Three storylines to watch in the battles of the Aggies on Saturday

Texas A&M is just three days away from its second game of the 2025 college football season, hosting the Utah State Aggies as they progress through the non-conference portion of their schedule.

While this weekend feels like an appetizer before next week's main course against Notre Dame, there's still plenty to observe this weekend as we continue to learn just who the 2025 Aggies really are.

The utilization (and health) of the ground game

Upon first glance it was a little puzzling to see how Colin Klein chose to utilize the Aggies' ground game last weekend — just 14 rush attempts from the running back room and only eight carries between the tandem of Rueben Owens and Le'Veon Moss. But considering what we knew about this Aggies offense and what we still needed to learn, it makes all the more sense.

This strategy was most likely intentional, and all about seeing what the Aggies have from their passing game. It's better to learn that you can't throw the football against UTSA than it is Notre Dame, so emphasizing that part of the game was a nice way to let A&M's biggest question mark on offense play itself out and find a groove.

How the Aggie safety room takes form

The most glaring concern from Saturday's victory over the Roadrunners was the inability of Mike Elko's defense to stop the run — especially in the first half — along with the up-and-down play they got from safety Bryce Anderson.

The senior had his share of questionable snaps, a continuation of inconsistent play we saw in 2024, and none worse than this rep below on a 75-yard score from the visiting Aggies.

Anderson certainly needs to clean up his performance this weekend to give us faith in the safety room as a whole, but he won't have to do it alone. Junior Dalton Brooks, possibly the Aggies' best run-defender in the secondary, is set to return after missing Week 1 and should significantly raise the floor of this group.

If Brooks' return solves all problems then the Aggies are off to the races, but, if not, it will be interesting to monitor how the coaching staff utilizes some of the backups on this roster. Either way they need to find their answer this Saturday because next week's test against the Notre Dame ground game may be the toughest they face all season.

Texas A&M's ability to put this one away early

Despite the result of last week's game never being in doubt, it was a little concerning to see the Roadrunners hang around as long as they did — trailing by just four points in the middle of the second half.

While we should never underestimate anyone on the schedule, this Week 2 match should be a fair amount easier. This is a new regime in Logan, Utah, with head coach Bronco Mendenhall taking over this past offseason. Mendenhall has had plenty of success throughout his nearly 20 years as a head coach, but this Aggies roster returns just five starters from last season and should be in a bit of a rebuild.

Putting this game on ice should be an easier ask, but it's certainly a storyline to watch if this game is close heading into the break. If it takes a while to put away both of your tune-up games, we could learn a lot about this Aggies group by the end of the weekend.