Game preview: Texas offense vs. Texas A&M's defense
AggieYell.com continues its breakdown of the matchup between No. 3 Texas A&M (11-0, 7-0 SEC) and No. 16 Texas (8-3, 5-2 SEC) with a look at the Longhorns offense against the Aggie defense.
Texas offensive depth chart
QB: #16, Arch Manning (6-4, 219, RS-So.)
#18 Matthew Caldwell (6-4, 209, RS-Sr.-TR.)
RB: #5, Quintrevion Wisner (6, 194, Jr.)
#4, CJ Baxter (6-1, 227, RS-So.)
TE: #86, Jack Endries (6-4, 236, RS-Jr.-TR.)
#84, Jordan Washington (6-4, 264, RS-Fr.)
WR (X): #1, Ryan Wingo (6-2, 214, So.)
#17, Daylan McCutcheon (5-11, 178, Fr.)
WR (Z): #3, Emmett Mosley V (6-2, 210, So.-TR.)
#13, Parker Livingstone (6-4, 191, RS-Fr.)
WR (H): #0, DeAndre Moore (6, 192, Jr.)
#21, Ryan Niblett (5-10, 187, RS-So.)
LT: #74, Trevor Goosby (6-7, 312, RS-So.)
#78, Jordan Coleman (6-5, 354, Fr.)
LG: #54, Cole Hutson (6-5, 308, Sr.)
#71, Nick Brooks (6-7, 349, Fr.)
C: #62, Conner Robertson (6-4, 312, RS-Jr.)
#51, Daniel Cruz (6-3, 312, RS-Fr.)
RG: #52, DJ Campbell (6-3, 321, Sr.)
#79, Connor Stroh (6-7, 341, RS-So.)
RT: Brandon Baker (6-4, 308, So.)
#75, Jaydon Chatman (6-4, 306, RS-So.)
Texas offensive statistical leaders
Passing: Manning, 213-341 (62.5%), 2,763 yards, 23 TD, 7 INT
Caldwell, 8-11, 75 yards, 1 TD
Rushing: Wisner, 112 carries, 442 yards (3.9 YPC), 3 TD
Manning, 76 carries, 191 yards (2.5 YPC), 7 TD
Baxter, 48 carries, 188 yards (3.9 YPC)
Receiving: WIngo, 46 catches, 736 yards (16 YPC), 6 TD
Moore, 37 catches, 528 yards (14.3 YPC), 4 TD
Livingstone, 25 catches, 472 yards (18.9 YPC), 6 TD
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.)
Texas A&M defensive statistical leaders
Tackles: York, 56
Ratcliffe, 55
Sanford, 46
Tackles for loss: Howell, 13
Sanford, 8.5
Hicks, 6.5
Sacks: Howell, 11.5
Hayes, 4.5
Sanford, 3.5
Interceptions: Brooks, Sanford and Scooby Williams, 1
Forced fumbles: Sanford, 2
Seven players with 1
Fumble recoveries: Brooks, 2
Four players with 1
Injury update
Texas: No reported injuries.
Texas A&M: LB Scooby Williams and safeties Bryce Anderson and Tom Tom Johnson are out.
Head to head: Texas’ offense vs. Texas A&M’s defense
| Category | Texas | National/SEC rank | Category | Texas A&M | National/SEC rank |
| Scoring offense | 29.8 PPG | 50th/10th | Scoring defense | 21.5 PPG | 38th/6th |
| Total offense | 381.5 YPG | 72nd/10th | Total defense | 301.9 YPG | 15th/5th |
| Rushing offense | 121.6 YPG | 110th/14th | Rushing defense | 118.8 YPG | 27th/7th |
| Passing offense | 259.9 YPG | 33rd/7th | Passing defense | 183.1 YPG | 23rd/4th |
| First downs | 204 | 98th/14th | First downs allowed | 174 | 13th/4th |
| 3rd down conversion percentage | 40.8% | 62nd/11th | 3rd down conversion defense | 22% | 1st nationally |
| Red zone offense | 85.2% | 79th/12th | Red zone defense | 93.3% | 128th/16th |
| Sacks allowed per game | 1.91 | 78th/8th | Sacks per game | 3.55 | 2nd/2nd |
| Tackles for loss allowed per game | 5.73 | 93rd/11th | Tackles for loss per game | 8.5 | 2nd/2nd |
| Turnovers | 8 | 7th/2nd | Turnovers forced | 9 | 114th/14th |
| Turnover +/- | +10 | 10th/2nd | Turnover +/- | -5 | 108th/14th |
| Time of possession | 28:43 | 101st/12th | Time of possession | 32:25 | 17th/4th |
What Texas wants to do
Hit on chunk plays. A lot of them.
Against Arkansas, Texas had three touchdowns of 20 yards or more (two of them were more than 40 yards). With the Razorbacks unable to create much of a pass rush, Arch Manning picked them apart.
A&M’s defense is not the Arkansas defense, so things will certainly be different. Texas realizes that it’s tough to go 75 yards on the Aggie defense unless they have some big plays, so they’ll be looking for those opportunities.
The running game is a mess. The Longhorns ran for 97 yards last week against the Hogs, averaging less than 4 yards a carry. Against the same defense, A&M ran for 216 yards at 6.1 yards a carry. The increased numbers of pass attempts by Manning over the past month is a sign that Steve Sarkisian isn’t going to mess around with the running game if it’s not working. He’ll throw it.
Texas uses a ton of motion, or eye candy, to confuse opponents. They love misdirection and run jet sweeps, reverses and, last week, even used the Philadelphia Play with Manning catching a touchdown pass from Parker Livingstone. Sarkisian has no problem with getting tricky with his offense.
Manning throws a lot of quick outs at or near the line of scrimmage with the idea of getting the ball into the hands of their playmakers as quickly as possible. They’re kind of similar to A&M in that respect. When Manning wants to go deep, he usually looks for Wingo or Livingstone, both of whom had had numerous big plays for scores the season. Wingo, especially, can take a quick hitter for a long gain.
One guy who could see a lot of passes come his way is tight end Jack Endries, who could be someone who finds his way past the linebackers and get into the middle of the field against the blitz if A&M brings the linebackers.
So the gameplan for Texas is pretty simple in concept: throw a lot of short passes that can work as runs and then try to hit one deep. The offensive line will have to play its best game today to slow down the Aggie pass rush.
How the Aggies may try to counter
Attempt to make Manning’s life a living hell. Give him a lot of different looks, blitz from different angles and keep everything in front of them.
Manning has been sacked 21 times this season and, even though they did not give up a sack to Arkansas and Vanderbilt, they gave up three to Georgia and A&M is easily the best pass rush they’ve seen since the Oklahoma game. Manning threw for all of 166 yards in that game as he didn’t have time to push the ball down the field.
Expect the Aggies to show Manning a bunch of different presnap looks to confuse him, with a bunch of players up at the line before he calls for the ball. Usually, A&M will only rush four players — but which four? A&M has done a good job disguising their looks all year, and have probably added some new wrinkles after having essentially two week so prepare.
The Aggies not only need to collapse the pocket, but make sure Manning doesn’t have a way out where he can run. He is, after all, their second leading rusher and ran for a score in last year’s game.
A&M can’t afford to give up the explosive plays, which has been their biggest vice. Texas knows this and that’s what they’re going to be looking for. If the Aggies can apply pressure and force Texas to try to work their way down the field without any chunk plays, they’ll be in good shape.
