QB: #11, Kellen Mond (Jr.; 6-2, 217; ProFootballFocus season score of 73.1)

#10, Zach Calzada (Fr.; 6-3, 209; 62.2)

#4,James Foster (RS-Fr.; 6-3, 217; 55.5)

RB: #28, Isaiah Spiller (Fr.; 6-1, 220; 67.4)

#23, Jacob Kibodi (RS-So.; 6-2, 218; 64.2)

#25, Cordarrian Richardson (RS-So.; 6, 240; 69.8);

FB: #43, Cagan Baldree (RS-Jr.; 6-4, 260; 61.5)

TE: #86, Glenn Beal (So.; 6-5, 260; 51.8) OR #85, Jalen Wydermyer (Fr.; 6-5, 260; 62.1)

WR: #1, Quartney Davis (RS-Jr.; 6-2, 200; 70.4)

#14, Camron Buckley (Jr.; 6-2, 190; 59.1)

#17, Ainias Smith (Fr.; 5-10, 193; 80.8)

WR: #2, Jhamon Ausbon (Jr.; 6-2, 218; 69.9)

#5, Jalen Preston (RS-Fr.; 6-2, 214; 73.8)

WR: #13, Kendrick Rogers (RS-Jr.; 6-4, 204; 60.2)

#81, Caleb Chapman (RS-Fr.; 6-5, 214; 49.7)

LT: #65, Dan Moore (Jr.; 6-5, 325; 62.4)

#74, Kellen Diesch (RS-Jr.; 6-5, 298; 75.3)

LG: #73, Jared Hocker (Jr.; 6-5, 323; 70.3)

#60, Bart Clement (RS-Fr.; 6-2, 319; 47.8)

C: #76, Colton Prater (Sr.; 6-4, 298; 58.7)

#77, Ryan McCollum (RS-Jr.; 6-5, 305; 59.8)

RG: #55, Kenyon Green (Fr.; 6-4, 330; 60.7)

#75, Luke Matthews (RS-Fr.; 6-4, 315; 45.2)

RT: #54, Carson Green (Jr.; 6-6, 315; 71.9)

#51, Riley Anderson (RS-Jr.; 6-5, 304; 59.1)

LE: #5, Chauncey Rivers (Sr.; 6-3, 275; ProFootballFocus season score of 71.2)

#43, Fletcher Adams (Sr.; 6-2, 265; 68)

DT: #90, Lee Autry (Sr.; 6-2, 305; 61.1)

#84, Jaden Crumedy (RS-Fr.; 6-5, 300; 68.8)

#92, Kendell Jones (Sr.; 6-4, 300; 48.9)

NG: #54, Fabien Lovett (RS-Fr.; 6-4, 315; 56.6)

#99, James Jackson (So.; 6-3, 315; 55.9)

RE: #42, Marquiss Spencer (Jr.; 6-4, 285; 68.2)

#52, Kobe Jones (Jr.; 6-4, 270; 63.9)

WILL: #6, Willie Gay Jr. (Jr.; 6-2, 240; 80.4)

#10, Leo Lewis (Sr.; 6-2, 245; 55.7)

#18, Aaron Brule (RS-Fr.; 6-1, 235; 35.3)

MIKE: #40, Erroll Thompson (Jr.; 6-1, 250; 68.3)

#41, Tim Washington (Sr.; 6-3, 240; 53.5)

#30, Sh’mar Kilby-Lane (Sr.; 6-2, 230; 28)

SAM: #41, Tim Washington (Sr.; 6-3, 240; 53.5)

#30, Sh’mar Kilby-Lane (Sr.; 6-2, 230; 28)

STAR: #32, Brian Cole II (Sr.; 6-2, 210; 60.2)

#38, Fred Peters (Jr.-TR.; 5-10, 200; 55.1)

CB: #1, Martin Emerson (Fr.; 6-2, 195; 70.3)

#13, Tyler Williams (So.; 6-2, 175 60.8)

FS: #29, C.J. Morgan (Jr.; 6, 200; 44.5)

#7, Marcus Murphy (So.; 6-1, 200; n/a)

SS: #11, Jaquarius Landrews (Sr.; 6, 200; 61)

#35, Landon Guidry (So.; 6, 195; 65.9)

CB: #3 Cameron Dantzler (Jr.; 6-2, 185; 87.6)

#2, Jarrian Jones (Fr.; 6, 190; 60.2) OR #16, Korey Charles (Jr.; 5-10, 180; 65)

Texas A&M: RB Jashaun Corbin (hamstring) is out for the year. TE Baylor Cupp (knee/ankle), is out. OL Grayson Reed, Blake Trainor, Cole Blanton and Tank Jenkins are out.

Mississippi State: DT Lee Autry, S Marcus Murphy and LB Willie Gay have been suspended. CB Maurice Smitherman is out for the year with a leg injury.

