AggieYell Mailbag
Alright, alright, alright, it’s time for the pre-Texas game AY Mailbag, sponsored by Tipton Auto Group!
Q: What are your Longhorn friends feeling, confident or worried? (RacerRod)
A: I have no Longhorn friends.
Q: How surprised are you that Moss is not playing against the Horns? I thought I’d heard that if he had to, he could’ve played last week? (Naytch)
A: Honestly, quite surprised. He’d been practicing and we’d heard from Elko they hoped to have him back by the end of the year. I really thought he’d be a go, and then Monday’s press conference happened.
Q: 1. After watching our come from behind victory over South Carolina, the one thing I picked up on was that we went uptempo in the 2nd half of that game. Of course we almost had to being down 4 scores but I can’t help but think we should go uptempo vs tu tomorrow night. Yes, they have a stout DL and front 7 but I don’t think they have the depth to go uptempo very long…which should provide Marcel more time to find open receivers but also to beat “spies” with his legs if we can get them gassed.
Thoughts?
A: Yeah, I can definitely see A&M doing that. It seemed to calm Marcel Reed and the offense down and it worked well. It would probably catch them off guard and, like you said, they have depth issues. If I were Collin Klein, I’d certainly consider it.
2. Knowing that tu probably won’t beat us with their run game, would you play zone and rush 4 OR man-up, jam receivers at the line and bring the house? I know what I would do (latter) but what do you think Elko will do? (Chile Pequin)
I think they’re going to mix it up, give Arch a lot to think about. Like I said in the game preview — A&M normally brings four, but which four? And if they can get pressure with just four, then that’s a problem for Texas.
Q: How far into his bag do you think Elko goes in finding advantages against the longhorns? I would think that he would give Clark Lea a call and spit ball a few ideas.
A: I doubt Lea would have time to take his call. As far as he’s concerned, Vandy is still a CFP candidate and they have Tennessee this week. And Elko has the game film anyway.
How much of an advantage do you think Amari Niblack could provide being that he was in Sarks offense last year? (Jakeh05)
Not much. Maybe some as far as signals and possibly tendencies may go, but this Texas team is very different from last year’s team.
Q: Has tu given you any hassle getting credentials for the game? I heard a story of a long time photographer being denied.
A: Nope, they have been very easy to work with.
How much do you think A&M will throw at the horns offensively that we have not seen this season? Or do you think A&M will pick out the things they do best and just force-feed it to the horns?
They may throw a few new things at them, but they’re not desperate and what has been working for A&M tends to work against anybody.
One analysIs (may have been from the film guy) that someone shared said he thought Ags defensively may go man with 5 on the line and really go after the qb. I like the idea, every down. But I think we will still go with a 3-man rush more times than makes sense. (I know, A&M leads in sacks) But it seems our history has shown a number of big plays given up when doing this. Thoughts? (Reckless75)
If we see some three-man fronts, it’ll be with someone else coming from somewhere. Either that, or it’s an extremely long down and distance.
Q: I believe eventually Klein and Wiggins get promotions. Who would you see as the best replacements for both? Who else may eventually get promoted away (dp47)
I agree, they may be eventually drawn away. But I don’t know if it’ll be this year. And as far replacements go, I have no idea. A lot of it would depend on whether he wants to keep the same kind of offense (which I would). Also, he’d be looking for teachers, not placeholders (Daymeune Craig), as well as someone who can recruit. As for who might eventually leave for a promotion, look at the young guys — Jordan Peters, Ish Aristide and Tony Jerod-Eddie (though I can’t really see TJE leaving unless it’s a massive promotion).
Q: Texas is +10 in turnover margin while our Ags are -5, is that right? That’s a massive swing. Add to that the number of games texas has eked out or lost versus A&Ms blowouts and it’s a mind blowing stat. Does this game simply come down to turnovers? (elicrow)
A: It could, but I doubt it. Also keep in mind of three of those turnovers belong to backups (two picks by Miles O’Neill and a muffed punt by Izaiah Williams). A&M really doesn’t turn the ball over that much, they just don’t turn over opponents much either.
Our sponsor
Tipton Auto Group in Brownsville is Aggie owned and operated, and they can help you with your new or used car needs anywhere in Texas. Check them out at TiptonFordBrownsville.com, or call (956)350-5600!
