AggieYell.com begins its breakdown of the matchup between No. 6 Texas A&M (9-1 SEC in 2020) and Kent State (3-1 MAC) with a look at the A&M offense against the Golden Flashes' defense.
The scene
Location: Kyle Field, College Station, Texas
Kickoff time: 7 p.m. central time Saturday
Weather forecast: Mostly sunny, high of 99 degrees
Injury update
Texas A&M: Center Luke Matthews (shoulder) is questionable; Wide receiver Hezekiah Jones (arm) is out.
Kent State: No reported injuries
Texas A&M depth chart (spread base)
QB: #13, Haynes King; RS-Fr.; 6-3, 200
#10, Zach Calzada; RS-So.; 6-4, 200
RB: #28, Isaiah Spiller; Jr.; 6-1, 225
#6, Devon Achane; Soph; 5-9, 185
TE: #85, Jalen Wydermyer; Jr; 6-5, 255;
#88, Baylor Cupp; RS-So.; 6-7, 240; OR
#42, Max Wright; RS-Jr.; 6-4, 260
WR #2 Chase Lane; RS-Soph.; 6, 190
#5 Jalen Preston; RS-Jr.; 6-2, 210 OR
#8 Yulkeith Brown; Fr.; 5-10, 175
WR: #0, Ainias Smith; Jr.; 5-10, 190
#7, Moose Muhammad; RS-Fr.; 6-1, 195;
WR: #81, Caleb Chapman; RS-Jr.; 6-5, 200
#1, Demond Demas; RS-Fr.; 6-3, 180
#9, Hezekiah Jones; RS-Sr.; 6, 180
LT #58 Jahmir Johnson; Gr-TR; 6-5, 300
OR #76, Rueben Fatheree; Fr.; 6-8, 320
LG: #74, Aki Ogunbiyi, RS-Fr.; 6-4, 315
#70, Josh Bankhead, RS-Fr.; 6-5, 325
C: #75, Luke Matthews, Jr.; 6-4, 320
#61 Bryce Foster; Fr.; 6-5, 325, OR
#77 Matthew Wykoff, Fr.; 6-6, 330
RG: #64, Layden Robinson; RS-So.; 6-4, 325
#52, Smart Chibuzo; RS-Fr.; 6-4, 320
#66, Jordan Spasojevic-Moko; Soph.; 6-5, 340,
RT: #55, Kenyon Green; Jr.; 6-4, 325
#53, Blake Trainor; Soph.; 6-7, 330 OR
#60, Trey Zuhn; Fr.; 6-6, 315
Kent State projected depth chart (3-4 base)
DE: #55, Sekou Diaby; RS-Sr.; 6-2, 278
#53 Adin Huntington; Soph.; 6, 263
NT: #50, CJ West; Soph.; 6-2, 330
#56, Macyo Williams; Fr.; 6-3, 265
DE: #97, Zayin West; RS-Sr.; 6-1, 272
#11, Antoine Cook; Gr.; 6-4, 260
#34, Asher From; GR-Tr.; 6-4, 260
OLB: #15, Matt Harmon; RS-Sr.; 6-5, 235
#35, Brandon Coleman; RS-Soph.; 6-1, 220
#42, Leon Williams; Soph.; 6-1, 215
ILB: #34, Kesean Gamble; Sr.; 6-1, 274
#33, Marvin Pierre; Gr.; 6-1, 222
#19, A.J. Musolino; Gr.; 6-3, 209
ILB: #28, Mandela Lawrence-Burke; Sr.; 6, 200
#10, Juan Wallace; Sr.; 6-2, 209
#32, Khalib Johns; Sr.; 6-2, 232
S: #17, Antwaine Richardson; Gr.; 6, 195
#29, C.J. Holmes; RS-Sr.; 6-1, 215
S: #3, Dean Clark; Soph.; 6, 211 OR
#24 Nico Bolden; Gr.; 6-3, 215
S: #5, KJ Sherald; Gr.; 5-9, 185
#26, Richie Carpenter Jr.; RS-Sr.; 5-10, 194
CB: #21, Montre Miller; RS-Soph.; 5-10, 183
#27, Heskin Smith; RS-Sr.; 5-11, 165
CB: #14, Elvis Hines; Sr.; 5-10, 174
#12 Capone Blue; RS-Jr.; 6-3, 180
Texas A&M returning statistical leaders
Passing: King, 2-4, 57 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT in 2020
Rushing: Spiller, 188 carries, 1,036 yards (5.5 YPC), 9 TD
Achane, 43 carries, 364 yards (8.5 YPC), 4 TD
Receiving: Smith, 43 catches, 564 yards (13.1 YPC), 6 TD
Wydermyer, 46 catches, 506 yards (11 YPC), 6 TD
Lane, 29 catches, 409 yards (14.1 YPC), 2 TD
Kent State returning statistical leaders
Tackles: Clark, 28
West, 23
Carpenter, 20
Tackles for loss: Gamble, 6
Coleman, 4
West, 3.5
Sacks: Gamble and Coleman, 3
West and Lawrence-Burke, 2
Interceptions: Clark and Hines, 1
Forced fumbles: Dean, Coleman and Carpenter, 1
Fumble recoveries: Coleman, 1
Texas A&M by the numbers in 2020
Total offense: 439.2 YPG (33rd nationally, 4th SEC)
