Texas A&M's first kickoff of the year is now ony two days away. After the longest offseason in sports, the Aggies are about to take the field once more in front of the raucous 12th Man crowd for a night kickoff against the UTSA Roadrunners.
Under Jeff Traylor, UTSA has gone from an also-ran to one of the top G5 programs in the nation pretty consistently. Though they're not at late-aughts Boise State level, they're still a formidable foe by those standards.
As has been discussed ad nauseum by Aggie fans up until now, that means this won't be some pushover opponent to open the year. It's not Notre Dame-level, but it's not Samford-level, either.
Texas A&M full breakdown against UTSA: Players to watch, what to expect, score prediction, and more
The Roadrunners have a much better and more experienced offense than they do a defense, which means the Aggie defense will have a nice challenge for them to start off the year. They'll have to be locked in against the Roadrunners and not expect to rely on their opponent making procedural mistakes.
We'll get a sense early of just how good this Aggie defense is: if they struggle against the Roadrunners, it's not the end of the world, but it probably means they're not championship-level. On the other hand, if they shut them down, this could be a banner year for that side of the ball.
Let's look at some players to watch on each side.
Texas A&M players to watch against UTSA: QB Marcel Reed
Just how much has Reed progressed from last year? What is his connection like with the new receivers? We may not get extremely firm answers to these questions in this game, but we'll no doubt be breaking down every single throw he makes in the contest. Look for him to hurt the Roadrunners down the field and run sparingly but effectively.
Texas A&M players to watch against UTSA: EDGE Cashius Howell
Maybe the most talented player on the Aggies' defense, Howell will be key in moving the Roadrunners along faster than they'd like. If he can anchor an effective pass rush, it will be hard for UTSA to move the ball effectively.
Texas A&M players to watch against UTSA: WR Ashton Bethel-Roman
There's been a lot of hype around ABR this fall camp— and now he'll get a chance to show his stuff. He saw extremely limited game action in 2024, so this will be, for all intents and purposes, a coming-out party for him if he can put up some solid numbers. We know what we're getting with KC Concepcion, but if ABR can rise to the challenge as well, this could be a special offense.
UTSA players to watch against Texas A&M: QB Owen McCown
A legitimate NFL prospect, McCown is pretty seasoned. His heritage obviously includes several NFL players (including one who went to Texas A&M), so he's been around the game at a high level for a while. Don't underestimate this guy, Aggie fans.
UTSA players to watch against Texas A&M: RB John Emery
A&M fans should be familiar with this name by now. A former highly-rated prospect, Emery signed with LSU out of high school, and now he's looking to capitalize as the main back for this UTSA offense before he heads to the NFL. He's a very skilled player, and the A&M rush defense needs to be ready.
UTSA players to watch against Texas A&M: LB Owen Pewee
One of the most experienced players on the defense for UTSA, Pewee will be quarterbacking an almost entirely new unit on that side of the ball. He'll need to have his wits about him against this A&M run game, of course, as well as trying to track down Marcel when he uses his legs, but that means the Roadrunners' defense will go as he does.
Texas A&M vs. UTSA score prediction
I think the Aggies put on a show on offense on Saturday night. We could see them break 50 by the time things are all wrapped up, but that's dependent on how long they keep the starters out there, etc.
That will also depend on the defense reliably shutting down the Roadrunners and preventing them from holding onto the ball for long periods of time. That's probably a taller task than the offense has in this one.
I'm going to go 45-13 for my prediction here, with the Aggies unloading early before tapering off by the end of the game. This should be pretty emphatic, and I think we see the offense regain some explosiveness that they've been lacking in previous years.