Texas A&M is getting set to take on the Utah State Aggies in week two as they continue their ramp-up to the biggest non-conference game on the schedule: Notre Dame. While the Irish have this week off, Elko's squad will continue to play— and while we can argue the advantages and disadvantages of that, it's just nice to see A&M out on the field again.
This should be a relatively easy game for the home Aggies, as Utah State, though a G5 opponent like UTSA, is far inferior even to what the maroon and white saw last Saturday night. Even so, there are still things that A&M fans can watch for in this one. Let's get to know the Aggies' next opponent and talk about how A&M can demonstrate growth in this matchup.
Utah State players to watch vs. Texas A&M football
The visiting Aggies lost their best player from last year in Rahsul Faison, who transferred to South Carolina this past offseason. However, their current running back— Miles Davis— is just as good as the back that A&M faced off with last week in Robert Henry, if not better.
Given all the discourse surrounding what A&M was and was not able to do against the run in last week's game, how they perform against Davis will be telling. I'd also keep an eye on Utah State QB Bryson Barnes, a Utah transfer— A&M did a good job against NFL prospect Owen McCown last week, and Barnes isn't quite to his level.
The visitors will, in all likelihood, stick with a similar strategy to the Roadrunners last week: get the ball out quickly to avoid having their quarterback demolished by the A&M defensive line. UTSA threw almost all screens against the A&M starters, and I wouldn't be surprised to see that again this week.
Texas A&M football players to watch vs. Utah State
Bryce Anderson had a tough outing against the Roadrunners last week, causing a lot of worry among fans given his poor 2024. There was some talk that he had improved, but now there are a lot of fans doubting that— he could prove he's on the right track with a big game here.
Also at the safety spot, the return of Dalton Brooks can help as well. The Aggies' most physical and fast player on that back end can be a boon in the run game, and he should be a big help there.
I'd also watch for there to be more of an emphasis on the run game in this one, after the Aggies all but fully neglected it against the Roadrunners. I'm not sure that Le'Veon Moss and Rueben Owens will get a huge share of carries, but I'm excited to see if we get some run out of Jamarion Morrow.
Prediction for Texas A&M football vs Utah State
This should be an easy win for the home Aggies. In a sense, these are the hardest final scores to predict, because once garbage time hits— which is usually pretty early in these— things get a little wonky.
I'm going to say that Texas A&M is able to shut Utah State out in the early going, but I think the backups could surrender some points. It won't be a complete shutout, but much like the game against New Mexico State last year, it will be dominant the whole way through.
I'm going to predict a final margin of 52-3 for this one. We'll have highlights aplenty— maybe some redemption for that missed deep ball to Concepcion— and will be sitting pretty headed into the evening slate of games this Saturday.