You can use a lot of words to describe the month of September for the Texas A&M football team. Hair-greying, disappointing, upsetting. That said, one word seems to rise above the rest — surprising.
And that’s just what college football is. You may think you know something about your team when, in reality, things are not at all as they appear. For this reason, along with a handful of others, Aggie football fans shouldn’t be hitting the panic button just quite yet.
Today, I’m going to be giving five bold predictions for the month of October.
Bold Prediction No. 1: The Texas A&M football team will average over 200 rushing yards per game
On the surface, this may not seem like a huge accolade. That said, only 35 college football teams averaged over 200 rushing yards — Texas A&M was not one of them.
The Aggies had a disappointing month rushing the ball, especially when you factor in their opponents. The Aggies have played four opponents, only one of which is in the top-90 of ESPN’s Football Power Index.
They have to rush the football more effectively if they want a successful offense. The fans know it, the coaches know it, and opposing teams know it.
It’s hard to see a world where Texas A&M doesn’t improve upon their 168.8 yards per game in the month of October. Expect the Aggies’ pass-heavy offense to find a better balance, giving us a big dose of Isaiah Spiller and Devon Achane.
Bold Prediction No. 2: The Texas A&M football team won’t go undefeated, but they’ll come close
Prior to the start of the season, the Texas A&M football team’s identity was simple — they’re the team that can knock off the dynasty that is Alabama. Unfortunately, things don’t quite look that way anymore after A&M took a tough loss to Arkansas.
I think the Aggies can still give ‘Bama a fight.
Any issues with this Aggie football team have been in relation to mistakes made by young players and significant injuries to the offense. This includes a handful of banged-up offensive linemen and an injury to the team’s starting quarterback.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Haynes King will be returning before the ‘Bama game, but this is a highly talented team that should be able to compete with virtually anybody in the country. Because there will be no King, it would be delusional to say that I think A&M will take down ‘Bama. Still, I think they can put up a fight.
I think the Aggies will play the Crimson Tide extremely close, giving them another good fight. I think it’ll be enough to create a conversation a conversation around the possibility of the Aggies being the first two-loss team to make the College Football Playoff.
Bold Prediction No. 3: Haynes King’s return will revitalize the offense
This is probably the least “bold” prediction that you’ll see in this article. Shocking, I know — who would think that Haynes King could revitalize the offense? The reason that I even included this slide, however, was to demonstrate just how much of an impact King will have on this unit.
In the single full game that the Aggies played with King under center, Texas A&M scored 41 points, which still stands as their season-high. Even though King’s touchdown to interception ratio was less than desirable, he played a strong overall game.
In his sole contest against a formidable Kent State passing defense, King threw for nearly 300 yards, reaching the endzone twice through the air. He completed 63.6% of his passes, which is more than Calzada has done in the three games that he’s been the featured quarterback.
Another aspect of this is the fact that Zach Calzada isn’t as much of a dual-threat quarterback as King. While King could simply scramble efficiently with a bad offensive line, escaping the pass rush doesn’t come as naturally to his backup. Calzada has been struggling, as he simply isn’t built for these circumstances.
King will make everything about the offense smooth in his mid-October return — the passing game, running game, and even the defense should see improved statistics as a result.
Bold Prediction No. 4: Texas A&M football return specialist Ainias Smith will score a special teams touchdown
One of the most exciting parts of this team leading up to the season wasn’t on the defensive end, where A&M was expected to thrive. Heck, it wasn’t even entirely on the offensive end. It came on special teams.
That excitement is a direct result of what Ainias Smith has shown us in his time with Texas A&M so far. The preseason All-SEC return specialist and wide receiver was thought to be a guy who can have a huge impact on the game.
Well, four games have passed and we don’t really know if this is true. Teams have done a great job keeping him contained, notably punting the ball high enough to keep Smith from being a huge factor. Still, the Aggie return man has accumulated a respectable 139 return yards with an average of 9.9 yards per return.
Smith also has 170 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns offensively.
With a lot going on with the Texas A&M football team, Smith has become somewhat of an afterthought on special teams. I think this is a great position for him to be in to prove what he can do on the field.
Expect Smith to have a bigger impact as a punt returner in October, making at least one trip to the endzone.
Bold Prediction No. 5: The Texas A&M football team won’t have another low-scoring game (<11 points)
The offense had a lot of moving parts this offseason, with four offensive linemen set to fill in. The same team also saw long-time starter Kellen Mond depart for the NFL, sending in a first-year starter. This first-year starter got injured, as did a large chunk of that offensive line.
Essentially, this mismatched offense has resulted in a scrambled attacking front for the Aggies. A team that was thought to be a contender has turned into a squad that has scored ten or fewer points in half of their games.
Don’t expect it to happen again.
A large portion of this team’s shortcomings offensively has come as a result of growing pains from the team. Jimbo Fisher repeatedly mentioned in his weekly press conference that his squad wasn’t ready mentally to compete. They will be soon.
As bad as the offense has been so far, it’s one of the most talented units in the SEC. They will get it together — it’s only a matter of time before things start to click for Fisher’s offensive unit.
I don’t think this is going to turn into a league-leading offense, but I do think they’ll find their way back toward the middle of the pack in the SEC. They’ll improve to the point where the defense can carry them back toward being a competitive squad.