Alabama football will take the road this week, after securing a 27-14 win over Arkansas.
Kyle Field at College Station, Texas shall be the venue for a top 10 marquee game. Texas A&M remembers a 59-0 beat down at the hands of Alabama inside Bryant-Denny Stadium last season. Aggies’ head coach Kevin Sumlin eyes revenge Saturday against the Crimson Tide.
Yours truly of TDAM now breaks down the impact players for Texas A&M.
Texas A&M Aggies: 5-0, (2-0 SEC)
Sophomore quarterback Kyle Allen controls Texas A&M’s “Air Raid” offense. He was effective last season, edging out Kenny Hill. Allen completed 61.5 percent of his throws for 1,322 yards with 16 touchdowns to seven interceptions. He has been efficient this season, connecting on 64 percent of his passes for 1,274 yards with 13 touchdowns to just two interceptions.
Coach Dave Christensen has improved the Aggies’ offensive line and run game.
Texas A&M is averaging 4.72 yards per carry, as opposed to its 4.63 mark last season. Senior tailback Tra Carson anchors the ground game. He has 430 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 95 carries. Allen is second on the team in rushing touchdowns with two.
Quintessentially, Texas A&M has the same core group of wide receivers from 2014; however, the addition of true freshman Christian Kirk has been special. The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Kirk leads the bunch with 32 receptions for 519 yards and four touchdowns through five games.
He is averaging 103.8 receiving yards per contest.
Josh Reynolds, 6-foot-4, 190 pounds, is second in line. The junior has brought in 383 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 18 catches. He has averaged 21.3 yards per catch.
Sophomores Ricky Seals-Jones and Speedy Noil both have a touchdown reception. Seals-Jones has 15 receptions for 128 yards, while Noil chimes in with six catches for 68 yards.
First-year coordinator John Chavis has changed Texas A&M’s look on defense.
Opposing quarterbacks have collected a passer rating of 115.97, a vast improvement from a 127.86 mark last season. The Aggies have allowed 21 points per game, a touchdown difference from 2014 (28.1).
Sophomore defensive back Armani Watts has 39 total tackles (leads team), averaging a little over seven a game. Linebacker Shaan Washington falls in second with 31 total tackles.
Sophomore defensive end Myles Garrett is a sack specialist. He has 25 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks this year. Garrett put in 11.5 sacks last season as a true freshman. Joining Garrett is junior defensive lineman Daeshon Hall.
Hall’s accounted for 23 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and five sacks for a loss of 25 yards.
Defensive backs Donovan Wilson and De’Vante Harris have combined for three interceptions. Wilson stands as the leader with two.
The “Midnight Yell” should be at an all-time high Saturday at 12:00 a.m., as students, military members and fans will chant in hopes of Texas A&M delivering a victory over Alabama.
CBS Sports will have the call at 2:30 p.m. CT.
Stephen M. Smith is a senior analyst and columnist for Touchdown Alabama Magazine.
You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @ESPN_Future.
