AggieYell.com begins its look at the matchup between Texas A&M (1-1) and Florida (1-1) with a breakdown of the Aggie offense against the Gators defense.
Where, when, weather and TV
Where: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Fla.
When: 3:30 p.m. Eastern time (2:30 Central), Sept. 14
Weather: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, high of 89. Chance of rain 50%.
TV: ABC (Play-by-Play: Joe Tessitore; Analyst: Jesse Palmer; Reporter: Katie George)
Texas A&M offensive depth chart
Florida defensive depth chart
Injury update
Texas A&M: RB Rueben Owens (ankle) and C Mark Nabou (ACL) are out for the year.
Florida: DB Ja'Keem Jackson is out.
DB Asa Turner is out.
DB Ahman Cunningham is out.
DB Brayden Slade is out.
DL Jamari Lyons is out.
DB Sharif Denson is questionable.
DB Bryce Thornton is questionable.
EDGE TJ Searcy is questionable.
DB Devin Moore is questionable.
Texas A&M statistical leaders
Passing: Weigman, 23-44, 225 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
Reed, 5-11, 71 yards
Rushing: Moss, 29 carries, 154 yards (5.3 YPC), 3 TD
Daniels, 17 carries, 95 yards (5.6 YPC), 2 TD
Bussey, 2 carries, 65 yards, 1 TD
Receiving: Allen, 7 catches, 100 yards (14.3 YPC)
Thomas, 4 catches, 38 yards, 1 TD
Walker, 6 catches, 31 yards
Florida statistical leaders
Tackles: James, 9
Four players with 8
Tackles for loss: Sapp, 3.5
Gumbs, 3
Boone, 1.5
Sacks: Sapp, 2
Three players with 1
interceptions: James, 1
Forced fumbles: Three players with 1
Head-to-head
What A&M wants to do
Hopefully take off the gloves. The Aggies were inept offensively against Notre Dame and simply ground McNeese into oblivion, showing little to nothing in the process. After a terrible game against the Fighting Irish, Conner Weigman was very efficient against McNeese. But he didn't push the ball down the field, at least partly by design. Now they face a Florida defense that was absolutely shredded by Miami to the tune of 529 yards of total offense, including 385 yards through the air.
Now it's time for Weigman to step up and push the issue, and for his receivers to step up too -- especially with starting corner Ja'Keem Jackson a surprise scratch for this weekend. The Gators were not good against the pass last year, either, so it's not like Miami was a one-off. The question is, simply: can Weigman take advantage of this shortcoming?
Florida's extremely big up front -- the 449 pounds you see for Desmond Watson is not a typo. But they've still been run on, with Miami averaging 4.4 yards a carry on 33 attempts. Le'Veon Moss and Amari Daniels are still going to be key elements of this game, and A&M's offensive line has to control the point of attack on early downs in order to keep the playbook versatile.
The Gators like to blitz with their linebackers, which could mean two things for A&M: you get your tight ends out in quick patterns undefended, and you've got to do a good job of pickups. In this case, it could mean a big day for Tre Watson, who's been underutilized so far. The blitz may also open up big gaps for Weigman to utilize in the run game, as Cam Ward did in Week 1.
If the Aggie offense has anything resembling capability, they need to break out this weekend. Watching the film of Florida's game against Miami, the Hurricane receivers were running deep through the secondary with nobody near them. Maybe A&M's receivers aren't that good. Maybe Florida's secondary has improved. Still, there should be opportunities to attack and get some chunk plays.
How Florida may try to counter
Stop the run and get their blitzers home. Florida may have some confidence in stopping the run after holding Samford to 1.7 yards a carry last weekend -- but that's Samford. Still, they will likely attack the line of scrimmage and try to put the Aggies behind the sticks early. Then they'll have to blitz again, because their secondary just isn't holding up.
The Aggie offensive line has looked much improved over the first two games, giving up just one real sack so far and four tackles for loss. Florida, for their part, did rack up four sacks last week -- again, against Samford. But Sapp and Gumbs, especially, have been able to make an impact in the opposing backfield.
James and Howard are used as blitzers a lot, and the Gators will bring their STAR as well off the edge. They'll try to overload a side or bring the linebackers late to confuse the quarterback, but blitzing is how they get pressure. Getting home will be critical, because they probably aren't going to want to leave their defensive backs out on an island for long.
Florida absolutely must win the line of scrimmage in order to win the game. They can't rely on their second level. Weigman needs to prove he can make plays under pressure, and the Gators almost certainly will do their best to make him feel it.
