AggieHuddle.com’s preview of the matchup between No. 8 Texas A&M and Missouri State begins with a look at the matchup between the Aggie offense and the Bears defense.
Where, When, Weather and TV
Where: Kyle Field, College Station, Texas
When: 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5
Weather: Partly cloudy, high of 94; likely in the low 90s at kickoff
TV: ESPN (Lowell Galindo (play-by-play), Kirk Morrison (analyst), and Dawn Davenport (sideline))
Point spread (as of Wednesday afternoon)
A&M -40.5
Texas A&M offensive depth chart
QB
| Number | Name | Height/Weight | Class |
| 10 | Marcel Reed | 6-1, 185 | Sr. |
| 13 | Brady Hart | 6-4, 200 | So. |
| 16 | Helaman Casuga | 6, 213 | Fr. |
RB
| Number | Name | Height/Weight | Class |
| 4 | Rueben Owens | 5-11, 215 | Sr. |
| OR 2 | Jamarion Morrow | 5-9, 200 | So. |
| 22 | Carsyn Baker | 6, 210 | Fr. |
| OR 0 | KJ Edwards | 5-10, 197 | Fr. |
WR
| Number | Name | Height/Weight | Class |
| 1 | Mario Craver | 5-9, 180 | Jr. |
| 11 | Kelshaun Johnson | 5-11, 173 | So. |
| OR 17 | Madden Williams | 6-1, 192 | Fr. |
WR
| Number | Name | Height/Weight | Class |
| 7 | Isaiah Horton | 6-4, 215 | Gr. |
| 3 | Aaron Gregory | 6-2, 191 | Fr. |
| OR 81 | Jayden Warren | 6-1, 214 | Fr. |
WR
| Number | Name | Height/Weight | Class |
| 8 | Ashton Bethel-Roman | 6, 193 | Jr. |
| OR 6 | Terry Bussey | 5-10, 205 | Jr. |
| 18 | TK Norman | 6, 186 | So. |
TE
| Number | Name | Height/Weight | Class |
| 88 | Micah Riley | 6-5, 263 | 5th |
| OR 84 | Richie Anderson | 6-4, 265 | Sr. |
| OR 87 | Houston Thomas | 6-5, 252 | Gr. |
| OR 9 | Kiotti Armstrong | 6-5, 285 | So. |
LT
| Number | Name | Height/Weight | Class |
| 71 | Tyree Adams | 6-7, 305 | Sr. |
| 79 | Lamont Rogers | 6-6, 340 | So. |
LG
| Number | Name | Height/Weight | Class |
| 52 | Blake Ivy | 6-3, 324 | Jr. |
| OR 77 | Tyler Thomas | 6-4, 350 | So. |
C
| Number | Name | Height/Weight | Class |
| 54 | Mark Nabou Jr. | 6-4, 307 | Gr. |
| 78 | Coen Echols | 6-4, 305 | Jr. |
| 54 | Sam Roseborough | 6-3, 303 | Fr.. |
RG
| Number | Name | Height/Weight | Class |
| 76 | Trovon Baugh | 6-4, 335 | Gr. |
| OR 78 | Coen Echols | 6-4, 305 | Jr. |
RT
| Number | Name | Height/Weight | Class |
| 75 | Wilkin Formby | 6-7, 320 | Gr. |
| 70 | Robert Bourdon | 6-6, 312 | Jr. |
| 74 | Zaden Krempin | 6-4, 298 | Fr. |
Missouri State Depth chart
Joker
| Number | Name | Height/Weight | Class |
| 10 | Jalile Elliott | 6-3, 230 | So. |
| OR 5 | Kellen Lindstrom | 6-5, 240 | Jr. |
DT
| Number | Name | Height/Weight | Class |
| 11 | Tim Brantley Jr. | 6-1, 275 | Sr. |
| 96 | Blessing Igbinedion | 6-4, 283 | Jr. |
DT
| Number | Name | Height/Weight | Class |
| 57 | Gilles Tchao | 6-3, 310 | 5th |
| 99 | Markell Chapman | 6-1, 303 | Sr. |
DE
| Number | Name | Height/Weight | Class |
| 92 | Josh Lukas | 6-5, 260 | 5th |
| OR 30 | Caden Wiest | 6-4, 265 | Sr. |
SAM
| Number | Name | Height/Weight | Class |
| 31 | Cooper Roy | 6-3, 225 | Sr. |
| 35 | Austin Yelder | 6, 223 | 5th |
MIKE
| Number | Name | Height/Weight | Class |
| 0 | Jared “Bird” Lloyd | 6-3, 240 | 5th |
| 21 | Jashawn Cooper | 6, 215 | Jr. |
WILL
| Number | Name | Height/Weight | Class |
| 32 | Hieko Malone | 6-1, 210 | Jr. |
| 15 | Martavis Blackmon | 6-1, 225 | Sr. |
STAR
| Number | Name | Height/Weight | Class |
| 33 | Anthony Mattison | 5-9, 190 | Jr. |
| 9 | Dylan Dixson | 6-1, 180 | 5th |
CB
| Number | Name | Height/Weight | Class |
| 8 | Joel Pkpassou | 5-10, 170 | Sr. |
| 23 | Gionni McBride | 6-3, 175 | So. |
SS
| Number | Name | Height/Weight | Class |
| 16 | J.J. O’Neal | 6-2, 180 | 5th |
| 2 | Antonio Smith | 6-3, 197 | Sr. |
FS
| Number | Name | Height/Weight | Class |
| 29 | Christian Ford | 6, 180 | Sr. |
| 19 | Xavian Michel | 6, 180 | So. |
CB
| Number | Name | Height/Weight | Class |
| 12 | Joel Boamah | 5-11, 180 | Sr. |
| 7 | Malik Ganaway | 6-1, 190 | 5th |
Texas A&M returning statistical leaders
Passing: Reed, 234-377 (62.1%), 3,159 yards, 25 TD, 12 INT
Hart, 5-10, 62 yards
Rushing: Owens, 119 carries, 639 yards (5.4 YPC), 5 TD
Reed, 104 carries, 493 yards (4.7 YPC), 6 TD
