Game preview: Mississippi State's offense vs. Texas A&M's defense
AggieYell.com’s look at the matchup between No. 6 Texas A&M (4-0, 1-0 SEC) and Mississippi State (4-1, 0-1 SEC) continues with a breakdown of the Bulldogs offense against the Aggie defense. The preview of A&M’s offense against Mississippi State’s defense can be found here.
Where, when, weather and TV
Where: Kyle Field, College Station, Texas
When: Saturday, Oct. 4, 6:30 p.m. central time
Weather: Sunny, high of 91; temperature likely dropping through the 80s during the game
TV: SEC Network (Tom Hart, play-by-play; Jordan Rogers, analyst; Cole Cubelic, sideline)
Mississippi State offensive depth chart
QB: #2, Blake Shapen (6-1, 210, Gr.)
#17, Luke Kromenhoek (6-4, 220, So.) OR #1, Kamario Taylor (6-4, 230, Fr.)
RB: #6, Davon Booth (5-10, 205, Gr.) OR #24, Fluff Bothwell (5-10, 230, So.)
#22, Xavier Gayten (6-0, 205, So.)
WR: #0, Brenen Thompson (5-9, 170, Sr.)
#7, Markus Allen (6-2, 215, RS-Sr.)
#18, Jaron Glover (6-1, 205, RJr. RS-Sr.) OR #12, Cam Thompson (6-0, 200, RS-Jr.)
WR: #4, Jordan Mosley (6-0, 195, RS-Sr.)
#11, Ayden Williams (6-3, 205, Jr.) OR #13, Sanfrisco Magee (6-2, 200, RS-Fr.)
SLOT: #3, Anthony Evans III (5-11, 180, Jr.)
#9, Ricky Johnson (6-2,185, RS-Fr.)
TE: #8, Seydou Traore (6-4, 235, RS-Sr.)
#10, Cam Ball (6-7, 250, RS-Jr.) OR #87, Sam West (6-4, 250, RS-So.) OR #5, Max Reese (6-3, 250, RS-Jr.)
LT: #77, Jayvin Q. James (6-5, 320, RS-So.) OR #74 Jimothy Lewis Jr. (6-6, 320, RS-Fr.)
LG: #75, Jacoby Jackson (6-6, 320, RS-Sr.) OR #51, Luke Work (6-6, 315, So.)
C: #72, Canon Boone (6-4, 315, RS-Sr.) OR #53, Brennan Smith (6-3, 320, RS-Sr.)
#50, Koby Keenum (6-4, 305, RS-So.)
RG: #52, Zack Owens (6-6, 340, RS-So.) OR #61, Trevor Mayberry (6-3, 325, Gr.)
RT: #76, Albert Reese IV (6-7, 330, RS-Sr.)
#55, Jakheem Shumpert-Perkins (6-5,330, Jr.)
Texas A&M defensive depth chart
DE: #50, Dayon Hayes (6-3, 264, Gr.) OR #18, TJ Searcy (6-5, 255, Jr.)
#30 Solomon Williams (6-1, 250, RS-Fr.) OR #92 Sam M’Pemba (6-3, 252, RS-So.)
DT: #5, DJ Hicks (6-3, 295, Jr.) OR #11, Tyler Onyedim (6-3, 295, Gr.) OR #17, Albert Regis (6-1, 317, Gr.)
#55, Dealyn Evans (6-4, 314, RS-Fr.) OR #99, Landon Rink (6-2, 294, Fr.)
NT: #17, Albert Regis (6-1, 317, Gr.) OR #5, DJ Hicks (6-3, 295, Jr.) OR #11, Tyler Onyedim (6-3, 295, Gr.)
#88, DJ Sanders (6-3, 315, Fr.) OR #99, Landon Rink (6-2, 294, Fr.)
DT: #11, Tyler Onyedim (6-3, 295, Gr.) OR #17 Albert Regis (6-1, 317, Gr.) OR #5, DJ Hicks (6-3, 295, Jr.)
#59, Chace Sims (6-3, 294, Fr.) OR #99 Landon Rink, (6-2, 294, Fr.)
JACK: #9, Cashius Howell (6-2, 248, R-Sr.)
#15, Rylan Kennedy (6-3, 239, RS-So.) OR #10, Marco Jones (6-5, 258, Fr.) OR #92, Sam M’Pemba (6-3, 252, RS-So.)
LB: #21, Taurean York (5-10, 227, Jr.)
#54, Jordan Lockhart (6-1, 229, So.) OR #27 Daymion Sanford (6-2, 222, Jr.)
LB: #0, Scooby Williams (6-2, 230, Sr.)
#27, Daymion Sanford (6-2, 222, Jr.) OR #23, Noah Mikhail (6-2, 223, Fr.)
NICKEL: #7 Tyreek Chappell (5-11, 180, RS-Sr.)
#19, Bravion Rogers (5-11, 188, Jr.) OR #8, Jordan Shaw (5-11, 182, RS-So.) OR #14, Jayvon Thomas (5-11, 196, Jr.)
CB: #4, Will Lee III (6-1, 189, Sr.)
#6, Julio Humphrey (6-1, 195, R-Jr.)
#14, Jayvon Thomas (5-11, 196, Jr.)
CB: #2, Dezz Ricks (6-1, 188, R-So.)
#6, Julio Humphrey (6-1, 195, R-Jr.)
#20, Adonyss Currie (6-0, 174, Fr.)
S: #1, Bryce Anderson (5-10, 186, Sr.)
#29, Myles Davis (6-1, 196, So.) OR #13, Rashad “Tom Tom” Johnson Jr. (6-1, 198, Fr.)
S: #25, Dalton Brooks (6-0, 193, Jr.) OR #3 Marcus Ratcliffe (6-2, 209, Jr.)