Scoring offense: 32.6 PPG (37th nationally, 4th SEC)
Rushing offense: 205.1 YPG (25th nationally, 2nd SEC)
Passing offense: 234.1 YPG (59th nationally, 9th SEC)
Third down conversion percentage: 54.9% (3rd nationally, 2nd SEC)
Red zone offense: 87.2% (36th nationally, 5th SEC)
Sacks allowed: 7 (5th nationally, 1st SEC)
Tackles for loss allowed: 38 (6th nationally, 1st SEC)
Time of possession: 34;49 (3rd nationally, 1st SEC)
Turnovers: 8 (19th nationally, 1st SEC)
Turnover +/-: +6 (25th nationally, 4th SEC)
Kent State by the numbers in 2020
Total defense: 424 YPG (80th nationally, 7th MAC)
Scoring defense: 38 PPG (113th nationally, 9th MAC)
Rushing defense: 262 YPG (123rd nationally, 11th MAC)
Passing defense: 162 YPG (3rd nationally, 1st MAC)
Team sacks: 12, or 3.0 per game (16th nationally, 3rd MAC)
Team tackles for loss: 25, or 6.25 per game (58th nationally, 6th MAC)
Third down conversion defense: 43.8% (94th nationally, 8th MAC)
Red zone defense: 94.1% (120th nationally, 9th MAC)
Turnovers forced: 5 (114th nationally, 9th MAC)
Turnover +/-: +1 (47th nationally, 5th MAC)
What the Aggies want to do
Doing what they did last year would be a good place to start, especially against one of the worst rush defenses in the nation. The Aggies ground down opponents last year, dominating time of possession and consistently converting third downs. A lot of that came courtesy of a strong running game, and the key pieces -- Isaiah Spiller, Devon Achane and Ainias Smith -- are all back. The Golden Flashes are undersized with the exception of DT CJ West, while the Aggies will trot out of a massive front line -- another advantage for A&M.
This is, of course, the first start for Haynes King and getting him off on the right foot is also key. Look for a number of short passes early on to get him comfortable, and then the Aggies might look to take some shots off of play action. King could also put his feet to work and use his speed to make a few plays to also get into the rhythm of the game.
For the Aggies, the key is going out and running their offense as mistake-free as possible. If they do that, they should move the ball effectively on Kent State.
How Kent State may try to counter
Try to avoid any repetition of last year. Jimbo Fisher made a point of saying that Kent State had picked up a number of transfers, but the same group of starters from last season largely remain.
The Golden Flashes run a base 3-4, with a pair of huge (for their position) linebackers who can stand up on the edges and serve basically as defensive ends. A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said they like to show a lot of looks, bring blitzers from different directions and make things difficult for a quarterback.
One problem: they have a huge amount of trouble with the run.
The Aggies are much bigger up front, and the inside linebackers for Kent State are quick, but undersized. That's not a great matchup for the Golden Flashes. Odds are they're going to bring their safeties down into the box (they're pretty decent-sized) and get creative trying to find ways to stop the run. They're going to try to put this game in King's hands, and if he beats them, oh well.
But can they even get the game to where that strategy works? That is the part that may be tough to accomplish.
