Game preview: Texas A&M's offense vs. Florida's defense

AggieYell.com’s look at the matchup between No. 5 Texas A&M (5-0, 2-0 SEC) and Florida (2-3, 1-1 SEC) begins with a look at the Aggie offense against the Gators defense.

Where, when, weather and TV

Where: Kyle Field, College Station, Texas

When: Saturday, Oct. 11, 6 p.m. central time

Weather: Sunny, high of 90; temperature likely dropping through the 80 and possibly the 70s during the game

TV: ESPN (Mark Jones (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (analyst), and Quint Kessenich (sideline reporter))

How they got here

Texas A&M (5-0)

Beat UTSA 42-24

Beat Utah State 44-22

Beat Notre Dame 41-40

Beat Auburn 16-10

Beat Mississippi State 31-9

Florida (2-3)

Beat Long Island University 55-0

Lost to USF, 18-16

Lost to LSU 20-10

Lost to Miami 26-7

Beat Texas, 29-21

Texas A&M offensive depth chart

QB: #10, Marcel Reed (6-1, 185, R-So.)

#16, Miles O’Neill (6-5, 220, R-Fr.)

#13, Brady Hart (6-4, 195, Fr.) OR #9, Jacob Zeno (6-2, 215, Gr.)

RB: #8, Le’Veon Moss (5-11, 210, Sr.)

#4, Rueben Owens II (5-11, 215, R-So.)

#5, Amari Daniels (5-8, 197, R-Sr.) OR #23, Jamarion Morrow (5-9, 205, Fr.) OR #22, EJ Smith (5-11, 211, Gr.)

WR: #7, KC Concepcion (5-11, 190, Jr.)

#18, TK Norman (6-0, 182, Fr.)

WR: #1, Mario Craver (5-9, 165, So.) OR #2, Terry Bussey (5-10, 195, So.)

#0, Izaiah Williams (5-11, 185, R-Fr.)

WR: #3, Ashton Bethel-Roman (6-0, 185, R-Fr.) OR #2, Terry Bussey (5-10, 195, So.)

#11, Kelshaun Johnson (5-11, 168, Fr.)

TE: #17, Theo Melin Öhrström (6-6, 257, R-Jr.) OR #87, Nate Boerkircher (6-4, 250, Gr.) OR #84, Amari Niblack (6-3, 235, Sr.)

#88, Micah Riley (6-5, 257, R-Jr.)

#21, Kiotti Armstrong (6-5, 275, Fr.)

LT: #60, Trey Zuhn III (6-6, 319, Gr.) OR #76, Reuben Fatheree (6-7, 333, Gr.)

#79, Lamont Rogers (6-6, 337, Fr.)

LG: #71, Chase Bisontis (6-5, 315, Jr.)

#73, Ashton Funk (6-6, 322, R-Fr.) OR #77, Tyler Thomas (6-4, 329, Fr.)

C: #54, Mark Nabou (6-3, 322, R-So.) OR #60, Trey Zuhn III (6-6, 319, Gr.)

#61, Koli Faaiu (6-3, 333, Sr.)

RG: #55, Ar’maj Reed-Adams (6-5, 325, Gr.)

#52, Blake Ivy (6-3, 336, R-Fr.)

RT: #78, Dametrious Crownover (6-7, 336, Gr.)

#70, Robert Bourdon (6-6, 318, R-Fr.)

Florida defensive depth chart

EDGE: #94, Tyreak Sapp (6-3, 275, RS-Sr.)

#24, Kamran James (6-6, 270, Jr.)

NT: #88, Caleb Banks (6-6, 330, RS-Sr) OR #93, Michai Boireau (6-5, 349, So.)

#90, Brendan Bett (6-5, 308, RS-So.-TR.)

DT: #95, Jamari Lyons (6-4, 318, RS-Jr.)

#33, Brien Taylor Jr. (6-5, 294, Sr.-TR.)

JACK: #34, George Gumbs Jr. (6-4, 250, RS-Sr.-TR.)

#15, Jayden Woods (6-3, 248, Fr.)

WILL: #5, Myles Graham (6-1, 228, So.)

#8, Aaron Chiles (6-3, 244, So.)

MIKE: #29, Jaden Robinson (6, 226, Jr.)

#10, Grayson Howard (6-4, 236, Jr.-TR.)

LCB: #25, Cormani McClain (6-2, 189, RS-So.-TR.)

#6, Ja’Vari Flowers (5-10, 187, Fr.)

SS: #18, Bryce Thornton (5-10, 211, Jr.)

#39, Brayden Slade (6-1, 188, RS-So.)

FS: #14, Jordan Castell (6-2, 213, Jr.)

#16, Michael Caraway Jr. (6-1, 196 RS-Sr.-TR.)

RCB: #28, Devin Moore (6-3, 198, Sr.)

#26, Jamroc Grimsley (6-2, 198 RS-Fr.)

NICKEL: #0, Sharif Denson (5-11, 195, Jr.)

#2, Lagonza Hayward (6-1, 206, Fr.)

