Where, when, weather and TV
Where: Kyle Field, College Station, Texas
When: 6:30 p.m. central, Saturday, Sept. 21
Weather: Hot, high of 97
TV: SEC Network+/ESPN+ (Jay Alter, Rocky Boiman, Ashley Stroehlein)
Texas A&M depth chart
Bowling Green depth chart
Injury report
Texas A&M: QB Conner Weigman (right shoulder AC joint) is "day-to-day" according to coach Mike Elko.
C Koli Faaiu (undisclosed) is expected to play.
C Mark Nabou (ACL) is out for the year.
RB Rueben Owens (ankle) is likely out for the year.
Bowling Green: DT Dierre Kelly (undisclosed) is questionable. He did not play against Penn State.
LB Dametrius Hardamon (undisclosed) is also questionable. He has not played this year.
Texas A&M statistical leaders
Passing: Reed, 16-27 (57.1%), 249 yards, 2 TD
Weigman, 23-44 (52.3%), 225 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Moss, 47 carries, 264 yards (5.6 YPC), 3 TD
Daniels, 30 carries, 163 yards (5.4 YPC), 2 TD
Reed, 20 carries, 126 yards (6.3 YPC), 1 TD
Receiving: Allen, 10 catches, 181 yards, 1 TD
Watson, 3 catches, 45 yards
Muhammad, 3 catches, 44 yards, 1 TD
Bowling Green statistical leaders
Tackles: Sipp, 16
CJ Brown, 14
Rosser, 12
Tackles for loss: Hawkins, 2.5
Rosser, 2
Sipp and McGary, 1.5
Sacks: Rosser and Hawkins, 2
Sipp, 1
Interceptions: Jacorey Benjamin, 1
Head-to-head
What A&M wants to do
If it ain't broke...
The Aggies have dominated two straight opponents by running right at them. They did it with Conner Weigman and they did it with Marcel Reed. Now they're facing a team that hasn't been able to stop the run in either of their first two games, either against Penn State (understandable) or Fordham (less so).
"There's some things where they're very, very strong at that's kind of our weaknesses a little bit," Bowling Green coach Scot Loeffler said Monday.
The Aggies are averaging 6 yards a carry. Bowling Green is allowing 6.3 yards a carry. All of that points to A&M looking to run the ball, first and foremost. If Reed is the starter, which is expected, that becomes even more likely.
A&M shortened the game against Florida significantly by holding onto the football and grinding things out. The Aggies held onto the ball for nearly 38 minutes, which is tough to overcome anytime.
It sounds pretty simple, but sometimes the best gameplans are. The Aggies should come out, try to run the football and dominate the point of attack against a smaller defensive front, and then take some deep shots. Reed is capable of doing more, but if you don't have to, why would you?
How Bowling Green may try to counter
The Falcons want to get you to third down. If they can do that, then they have an advantage. They're aggressive, they blitz a lot and they've racked up some pretty good sack numbers already. They got Drew Allar of Penn State twice and had four tackles for loss against the Nittany Lions.
They go with what is essentially a 3-4, so they're fast. But they also got gouged in the running game last week. Some of it was from bad fits, but a lot of it was they were just getting blown off the ball. They have to adjust that quickly against A&M.
If they can get you behind the sticks, then they're tough. They're only allowing 26.9% of third downs to be converted -- the trick is just getting to third down. They're also tough in the red zone -- but Penn State hit them with two touchdowns from outside the 20.
The Falcons want to make Reed uncomfortable. They're a very experienced bunch and know their scheme well. But the question is, can they do it? They're giving up 6.3 yards a run so far, and that's not just damage from Penn State. Fordham lit them up on the ground too. Stopping A&M's running game has to be the priority. They may have to sell out to have a shot at it.
