AggieYell.com's look at the matchup between No. 11 Texas A&M (7-2, 4-2 SEC) and No. 15 Ole Miss (7-2, 3-2 SEC) begins with a breakdown of the Aggie offense against the Rebel defense.Â
The scene
Location: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Oxford, Mississippi
Time: 6 p.m. central, Saturday, Nov. 13
TV: ESPN
Weather: Clear and cold, with temperatures in the 30s
Texas A&M depth chart
QB: #10, Zach Calzada; RS-So.; 6-4, 200
#14, Blake Bost; Fr.; 6-2, 195
RB: #28, Isaiah Spiller; Jr.; 6-1, 225
#6, Devon Achane; So.; 5-9, 185
TE: #85, Jalen Wydermyer; Jr; 6-5, 255;
#88, Baylor Cupp; RS-So.; 6-7, 240; OR
#42, Max Wright; RS-Jr.; 6-4, 260
WR: #5 Jalen Preston; RS-Jr.; 6-2, 210
#2 Chase Lane; RS-So.; 6, 190 OR
#8 Yulkeith Brown; Fr.; 5-10, 175
WR: #0, Ainias Smith; Jr.; 5-10, 190
#7, Moose Muhammad; RS-Fr.; 6-1, 195;
WR: #1, Demond Demas; RS-Fr.; 6-3, 180
#81, Caleb Chapman; RS-Jr.; 6-5, 200
LT #58 Jahmir Johnson; Gr-TR; 6-5, 300
#60, Trey Zuhn; Fr.; 6-6, 315
LG: #55, Kenyon Green; Jr.; 6-4, 325
#74, Aki Ogunbiyi; RS-Fr.; 6-4, 315
#70, Josh Bankhead, RS-Fr.; 6-5, 325
C: #61 Bryce Foster; Fr.; 6-5, 325
#77 Matthew Wykoff, Fr.; 6-6, 330
RG: #64, Layden Robinson; RS-So.; 6-4, 325
#52, Smart Chibuzo; RS-Fr.; 6-4, 320 OR
#66, Jordan Spasojevic-Moko; So.; 6-5, 340
RT: #76, Rueben Fatheree; Fr.; 6-8, 320
#53, Blake Trainor; So..; 6-7, 330
Ole Miss depth chart
DE: #3, Cedric Johnson; So.; 6-3, 255
#96, Isaiah Iton; SO-TR.; 6-2, 295
DT: #97, Jamond Gordon; SO-TR.; 6-2, 290
#95, Tavius Robinson; RS-Sr.; 6-7, 265
NT: #55, KD Hill; Jr.; 6-1, 310
#94, Quentin Bivens; Jr.; 6-3, 305
DE: #7 Sam Williams; Sr.; 6-4, 265
#95, Tavius Robinson; RS-Sr.; 6-7, 265
OLB: #35, Mark Robinson; Sr.; 5-11, 235
#0, Lakia Henry; Sr.; 5-11, 230 OR
#36, Ashati Cistrunk; Jr.; 6-1, 230
MLB: #44, Chance Campbell; Sr-TR.; 6-2, 240
#46, Momo Sanogo; Sr.; 6-1, 230
NICKEL: #3, Otis Reese; Sr.; 6-3, 215
#27, Tysheem Johnson; Fr.; 5-9, 205
#4, Tylan Knight; Sr.; 5-7, 175
CB: #5, Deantre Prince; Jr.-TR.; 6, 180
#31, Jaylon Jones; RS-Sr.; 5-11, 200 OR
SS: #1, Jake Springer; Sr.; 6-1, 205
#25, Trey Washington; Fr.; 5-10, 205
FS: #21, AJ Finley; Jr.; 6-2, 210
#20, Keidron Smith; RS-Sr.; 6-2, 210
CB: #24, Deane Leonards; Sr.; 6, 195
#6, Miles Battle; Jr.; 6-4, 205
#28, Markevious Brown; Fr.; 5-10, 180
Injury update
Texas A&M: QB Haynes King, OL Luke Matthews and WR Hezekiah Jones are out. The status of WR Chase Lane is uncertain, but he seems unlikely to play.
Ole Miss: No reported injuries.
Texas A&M statistical leaders
Rushing: Spiller, 144 carries, 873 yards (6.1 YPC), 5 TD
Achane, 96 carries, 731 yards (7.4 YPC), 5 TD
Passing: Calzada, 130-237 (54.9%), 1,556 yards, 12 TD, 7 INT
King, 22-35 (62.3%), 300 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT
Receiving: Wydermyer, 30 catches, 406 yards (13.5 YPC), 4 TD
Smith, 35 catches, 391 yards (11.2 YPC), 6 TD
Demas, 10 catches, 192 yards (19.2 YPC), 1 TD
Ole Miss statistical leaders
Tackles: Campbell, 74
Robinson, 68
Reese, 67
Tackles for loss: Williams, 12
Campbell, 10.5
Johnson, 6.5
Sacks: Williams, 10.5
Campbell, 6
Johnson, 5.5
Interceptions: Finley and Smith, 2
Three players with 1
Forced fumbles: Williams, 4
Campbell, 3
Smith, 2
Fumble recoveries: Campbell, 3
Knight, 2
Head to head
What the Aggies want to do
This is as simple as it gets: go right at Ole Miss with the running game. In their last three games, A&M has rushed for 283, 290 and 217 yards; on the other hand, Ole Miss has given up 77, 207 and 284 yards to LSU, Auburn and Liberty (and gave up 350 to Arkansas and 222 to Tennessee in the two games before that). The Aggies are by far the best running attack Ole Miss has faced this far. A&M has been able to out-muscle their last several opponents and the Rebels have been battered repeatedly.
The Ole Miss secondary hasn't been very good either and could be pressed early as the Aggies try to loosen up the front seven, similar to what A&M did early against Auburn. The Rebels like to play their linebackers up and play zone behind it, which leaves a lot of open space in the middle of the field. That could mean a lot of passes heading to Wydermyer and Smith (sound familiar)?
But the primary objective for A&M will be to get Spiller and Achane involved early and often. The Aggies want to do what they've done what they have repeatedly in the second half of the season: lean on their opponents and run it down their throats. That way, they can consume time of possession and keep the potent Ole Miss offense off the field.
How the Rebels may counter
By being extremely aggressive. The Rebels rack up a lot of sacks, but those totals are skewed by the 9 they picked up last weekend against a terrible Liberty offensive line. All the same, they like to apply pressure and their defensive ends, Williams and Johnson, have been excellent so far this year.
The Rebels use both 3- and 4-man fronts, and blitz a lot with their linebackers. They tend to go right the middle in the guard-center gaps, but may alter that with Kenyon Green and Layden Robinson across from them. So look for pressure off the edges.
Ole Miss forces a lot of turnovers. They're +10 in the turnover margin, and their forte is forcing fumbles. That's something A&M's running backs will have to be aware of, and they'll certainly be looking to do that Saturday.
The Rebels have suffered a lot of busts in the defensive secondary and Bo Nix, who A&M made look bad, ate them alive pretty handily two weeks ago. They were better against Liberty, but a lot of that came from the front dominating Liberty's offensive line.
The goal for the Rebels is to slow down A&M's offense as much as possible, force a couple of turnovers and limit touchdowns. Then they can turn to their offense and hope they'll be able to outscore the Aggies.
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