Injury update

Texas A&M: No reported injuries

Florida: DT Caleb Banks, DE LJ McCray, DB Dijon Johnson and DB Aaron Gates are all OUT.

DT Joseph Mbatchou is questionable.

Texas A&M offensive statistical leaders

Passing: Reed, 86-144 (59.8%), 1,256 yards 11 TD, 3 INT

O’Neill, 4-7, 101 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT

Rushing: Moss, 65 carries, 343 yards (5.3 YPC), 5 TD

Owens, 39 carries, 276 yards (7.1 YPC)

Reed, 38 carries, 149 yards (3.9 YPC), 2 TD

Receiving: Craver, 30 catches, 557 yards (18.6 YPC), 4 TD

Concepcion, 24 catches, 401 yards (16.7 YPC), 5 TD

Bussey, 9 catches, 110 yards (12.2 YPC), 1 TD

Florida defensive statistical leaders

Tackles: Graham, 29

Castell, 19

Thornton, 18

Tackles for loss: Gumbs, 3.5

Sapp, 3

Graham and Robinson, 2.5

Sacks: Taylor, Gumbs and Woods, 1.5

Interceptions: Four players with 1

Forced fumbles: Robinson and Gumbs, 1

Fumble recoveries: Thornton, 2

Head-to-head: Texas A&M’s offense vs. Florida’s defense

Category	Texas A&M	National/SEC rank	Category	Florida	National/SEC rank
Scoring offense	34.8 PPG	42nd/7th	Scoring defense	17 PPG	26th/7th
Total offense	466.8 YPG	22nd/6th	Total defense	295.6 YPG	24th/7th
Rushing offense	195.4 YPG	37th/5th	Rushing defense	99.4 YPG	26th/8th
Passing offense	271.4 YPG	34th/6th	Passing defense	196.2 YPG	49th/9th
First downs	115	52nd/9th	First downs allowed	69	10th/3rd
3rd down conversion %	34.9%	111th/13th	3rd down conversion defense	31.9%	28th/7th
Red zone conversion %	94.1%	24th/6th	Red zone defense	83.3%	61st/8th
Sacks allowed per game	1.4	41st/6th	Sacks per game	1.8	89th/11th
Tackles for loss allowed per game	3.4	11th/4th	Team tackles for loss per game	4.8	96th/12th
Turnovers	4	19th/3rd	Turnovers forced	6	67th/8th
Turnover +/-	EVEN	69th/6th	Turnover +/-	-2	91st/11th
Time of possession	31:58	29th/5th	Time of possession	32:49	18th/4th

What A&M wants to do

What they’ve been doing in SEC play — stay balanced, run the ball well and control the time of possession.

It’s not coincidental that the Aggies had two different running backs run for career highs in back-to-back weeks once conference play started. Auburn came in with the nation’s fifth-ranked rushing defense and A&M ran for 207 yards. Mississippi State’s rush defense was ranked 63rd and, 299 yards later, is now 99th. So they’ve had their way with their first two opponents. The Aggies think they have an advantage in the running game and, so far, they have.

Reed hasn’t been perfect at quarterback, but he’s avoided catastrophic mistakes and is still pounding opponents through the air with the combination of Concepcion and Craver. Florida has not seen a duo like them yet this season, especially when you consider they played Miami in a monsoon. A&M will likely try to get Reed off to a faster start after he struggled in the first half each of the past two weeks before lighting it up after halftime. That may mean some quicker passes to the receivers like we saw earlier in the season before they start trying to push the ball down the field.

A&M was able to grind both Auburn and Mississippi State down, winning time of possession by 7 minutes and 17 minutes, respectively. If the Aggies can win the time of possession duel again, that might be a problem for a Florida defense that has been dealing with injuries and a lack of depth up front.

How Florida wants to counter

They want third downs, preferably third and long. Even after going 7 of 14 on third downs last week, A&M is still a dreadful 111th in third down conversions. That means they’re going to be looking to shut down Moss and Owens and try to make Reed beat them. Last year was a similar situation and the Aggies ran for 310 yards, including a 99-yard drive in the rain that was almost entirely on the ground. That probably has stuck in the craw of the Gators as they’ve prepared for this week.

They’re coming off a good game in the run defense department, holding Texas to a piddling 52 yards on 26 carries. Even though he was sacked six times, Arch Manning led Texas with 36 rushing yards, a clear sign the running backs (and offensive line) weren’t up to the task against a very big Florida front. A&M’s offensive line could be a very different story.

But the Gators schemed Texas brilliantly, keeping their offense confused about who was coming, who was dropping back into coverage and how many rushers there would be. Most of the time it was just four, but they did a great job of disguising which four it would be. It didn’t matter if it was a running or passing down, they were looking to create havoc. They did, to the tune of seven tackles for loss. They’re going to want to do the same Saturday night, frustrating the Aggie linemen in an effort to slow down the run and, when he drops back, to get after Reed.

Florida just wants to survive first and second down. If they get Reed in the Aggies into a third down of medium or long distance, then they’re right where they want to be.