Texas A&M football is gearing up to take on the Florida Gators tomorrow in Kyle Field. If one were simply to look at the record and rankings of each team— the Aggies as an undefeated top-five squad, and the Gators as a three-loss team that's not in the poll at all, one would think that this is not going to be a close game in the slightest.
However, that wouldn't tell the entire story of this game at all. The Aggies, while indeed a team that is working through some inconsistencies on the offensive side, are a team that has earned every bit of their top-five ranking, but the Gators are maybe just as talented of a team— even though they are having some issues themselves.
They looked like they figured a whole heck of a lot out last weekend down in the Swamp, however. They knocked off a (admittedly way-overrated) top-10 Texas team behind a dominant run game and timely defense, showing the nation exactly why they had such a high ranking in the preseason.
Texas A&M faces off with Florida for chance to finish first half of season undefeated
For however inconsistent the Aggies have been, of course, the Gators have been even worse. Texas A&M themselves looked like they had figured some important stuff out against the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the second half last week, appearing to be extremely efficient in their offensive operation.
We'll see tomorrow if that bears out, of course. The Gator defensive front is up there with anyone the Aggies have yet faced this year, having played an absolutely dominant brand of football thus far. Of course, the same was said of Auburn before they faced the Aggies, and A&M ran all over them.
UF has been missing Caleb Banks for some time now, but lacking him in this matchup could mean that the Aggies can dictate the pace of the game with their rushing attack. This has been the only aspect of Florida's team that has worked consistently throughout the year so far, so if A&M can outmatch them there, it will be a long night for the Gators.
On the flipside, though, UF will look to pound the ball with Jadan Baugh. Texas A&M has allowed some explosive runs this year (though most were in the first few games), but they haven't faced a bruiser like Baugh yet. The Aggies have been quite efficient themselves in stopping the run (11th nationally via opponent-adjusted metrics), so they'll look to lean on that proven ability to stymy Baugh and company.
I listed that as one of my keys for the Aggies to win this game, as forcing DJ Lagway into obvious passing situations seems like a winning recipe for opponents thus far this year. He's got all the potential in the world, but he hasn't yet put it all together.
The Gators can be had in the secondary, as well, but it will require some accuracy from Marcel Reed that we haven't quite seen from him every game. He'll have to be on time and on target with his downfield passes, but I think it will be easy for Concepcion and Craver to find some holes in this zone that they can work with.
For that to happen, Texas A&M's offensive front will have to hold up against a pass rush that is all of a sudden red hot. UF had only a few sacks coming into last week's game against Texas, but they were in Arch Manning's lap all day down in the Swamp. Texas A&M will have to keep Reed far cleaner than that in this game.
There's just too much lining up here for the Aggies that I like. I'm not sure how the Gators will be able to consistently produce offense, and I think A&M will break through with relative frequency on the offensive end. Give me the Aggies taking this one home by a score of 31-16.