Rushing: Spiller, 67 carries for 360 yards (5.4 YPC), 4 TD

Mond, 68 carries for 276 yards (4.1 YPC), 3 TD

Corbin, 35 carries, 137 yards (3.9 YPC), 1 TD

Passing: Mond, 157-251 (62.6%), 1,769 yards, 13 TD, 6 INT

Calzada, 8-17 (47.1%), 106 yards, 2 TD

Foster, 2-5, 25 yards

Receiving: Ausbon, 42 catches, 553 yards (13.2 YPC), 2 TD

Davis, 31 catches, 384 yards (12.4 YPC), 4 TD

Rogers, 20 catches, 228 yards (11.4 YPC), 1 TD

Smith, 14 catches, 182 yards (13 YPC), 3 TD

Wydermyer, 13 catches, 172 yards (13.2 YPC), 4 TD

Tackles: Thompson, 51

Morgan, 50

Landrews, 45

Tackles for loss: Cole, 7

Rivers, 4.5

Lewis, 3.5

Sacks: Rivers, 2.5

Cole, 2

7 players with 1

Forced fumbles: Spencer and Washington, 2

Four players with 1

Fumble recoveries: Lewis, 2

Seven players with 1

Interceptions: Dantzler, 2

Four players with 1

Passes broken up: Morgan, 7

Dantzler, 6

Williams, 3

Scoring offense: 30.9 PPG (52nd nationally, 7th SEC)

Rushing offense: 136.7 YPC (95th, 12th)

Passing offense: 271.4 YPG (35th, 4th)

Total offense: 408.1 YPG (64th, 8th)

First downs: 166 (30th, 6th)

3rd down conversions: 40.0% (59th, 8th)

4th down conversions: 80% (7th, 1st)

Sacks allowed: 19 (102nd, 13th)

Red zone offense: 84.8% (55th, 3rd)

Turnovers lost: 12 (90th, 8th)

Turnover margin: -2 (84th, 13th)

Time of possession: 32:52 (16th, 2nd)

Scoring defense: 28.4 PPG (76th nationally, 12th SEC)

Rushing yards allowed: 152.3 YPG (63rd, 10th)

Passing yards allowed: 244.4 (86th, 11th)

Total defense: 396.7 YPG (70th, 11th)

3rd down conversion defense: 33.8% (33rd, 7th)

Red zone defense: 75.9% (26th, 7th)

Tackles for loss: 35 (100th, 13th)

Sacks: 13 (81st, 11th)

Turnovers forced: 16 (7th, 2nd)

Turnover margin: +1 (54th, 7th)

Keep the running game going and get the passing attack back to where it had been for the past month before the trip to Oxford. Spiller and Mond ran for an average of 5 yards a carry against Ole Miss last week and the Aggies were able to move the ball on the ground when they needed to. They need to continue that, but opponents are also averaging more than 14 yards a completion against the Bulldogs. In an effort to get pressure, Mississippi State vacated the middle of the field frequently against LSU and paid for it. For the Aggies, that could mean a lot of passes for Jhamon Ausbon, Quartney Davis and Jalen Wydermyer.

Mississippi State is giving up 6.3 yards a play so far this year. That includes playing Auburn and LSU, but they’ve also played Louisiana-Lafayette, Tennessee, Southern Miss, K-State and Kentucky. Auburn had nearly 600 yards of offense, LSU more than 400 -- but Tennessee and Kentucky were either right at or over 350. With Autry, Gay and Smitherman out, they’re missing three of their best defenders. They’ve also started slow, so the Aggies should be ready to come out and be aggressive early. Going up-tempo to start the game could catch the Bulldogs flat-footed. Play action right down the seam could also really work.

Success running the ball against MSU this season isn’t complex. Run right up the middle. Teams have repeatedly beaten up the Bulldogs by running power right up the gut. Going east-west works more to what they want. This game will be big for Jared Hocker, Colton Prater, Kenyon Green and Ryan McCollum.

A&M is very likely going to move the ball. What the Aggies need to avoid is giving an opportunistic defense a chance to breathe by turning the ball over. They also need to give Mond time against a defense that has not gotten much pressure without blitzing. If they do those things, opportunities should be there.

In recent memory, Mississippi State has had a massive front line and been very tough to move. They may not have gotten a ton of sacks, but they didn’t give up yards, either. This year, they’ve gotten battered by a bunch of different opponents and losing their top players has certainly taken its toll.

Mississippi State varies its fronts, using a 4-man front most of the time but also using a 3-man set. They want to clog up the line with their big ends and tackles, then let their linebackers (and sometimes safeties) come in and clean up. Their linebackers and safeties do have a lot of tackles this year, but most of them have been down the field. The Bulldogs have given up 4.4 yards a carry.

The lack of push from the front line, especially against the pass, has led Mississippi State to blitz a lot. Cole is used in this role a lot, as are the interior linebackers. But that has opened up the center of the field, which most opponents have taken advantage of. Both safeties, Landrews and Morgan, have struggled in pass coverage all year. And with Dantzler having an All-SEC season, there’s plenty of reason for opponents to target them. If they’re not blitzing, they tend to play deep coverage (sometimes they’ll come into the box and back out), leaving big gaps at the second level.

One thing this group does very well is force turnovers. They’ve recovered 10 fumbles and work on punching the ball out on every tackle, so Spiller especially will have to be aware. Throwing in the vicinity of Dantzler is also taking a risk. They will look to force A&M to turn the ball over and try to get some pressure from the edges and their linebackers. If they can’t do that, then they will probably be in trouble.