Bold predictions for Texas A&M's game against The Citadel: Offensive explosion could get Aggies back on track
Marcel passes for 300+ yards
Texas A&M is in dire need of some production through the passing game, and this is a perfect opportunity to get some of that going. Marcel has had more than his fair share of struggles, of course, but against the Citadel, this offensive staff should be doing whatever they can to try to get him past the mental block he's had.
I think we see that in this game. We had plenty of proof of concept with the rushing attack against Arkansas, so now, against an opponent that doesn't really stand a chance of winning, the Aggies need to make a concerted effort to get Reed going ahead of this final stretch.
I'm not talking about screen passing all day, either— though there will no doubt be some big gains off of those plays. We need to see Reed throwing across the middle of the field, hitting open players, pushing the ball deep— the entire diet of throws that he needs to be able to make. There should be some significant success here— if not, this season is well and truly doomed for the Aggies.
Aggies end +2 in the turnover margin
I said that A&M needs to keep a clean sheet against the Citadel for fans to feel okay coming out of this game, and they should be able to do just that (barring some odd bounce of the ball). On the flipside, the Aggies should be able to notch at least two takeaways from the Bulldogs, whether interceptions or fumble recoveries.
That said, there's one distinct way this could fail to happen: if the Aggies are stopping The Citadel every single drive, forcing a three-and-out each time, so that their number of offensive snaps is extremely limited, then the likelihood of a turnover falls severely. But if the Bulldogs mount any kind of drive, I think the Aggies will snag a couple of turnovers.
This is an area where A&M has already been quite a bit better than they were last year— at least on the defensive side. I'd like to see that continue against The Citadel, and I think we do in fact see it come to pass.
KJ Edwards racks up three touchdowns total
This should be a big game for Agent Zero. The Aggies have come tantalizingly close to breaking open a few big runs this year, and most of them have come from the young freshman— if he works into the second level against this defense, then he should be home free.
Fans shouldn't rule out, though, that Edwards gets at least one touchdown through the passing game. He was a major threat in high school as a pass-catcher as well as receiving handoffs, so I think we see at least one of these scores coming from a play where he is a receiver rather than a runner.
Edwards has by far the highest YPC of any player on this team at 5.91, but he only has 2 rushing touchdowns on the year. He'll get that number to four or five by the time we're done with Saturday's game.
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