Receiving: Craver, 59 catches, 917 yards (15.5 YPC), 4 TD
Bethel-Roman, 24 catches, 503 yards (21 YPC), 5 TD
Bussey, 18 catches, 195 yards (10.8 YPC), 1 TD
Missouri State returning statistical leaders
Tackles
Lloyd, 77
Ford, 52
Dixson, 50
TFL
Lloyd, 4.5
Dixson, 4
Roy, 3.5
Sacks
Toney, 2
Dixson, 1
Forced fumbles:
Ford, 1
INT
Ford and O’Neal, 1
What A&M wants to do
Take control of the game at the line of scrimmage. Missouri State gave up an average of 4.8 yards per carry on the ground last year, and, while they’ve changed significantly in terms of personnel and scheme under new coach Casey Wells and defensive coordinator Jack Curtis, A&M will still likely attack first on the ground.
They may want to do that for a few reasons, mostly having to do with the offensive line. As coach Mike Elko said earlier this week, the Aggies are still working to set their best five linemen as the season begins and they’ll rotate a lot early on. They’re going to want to see what they can do against an opposing defensive front. Exactly how good the Bears front seven will be remains a question, but they’ve got good size.
A&M’s also going to want to get Rueben Owens going fast and increase his confidence. Owens wasn’t bad last year, but he’s had to deal with the memory of some critical stumbles that changed the direction of at least one game. Getting him off to a good start is important not just for this game, but the season.
In the passing game, the Aggies may look to use Missouri State’s aggression against them. Curtis, historically, is extremely aggressive and runs a scheme not dissimilar to D.J. Durkin, who he worked with at Auburn. A&M now has speed to burn at receiver and may look to get Reed a similar boost of confidence early on with quick hitters on the outside to players like Craver, Bussey and Bethel-Roman. At some point, they will stretch the field to see if Reed’s accuracy with the deep ball in practice has carried over.
Odds are A&M will use more four receiver sets and put Reed on the move more than they did last year. New offensive coordinator Holomon Wiggins knows what weapons he has and wants to put them to work, and that means more wideouts and getting Reed more opportunities to run.
The big thing for A&M will be protecting Reed in the passing game and avoiding turnovers. If they do that, they’ll be in good shape.
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How Missouri State may try to counter
The Bears may have three linebackers listed on their depth chart, but they’re going to primarily run a 4-2-5. An attacking 4-2-5. Everyone attacks these days, but Curtis does it more than most.
The Bears are probably going to try to create havoc, especially for Reed. A lot of presnap looks, faking with blitzers from multiple angles before someone actually comes, overloading gaps and sliding linemen and linebackers. This could cause problems, but if it’s picked up, then the Aggies will be able to work from an advantageous position.
Missouri State is going to move their linebackers a lot as part of their deception scheme. Lloyd, a preseason All-Conference USA pick, will likely play close to the line of scrimmage and blitz from time to time. The Bears’ best three players are right up the middle: Brantley, Lloyd and O’Neal. If Brantley wins his battles and the latter two can move without difficulty (O’Neal could be box at times), then Missouri State will have something going.
The Bears only forced 17 turnovers last year and nearly all of those were logged by players who are no longer there. But Curtis will likely gamble for the big play and try to force turnovers, even there could be significant risk involved.
It’s hard to say exactly what the Bears are going to do for the entire game because they have a new coordinator, new scheme and a lot of new personnel. But we can get a hunch from Curtis’ work at Tulane and Auburn, and they’re going to likely push the issue and attack the running game first. Whether they’ll have success against the Aggies remains a very big question mark.
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