Texas A&M football is hoping to continue building on their early-season momentum this weekend as the Auburn Tigers come to town. The 3-0 Aggies are looking to hand the 3-1 Tigers another loss on their SEC road trip, as Hugh Freeze's team fell to Oklahoma last week in a game that is still generating controversy.
That lack of focus being demonstrated by Auburn could end up leading to good things for Texas A&M this weekend, but this isn't a matchup to take lightly. With the way Florida has been playing, this could well be the toughest game on the Aggies' three-week homestand, so the Ags have to lock in.
If they are to notch a victory this weekend, there are a few things they'll have to do. Here are three of them.
Three reasons Texas A&M takes down Auburn: Aggies find running room
The Tigers have been excellent so far this year at stymying opposing run games. They've shut down Baylor and Oklahoma, their only two Power 4 opponents, for 2.67 and 1.23 yards per carry, respectively— a pretty eye-catching statistic, to be sure.
Adjusting for sack yardage, though, Baylor picked up over 4 yards per carry, which is notable. OU still struggled mightily on the ground, though, still averaging less than 2 yards per carry when adjusted for sack yardage lost.
All that said, OU is a far lesser rushing team than the Aggies are. With former Texas A&M defensive coordinator DJ Durkin manning the sidelines at Auburn, Aggie fans will be eager to see A&M make hay against some of the light boxes that he's liable to put out there— the complaints against his odd fronts still resound in the ears of every member of the A&M faithful.
Le'Veon Moss, Rueben Owens, and this highly experienced offensive line will be the toughest challenge that the Tigers have yet faced. Klein's innovative scheme will be a boon here as well for the Aggies. I expect them to pile up the rushing yards on the Tigers in a manner that no other team has yet done this year.