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football Edit

Can Mond get rolling?

AggieYell.com's look at the matchup between Louisiana-Lafayette (1-1, 0-0 Sun Belt) and Texas A&M (1-1, 0-0 SEC) begins with a look at the Aggie offense against Louisiana-Lafayette's defense.

No debates this week -- Kellen Mond gets the start for the Aggies.
No debates this week -- Kellen Mond gets the start for the Aggies.
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Texas A&M likely starters

QB: Kellen Mond (Fr.; 6'2", 210; 15-38, 132 yards, 1 TD, o INT; 18 carries, 44 yards)

RB: Trayveon Williams (Soph.; 5'9", 200; 33 carries for 256 yards and 3 TD)

TE: Aaron Hansford (RS-Fr.; 6'3", 230; 2 catches, 11 yards)

WR: Damion Ratley (Sr.; 6'3", 190; 1 catch, 13 yards)

Slot: Christian Kirk (Jr.; 5'11", 200; 11 catches, 107 yards, 1 TD)

WR: Jhamon Ausbon (Fr.; 6'2", 220; 6 catches, 39 yards)

LT: Keaton Sutherland (Jr.; 6'5", 310)

LG: Colton Prater (Soph; 6'4", 300)

C: Erik McCoy (Soph.; 6'4", 315)

RG: Connor Lanfear (Jr.; 6'6", 320)

RT: Koda Martin (RS-Jr.; 6'6", 310)

A&M's offense by the numbers

Scoring offense: 34 points per game (53rd nationally, 7th SEC)

Rushing yards: 288.5 yards per game (14th nationally, 2nd SEC)

Passing yards : 143.5 YPG (114th nationally, 13th SEC)

Total yards: 432 YPG (58th nationally, 5th SEC)

First downs: 50 (24th nationally, 2nd SEC)

3rd down conversion percentage: 47.5% (34th nationally, 6th SEC)

4th down conversion percentage: 50% (54th nationally, 5th SEC)

Sacks allowed: 10 (125th nationally, 12th SEC)

Red zone offense: 90% (43rd nationally, 5th SEC)

Turnover +/-: +5 (5 takeaways, 0 giveaways; 3rd nationally, 1st SEC)

Penalties/Yards: 9 penalties for 84 yards

Louisiana-Lafayette likely starters (multiple fronts)

DE: Trevara Miller (Sr.; 6'1", 273; 4 tackles, .5 TFL, 1 forced fumble)

DT: LaDarrius Kidd (Jr.; 6'3", 307; 4 tackles)

NT: Taboris Lee (Sr.; 6'2", 295; 6 tackles)

Buck: Joe Dillon (Soph.; 6'3", 215; 5 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack)

MLB: TJ Posey (Sr.; 6', 245; 21 tackles)

WLB: Jacques Boudreaux (Soph.; 6'1", 228; 10 tackles, 1.5 TFL)

Slash: Corey Turner (Jr.; 6'1", 204; 13 tackles)

LCB: Lorenzo Cryer (Jr.; 6'2", 173; 6 tackles)

Rover: Tracy Walker (Sr.; 6'2", 200; 18 tackles, 2 TFL)

FS: Travis Crawford (Sr.; 5'11", 185; 8 tackles)

RCB: Damar’ren Mitchell (Soph.; 5"11, 185; 9 tackles)

Louisiana-Lafayette's defense by the numbers

Joe Dillon has the Ragin' Cajuns' lone sack on the year.
Joe Dillon has the Ragin' Cajuns' lone sack on the year.

Scoring defense: 57 PPG (129th nationally, 11th Sun Belt)

Rushing yards allowed: 383.5 YPG (128th nationally, 11th Sun Belt)

Passing yards allowed: 207 YPG (62nd nationally, 7th Sun Belt)

Total yards: 590.5 YPG (127th nationally, 11th Sun Belt)

3rd down conversion percentage against: 56.3% (128th nationally, 11 Sun Belt)

4th down conversion percentage against: 100% (116th nationally, 8th Sun Belt)

Red zone defense: 100% (94th nationally, 6th Sun Belt)

Sacks: 1 (117th nationally, 11th Sun Belt)

Tackles for loss: 5 (123rd nationally, 9th SEC)

Turnover +/-: +1 (2 takeaways, 1 giveaway; 53rd nationally, 2nd Sun Belt)

Penalties/Yardage: 11 for 40 yards

What A&M wants to do when they have the ball

All you've got to do is look at the numbers to figure this one out, if you hadn't already with A&M starting Mond: They want to run the ball a lot. When a team gives up an average of 6.1 YPC against a couple of much lesser opponents, an SEC team who's already 14th in the nation in rushing yards should look to take advantage. With Williams and Keith Ford (both of whom may be limited tomorrow) and Kendall Bussey, the Aggies are averaging 5.2 yards a carry in their own right, while struggling mightily to throw the ball.

Kellen Mond hasn't come close to completing 50% of his passes, have shown no semblance of a deep passing game and has given up 10 sacks in two games. The Aggies have to get Mond going as a passer, but after last week's near disaster, A&M shouldn't mess around early. They should go out, hit the Ragin' Cajuns hard on the ground and then start throwing to get some balance later.

What Louisiana-Lafayette wants to do

Something positive. Anything positive. After squeaking past Southeastern Louisiana of the Southland Conference 51-48, the Ragin' Cajuns were blasted by Tulsa 66-42. Even though they're 1-1, Lousiana-Lafayette has given up 57 points per game, dead last in the FBS.

When it comes to dealing with the Aggies, they're going to have to sell out and try to stop the run. They're giving up 383.5 yards a game on the ground alone, and nearly 600 yards of total offense. Getting eight or nine men up in the box and forcing Mond to throw will probably be their best option. They haven't gotten much pressure on the quaterback -- 1 sack -- and have forced 2 turnovers.

The Ragin' Cajuns will want to stop the run first and second. Then maybe they can force some turnovers if they can force Mond to throw. But they've had little success doing what they want so far this year.

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