The rush defense is elite
Say what you will about the pass defense, as we just did, the rush defense is not going to be a problem moving forward. A&M has taken on two of the better teams in the country and stood tall against the run in both of them. Alabama only managed about 2.4 yards per carry before the game got out of hand late. They had just 46 yards on their first 19 carries before they ran two rush plays for 92 yards and a score to put the game away in the third quarter.
This after they allowed just 115 yards on 32 carries against Clemson. 54 of those yards came from quarterback Kelly Bryant.
As the Aggies look ahead to teams like Mississippi State, Auburn and LSU, this rush defense will be a huge strength. If they can force those teams to beat them through the air it will at least make offenses one-dimensional. Even a struggling pass defense is helped when you can force teams into long third downs.