slow down Achane if they can clog up gaps at the line of scrimmage.
Brenton Cox was their best player, leading the team in tackles for loss and quarterback hurries and was second in sacks. With him gone, figuring how how to attack opponents becomes even more difficult. It'll be interesting to see if the Gators struggle even more without his talent or improve without his attitude.