#33, Jarred Kerr (5-11, 190, Sr.)
#13, Rashad “Tom Tom” Johnson Jr. (6-1, 198, Fr.)
Injury update
Mississippi State: LT Blake Steen (knee) is out for the year.
RT Albert Reese IV (shoulder) is questionable.
WR Brenan Thompson (undisclosed) is probable.
Texas A&M: LB Scooby Williams (ankle) and S Bryce Anderson (concussion) are questionable.
Mississippi State offensive statistical leaders
Passing: Shapen, 85-130 (65.4%), 1,057 yards, 8 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Bothwell, 70 carries, 405 yards (5.8 YPC), 6 TD
Booth, 51 carries, 206 yards (4.5 YPC), 4 TD
Gayten, 8 carries, 95 yards
Receiving: Thompson, 20 catches, 324 yards (16.2 YPC), 3 TD
Evans, 26 catches, 323 yards (12.4 YPC), 2 TD
Mosley, 7 catches, 159 yards (22.7 YPC), 1 TD
Texas A&M defensive statistics
Tackles: York, 24
Lee, 21
Ratcliffe and Regis, 20
Tackles for loss: Howell, 5
York, Sanford, Hicks, 3
Sacks: Howell, 4
Sanford, 2
Eight players with 1
Interceptions: Scooby Williams, 1
Forced fumbles: Scooby Williams, M’Pemba, Kerr, 1
Fumble recoveries: M’Pemba, 1
Head to head: Mississippi State’s offense vs. Texas A&M’s defense
| Category | Mississippi State | National/SEC rank | Category | Texas A&M | National/SEC rank |
| Scoring offense | 38.6 PPG | 21st/5th | Scoring defense | 24 PPG | 72nd, 13th |
| Total offense | 429.8 YPG | 50th/11th | Total defense | 307.3 YPG | 35th/9th |
| Rushing offense | 203.8 YPG | 35th/6th | Rushing defense | 117.3 YPG | 42nd/10th |
| Passing offense | 226 YPG | 73rd/12th | Passing defense | 190 YPG | 49th/9th |
| 3rd down conversion % | 47.1% | 34th/7th | 3rd down conversion defense | 24.6% | 10th/4th |
| First downs | 109 | 30th/7th | First downs allowed | 67 | 25th/7th |
| Red zone % | 95.2% | 19th/6th | Red zone defense | 92.3% | 105th/16th |
| Sacks allowed | 2.2/game | 90th/11th | Team sacks | 3.5/game 6th/3rd | 6th/3rd |
| Tackles for loss allowed | 5.2/game | 65th, 9th | Team tackles for loss | 8/game | 9th/3rd |
| Turnovers | 4 | 27th/4th | Turnovers forced | 2 | 124th/15th |
| Turnover +/- | +6 | 14th/2nd | Turnover +/- | -1 | 84th/10th |
| Time of possession | 26:43 | 122nd/16th | Time of possession | 30:23 | 64th/11th |
What Mississippi State wants to do
Run the ball as much as possible and wear down A&M with the combination of the running game and the pace of the offense. This is not Mike Leach’s throw it all over the joint offense, but it does go at the same high pace. But instead of Blake Shapen throwing for 4,000 yards, the key pieces of the offense are running backs Fluff Bothwell and Davon Booth. Bothwell gets more carries at about a 1.5:1 ratio (71 to 50), but they’re both in the game a lot. They do like the outside run, so that is something the Aggies have to be aware of.
State is using both the power and zone blocking in the run game and — gasp! — they have tight ends and they use them. In fact, they use them in the passing game as well, as Seydou Traore is tied for the team lead in touchdowns catches with 3. So they can’t be ignored.
The passing game is largely short stuff, but they really, really want to take deep shots off of play action. Brenan Thompson and Anthony Evans were both recruited by A&M, but went to Oklahoma and Georgia, respectively, before transferring. They’re both burners and can really get down the field, so that’ll be a challenge for Will Lee and Dezz Ricks.
One reason play action will be important for the Bulldogs is that they’re likely going to be missing both of their starting tackles. Left tackle Blake Steen is done for the year and right tackle Albert Reese was hurt against Tennessee and is listed as questionable for Saturday. They gave up 6 sacks to Tennessee and Shapen was pressured and hit many more times than that. They gave up 11 tackles for loss overall, not a good sign when you’re about to play a team in the top 10 in both sacks and TFLs.
The running game and pace are the keys for Mississippi State these days. If they can have success running on first and second down and keep third downs short, then they’re in their element. So far, it’s been a pretty effective formula.
How Texas A&M may want to counter
Stuff the Fluff.
There are a number of similarities between Auburn’s offense and Mississippi State’s, except Shapen isn’t a bigtime runner. They both want to run and, if they get into longer down and distance situations, their offensive line can be a major issue.
The game plan may be similar as a result: look to stop the run first, stay gap sound and watch for the outside run. Anticipate a lot of quick passes as they go with tempo. If you can get the Bulldogs in third and medium or long situations, then you can come after Shapen.
A&M’s interior linemen absolutely dominated Auburn and if they can do the same Saturday, that will eliminate some of the draw plays that the Bulldogs really like to use. The Aggies brought a lot of linebacker pressure and a fair amount of safety blitzes against Auburn to not only pressure the quarterback, but to slow down the running game. It worked well and then Auburn essentially abandoned the run entirely.
Lee and Ricks will have to be ready for the speed of Thompson and Evans on the outside, but they will likely get help from the guys up front. If Shapen faces pressure, he’ll have a hard time getting the ball down the field. So far this season, statistically speaking, nobody in America has gotten pressure faster than the Aggies. If they can keep that up against a depleted offensive line, they’ll likely be in good shape.
