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3 Reasons Texas A&M Football Will Beat Auburn By Double Digits

By Graham Harmon

Sep 16, 2023; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Conner Weigman (15) attempts a pass during the first quarter against the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 16, 2023; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Conner Weigman (15) attempts a pass during the first quarter against the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
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Texas A&M football controls both lines of scrimmage

Though the Tigers have shown a certain ability to stymy the run games of their opponents so far (with the curious exception of UMass), I think the Aggies can pass well enough to open up the run game. Traditional football wisdom has you moving in the other direction—running to open up the pass—but I see the Aggies coming out aggressively against the Tigers through the air, thus softening the looks they see in the box and creating opportunities for Moss, Owens, and Daniels as time wears on.

This is probably the least ferocious pass rush the Aggies will have seen thus far. I don’t mean that they’re worse skill-wise than ULM or New Mexico, but they’re far less exotic/aggressive than those defenses were. Asante himself might be the best pure pass rusher that Texas A&M football will have faced, but I’m less concerned with the way he physically matches up against the Aggie OL than with something like the scheme that Miami DC Lance Guidry threw at the A&M front. If you look at the numbers from that game, the Hurricanes actually blitzed far fewer times than you might imagine; the reality was just that Guidry was sly enough with disguising pressure that the offensive line was too often looking in the wrong place. Though ULM tried something similar, they not only had worse athletes than the Hurricanes, the Aggies were able to pick things up  much better.

On the other side of the ball, I’m not sure the Tigers will be able to handle the Aggie defensive line. With injuries up front for Auburn, you have to think that Shemar Turner, Walter Nolen, Fadil Diggs, and the whole group are ready to put up a lot of sacks against a quarterback who gets taken down more than his fair share. Auburn’s only other road performance saw a very pedestrian day—if not a downright poor one—from Payton Thorne, and the Aggie defense won’t allow him the luxury of a strong run game to help him out, nor will they give him much time to throw.