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How bad has losing Johnny Manziel hurt the Texas A&M Aggies? Not at all, actually. The Aggies have one of the most impressive offenses in the nation behind their new quarterback and they look like a serious national title threat. While they haven’t exactly faced the stiffest of competition in the past two weeks, the Aggies did take down No. 9 South Carolina 52-28 on the road in week one.
The SMU Mustangs haven’t gotten off to the strongest of starts thus far in 2014, but their toughest test comes this week against Texas A&M at home. Losing their first two games by 45 and 37 points, respectively, has to hurt the confidence of this team, but all it takes is a close game against one of the nation’s best teams to rebuild that.
Texas A&M has found its new weapon in recent Heisman threat, Kenny Hill. The first-year starter at quarterback has been more than impressive on all accounts, passing for 1,094 yards and 11 touchdowns with no interceptions while completing nearly 70 percent of his passes. He has people in College Station forgetting who Johnny Football was — okay, maybe not, but he is putting his name on college football’s map. Hill’s favorite target has been Malcome Kennedy who has caught 24 passes for 258 yards and a touchdown while Speedy Noil has also been solid, catching 12 passes for 197 yards and a score. Josh Reynolds and Ricky Seals-Jones both lead the team with three touchdown catches. While the pass game is strong, Texas A&M ranks just 52nd in the nation in rushing yards per game. Trey Williams leads the way with 142 yards and two touchdowns while Tra Carson leads the team with four rushing touchdowns on just 18 carries for 96 yards.
The Mustangs, on the other hand, have been one of the worst offensive units in all of college football. In fact, SMU ranks 108th in passing yards per game, dead-last in rushing yards per game and dead-last in points per game in the nation. The Mustangs have been lethargic, to say the least, on offense this season. Sophomore Neal Burcham has taken most of the reps at quarterback this season, completing just 27 of 48 passes for 158 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. Freshman Kolney Cassel hasn’t been much better, completing 14 of 29 passes for 154 yards and the team’s only touchdown on the season. Der’rikk Thompson is the team’s leading wide out with eight catches for 95 yards while Nate Halverson has caught the only touchdown pass of the season. The run game averages a pathetic -7.0 yards per contest.
Defensively, the Mustangs are also quite poor, allowing 44 points per game — good for 124th in the nation. Don’t worry, the Mustangs also give up a ton of yards, allowing 463.5 per game which is also good for 105th in the nation. This team will have their hands full with a strong Texas A&M offense. The Aggies have been poor defensively for the past couple of seasons, but look to improve mightily in 2014. Texas A&M ranks 13th in the nation, allowing just 13.7 points per game, but the Aggies rank in the middle of the pack when it comes to total yards allowed per game with 385.7 per contest.
Texas A&M will travel to SMU to take on the Mustangs at 3:30 p.m. EST on Saturday, Sept. 20. The game will be broadcasted on ABC and ESPN 2.
PREDICTION: Texas A&M 63, SMU 7
Connor Muldowney is a columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Connormuldowney, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google. You can also reach him at [email protected].
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