AggieYell.com's look at the matchup between Texas A&M (5-3, 3-2 SEC) and Ole Miss (7-1, 4-1 SEC) continues with a breakdown of the Rebel offense against the Aggie defense.
Ole Miss two-deep
QB: #2, Jaxson Dart; 6-2, 220; Jr.
#3, Spencer Sanders; 6-1, 210; Sr.-TR.
RB: #4, Quinshon Judkins; 5-11, 201; So.
#24, Ulysses Bentley IV; 5-11, 200; RS-Sr.-TR
WR: #9, Tre Harris; 6-2, 205; RS-Sr.-TR.
#5, Zakhari Franklin; 6-1, 185; Sr.-TR.
WR: #19, Dayton Wade; 5-9, 175; RS-Sr.-TR.
#1, Ayden Williams; 6-3, 190; Fr.
WR: #11, Jordan Watkins; 5-11, 190; RS-Sr.
#83, Cayden Lee; 5-11, 175; Fr.
TE: #86, Caden Prieskorn; 6-5, 255; RS-Sr.-TR.
#88, Kyirin Heath; 6-4, 235; So.
LT: #79, Victor Curne; 6-4, 320; Sr.-TR.
#71, Jayden Williams; 6-5, 300; So.
LG: #67, Quincy McGee; 6-4, 320; Sr.-TR.
#73, Eli Acker; 6-5, 295; Jr.
C: #54, Caleb Warren; 6-5, 310; RS-Sr.
#56, Reese McIntyre; 6-5, 305; RS-Sr.
RG: #78, Jeremy James; 6-5, 305; RS-Sr.
#55, Preston Cushman; 6-5, 280; Fr.
RT: #57, Micah Pettus; 6-7, 360; So.
#76, Cedric Melton; 6-5, 300; Jr.
Texas A&M two-deep
DE: #10, Fadil Diggs; 6-5, 260; RS-Jr.
#18, LT Overton; 6-5, 265; So.
NT: #3, McKinnley Jackson; 6-2, 325; Sr.
#34, Isaiah Raikes; 6-2, 325; RS-Jr.
DT: #0, Walter Nolen; 6-4, 290; So.
#13, DJ Hicks; 6-5, 290; Fr.
DE: #5, Shemar Turner; 6-4, 290; Jr.
#4, Shemar Stewart; 6-6, 285; So.
WILL: #45, Edgerrin Cooper; 6-3, 230; RS-Jr.
#40, Martrell Harris Jr.; 6-2, 220; So.
MIKE: #21, Taurean York; 6, 230; Fr.
#24, Chris Russell Jr.; 6-2, 235; RS-Sr.
NICKEL: #1, Bryce Anderson; 6, 195; So. OR #28, Josh DeBerry; 6-1, 180; Gr.-TR.
CB: #7, Tyreek Chappell; 5-11, 185; Jr.
#16, Sam McCall; 6-1, 185; So.-TR.
SS: #26, Demani Richardson; 6-1, 215; RS-Sr.
#9, Bobby Taylor; 6-1, 185; RS-Fr.
FS: #2, Jacoby Mathews; 6-2, 215; So.
#33, Jarred Kerr; 6, 195; So.
CB: #11, Deuce Harmon; 5-10, 185; RS-So.
#14, Jayvon Thomas; 6, 190; Fr.
Ole Miss statistical leaders
Rushing: Judkins, 146 carries, 691 yards (4.7 YPC), 9 TD
Bentley, 61 carries, 369 yards (6 YPC), 3 TD
Dart, 85 carries, 141 yards (3.8 YPC), 7 TD
Passing: Dart, 136-211 (64.5.%), 2,080 yards, 14 TD, 4 INT
Sanders, 11-17, 156 yards, 2 TD
Receiving: Watkins, 39 catches, 580 yards (14.9 YPC), 2 TD
Harris, 27 catches, 536 yards (19.9 YPC), 6 TD
Wade, 36 catches, 522 yards (14.5 YPC), 3 TD
Injury update
Ole Miss: WR Jordan Watkins (broken hand) is probable.
Texas A&M: S Jardin Gilbert (shoulder) and DE Enai White (foot) are out. DT Albert Regis (ankle) is questionable.
Texas A&M statistical leaders
Tackles: Cooper, 52
York, 47
Richardson, 39
Tackles for loss: Cooper, 15
Turner, 9
Diggs, 8.5
Sacks: Cooper, 6.5
Turner, 5
Diggs, 4
Interceptions: DeBerry, 2
Anderson and Russell, 1
Forced fumbles: Cooper and Turner, 2
Five players with 1
Fumble recoveries: Cooper, Anderson and Jackson, 1
Head-to-head
What Ole Miss wants to do
Lane Kiffin doesn't change his offense for any opponent. He's going to go very up-tempo, run the ball a lot with his two excellent backs and try to hit the deep ball. He'll go for it on fourth down a lot and he'll deal with sacks and tackles for loss as just the cost of doing business.
Dart has had a very good season both as a passer and as a runner. In fact, he may be more dangerous with his feet than his arm, as the Rebels have no problem setting up designed runs for him. Judkins has really rounded into form in recent weeks and the addition of Bentley from SMU has given Ole Miss a nasty one-two punch. They're a rare up-tempo team that wants to run first.
The Rebels have a very nice group of receivers, with Watkins being option 1 in spite of his broken hand. Harris, a transfer from Louisiana Tech, has been a major deep threat this season, averaging nearly 20 yards a catch. Wade, the other starter, also gets a good number of targets. Those three are Dart's primary targets by far. Nobody else has more than 13 receptions, and that's Judkins catching dumpoffs out of the backfield.
There's no secrets when it comes to playing Kiffin's offense. They'll try to wear you down with tempo, slug it out with the quality backs and try to hit you deep when they can. Given A&M's problems with the deep passing game, odds are he'll try to get the ball deep as much as he possibly can when he decides to throw.
How A&M may counter
Bring the heat. Prolific offense or not, Ole Miss gives up a lot of tackles for loss and a lot of sacks. They're in the bottom third nationally in both categories. Alabama sacked Dart five times, while Auburn got him four times -- and nobody has a better pass rush than A&M, who leads the nation in sacks and tackles for loss.
The key for the Aggies is to hold up against the run, then come after Dart while limiting his ability to escape. He's definitely going to get spied, but Walter Nolen, McKinnley Jackson and company need to push the interior of the Ole Miss line back and not allow escape routes to open.
If A&M can do what it has done against four of its last five opponents and hold Ole Miss to 35 yards on the ground or less, they'll probably win easily. And that's also very unlikely to happen. This is the best running back group the Aggies have faced, including Tennessee's. But the Rebels line isn't as good as Tennessee's so 232 yards on the ground seems unlikely too. All the same, being strong against the run is priority one.
With the good play of Josh DeBerry in recent weeks, it's very possible we see some different looks than the defense has shown most of the year. Last weekend, the Aggies went with a one-linebacker look nearly a dozen times, with DeBerry at nickel, Bryce Anderson at safety and Jacoby Mathews acting as a rover. Considering the tempo Ole Miss likes to use and their scheme, this look could be seen a lot Saturday.
Ole Miss gives up a lot of tackles for loss and sacks. The Aggies are very good at picking up both. They need to consistently apply pressure, limit rushing games and make life difficult for Dart. It's not an easy task.
