Bobby Petrino’s Offense Has Skyrocketed Texas A&M Football’s Production

New Offensive Playcaller Has Texas A&M Football Humming

I knew that anything would be better than what we as fans of Texas A&M football were dealing with last season on the offensive side. I was ready for them to hire anyone.

But when I heard the name “Bobby Petrino,” I honestly began to rethink my position.

It felt like a retread. What about all the baggage? Don’t players dislike him? These were all things I was thinking as I mulled over the hire. Over the course of the offseason, my mood settled in what could best be described as a “cautious optimism.” I knew it would be hard to mess up the talent level he would be dealing with on the offensive end of things, as long as there was a coherent system that they could understand.

But I’m not sure I was expecting things to look this good this quickly.

Look, maybe this is getting ahead of myself. We are three games into the season, and Texas A&M football has only played one Power 5 opponent. But I just opened up my statistical profile of the Aggies from last season and compared it to some of the numbers that they’ve put up so far in 2023 and was… staggered. Let me demonstrate.

Texas A&M Football 2022 vs 2023: Points Per Drive

• Through three games in 2022, the Aggies had averaged 1.75 points per drive. In 2023, they’ve averaged 3.67.
• In 2022, their best mark was 3.20 points per drive against LSU. In 2023, their best so far has been 4.73 points per drive.
• Their worst performance of the year so far was 2.36 points per drive against Miami—which would have been their third best of 2022 behind the LSU and SHSU games.

Texas A&M Football 2022 vs 2023: Points Per Play

• Through three games in 2022, Texas A&M football had averaged 0.357 points per play. In 2023, they’ve averaged 0.606.
• In 2022, their best mark was 0.471 points per play—again, against LSU. In 2023, their best so far has been 0.825 against New Mexico.
• Their worst performance of the year so far was again the Miami game (0.402), which just like the per-drive number, would have been the third best of 2022 behind the LSU and Sam Houston games.

Texas A&M Football 2022 vs 2023: Success Rate

• Through three games in 2022, the Aggies had an average success rate of 41% (which also ended up being their season average). So far in 2023, their average success rate is 48%.
• Through three games in 2022, the Aggies had an average passing success rate of 35%. Through three games in 2023, the Aggies have an average passing success rate of 48%.
• In 2022, their highest success rate for a game was 51% against LSU. In 2023, they’ve once again bested their previous high, recording a 58% success rate against ULM.
• Their average success rate through three games in 2023 is just a shade below the average success rate of their three best performances in 2022—across the LSU, Mississippi State, and Ole Miss games, the Aggies averaged a 49% success rate offensively.

Texas A&M Football 2022 vs 2023: Third Down and Red Zone

• Through three games in 2022, the Aggies had converted 39% of their third down attempts. They averaged 36% on third down for the season. So far in 2023, they’ve converted 51% of their third down attempts.
• In all but two games in 2022, the Aggies failed to convert at least 40% of their third downs. So far in 2023, their lowest mark is 43% of third downs converted in a game.
• Through three games in 2022, the Aggies had a total of three red zone possessions, with two touchdowns and one field goal. So far in 2023, the Aggies have had nineteen red zone possessions, with thirteen touchdowns and five field goals.

I’ve selected these categories specifically because I think they are some of the most telling with regard to overall offensive ability of a given team. I’ve selected the statistics within these categories to try and show some of the immediate improvement that Petrino has made in these areas. To be honest, there’s not really a place where I’ve seen a deficit versus to last year when you’re comparing apples to apples.

I’ll probably revisit this piece late in the year, when we have more data. If anything, though, I only expect the numbers to look even more impressive in comparison.