Game preview: Utah State's Offense vs. Texas A&M's Defense

AggieYell.com’s look at the matchup between No. 19 Texas A&M (1-0) and Utah State (1-0) continues with a breakdown of the Utah State offense vs. the Texas A&M defense.

Where, when, weather and TV

Where: Kyle Field, College Station, Texas

When: 11:45 a.m. central time, Saturday, Sept. 6

Weather: Partly sunny with temperatures in the 80s

TV: SEC Network (Taylor Zarzour (play-by-play), Matt Stinchcomb (analyst), and Alyssa Lang (sideline reporter))

Utah State offensive depth chart

QB : #16, Bryson Barnes; Gr.; 6-2, 210

#3, Jacob Conover; Gr.; 6-1, 195

RB: #2, Miles Davis; Gr.-TR.; 5-11, 215

#8, Javen Jacobs; Jr.-TR.; 5-10, 190

TE: #87, Broc Lane; Gr.; 6-4, 240

#83, Josh Sterzer; Gr.; 6-3, 230

WR: #11, Braden Pegan; Jr.-TR.; 6-3, 210

#15, Ty Olsen; Fr.; 6-1, 195

WR: #5, Brady Boyd; Gr.-TR.; 6-1, 195

#81, Nikko Boncore; Fr.; 5-11, 175

WR: #10, Anthony Garcia; So.-TR.; 6-1, 190

#7, Kahanu Davis; Sr.; 5-10, 180

LT: #56, Jake Eichorn; Sr.-TR.; 6-5, 310

#67, Adam Pond; Jr.; 6-5, 290

LG: #72, George Maile; Jr.; 6-4, 295

#76, Camden Jury; Fr.; 6-7, 310

C: #55, Jimmy Liston; So.-TR.; 6-4, 300

#63, Jarvis Griffiths; So.; 6-2, 270

RG: #65, Tavo Motu’apuaka; Jr.; 6-4, 330

#61, K’leyone Iosua; So.; 6-3, 300

#73, Elia Migao; Sr.; 6-3, 295

RT: #57, Trey Anderson; Gr.; 6-6, 285

#62, Jr. Sia; So.; 6-5, 325

Texas A&M defensive depth chart

DE: #50, Dayon Hayes; Gr.-TR.; 6-3, 264 or #18, T.J. Searcy; Jr.-TR.; 6-5, 256

#30, Solomon Williams; RS-Fr.; 6-1, 250 OR #92, Sam M’Pemba; RS-So.-TR.; 6-3, 252

DT: #5, DJ Hicks; Jr.; 6-3, 295 OR #11, Tyler Onyedim; Gr.-TR.; 6-3, 295 OR #17, Albert Regis; Gr.; 6-1, 317

#55, Dealyn Evans; RS-Fr.; 6-4, 314 OR #99, Landon Rink; Fr.; 6-2, 294

N: 17, Albert Regis; Gr.; 6-1, 317 OR #5, DJ Hicks; Jr.; 6-3, 295 OR #11, Tyler Onyedim; Gr.-TR.; 6-3, 295

#88, DJ Sanders; FR.; 6-3, 315 OR ##99, Landon Rink; Fr.; 6-2, 294

DT: #11, Tyler Onyedim; Gr.-TR.; 6-3, 295 OR Albert Regis; Gr.; 6-1, 317 OR #5, DJ Hicks; Jr.; 6-3, 295

#59, Chace Sims; Fr.; 6-3, 294 OR #99, Landon Rink; Fr.; 6-2, 294

JACK: #9, Cashius Howell; RS-Sr.-TR.; 6-2, 248

#15, Rylan Kennedy; RS-So.; 6-3, 239 OR #10, Marco Jones; Fr.; 6-5, 258 OR #92, Sam M’Pemba, RS-So.-TR.; 6-3, 252

LB: #21, Taurean York; Jr.; 5-10, 227

#54, Jordan Lockhart; So.; 6-1, 229 OR #27, Daymion Sanford; Jr.; 6-2, 222

LB: #0, Scooby Williams; Sr.; 6-2, 230

#27, Daymion Sanford; Jr.; 6-2, 222 OR #23 Noah Mikhail; Fr.; 6-2, 223

NICKEL: #7, Tyreek Chappell; RS-Sr.; 5-11, 180

#19, Bravion Rogers; Jr.; 5-11, 188 OR #8, Jordan Shaw; RS-So.; 5-11, 182 OR #14, Jayvon Thomas; Jr.; 5-11, 196

CB: #4, Will Lee; Sr.; 6-1, 189

#6, Julio Humphrey; RS-Jr.;-TR. 6-1, 195

#14, Jayvon Thomas; Jr.; 5-11, 196

CB: #2, Dezz Ricks; RS-So.-TR.; 6-1, 188 OR #6, Julio Humphrey; RS-Jr.-TR.; 6-1, 195

#20 Adonyss Currie; Fr.; 6, 174

S: #1, Bryce Anderson; Sr.; 5-10, 186

#29, Myles Davis; So; 6-1, 196

#13, Rashad “Tom Tom” Johnson; Fr.; 6-1, 198

S: #25, Dalton Brooks; Jr.; 6, 193 OR #3, Marcus Ratcliffe; Jr.-TR.; 6-2, 209

#33 Jarred Kerr; Sr.; 5-11, 190

#13, Rashad “Tom Tom” Johnson; Fr.; 6-1, 198

Injury update

Utah State: WR Corey Thompson Jr. is doubtful.

Texas A&M: Nickel Jordan Shaw is “week to week” with an undisclosed injury.

Utah State offensive statistical leaders

Passing: Barnes, 19-28, 233 yards, 1 TD

Rushing: Davis, 12 carries, 88 yards, 1 TD

Barnes, 15 carries, 34 yards, 1 TD

Jacobs, 4 carries, 12 yards

Receiving: Davis, 6 catches, 61 yards 

Lane, 1 catch, 52 yards, 1 TD

Garcia, 3 catches, 51 yards

Texas A&M defensive statistical leaders

Tackles: York, 10

Ratcliffe, 7

Lee, 5

Tackles for loss: five players with 1

Sacks: Kennedy, 1

What Utah State wants to do

Stay balanced, get the ball to Davis as much as possible and try to keep Barnes upright.

Last weekend against UTEP, Utah State was able to run the ball efficiently with Davis and Barnes using RPOs, and Barnes was solid in the passing game, hitting a few big plays of the catch and run variety. Barnes didn’t have a whole lot of time to throw, as attested to the six sacks he took Saturday. USU is dead last in sacks allowed and 131st out of 134 teams in tackles for loss allowed (12) — and that was against UTEP. What will the Texas A&M Aggies do to them?

That’s why Davis is the linchpin. USU has to be aware of what kind of success UTSA had last weekend through a half and one play on the ground, and they need Davis — a sixth-year senior — to have the same effect. He had 149 yards of total offense against UTEP, including a 51-yard run and a 30-yard catch and run.

Pegan, who got the first real playing time of his career last weekend, was Barnes’ top target with five completions. They were mostly short gainers, but he’s got good size and could be the player to watch in short yardage situations. Garcia is a former quarterback who made the switch to wideout this offseason as new coach Bronco Mendenhall looked for talent, and he averaged 17 yards a catch last weekend.

Utah State has serious problems with its offensive line, and Barnes has to be aware of that. He was last weekend, and Davis became the focal point of the offense because he had to be. But, on the positive side, he was up to the task, so look for him to be the guy they want the ball to go to as much as possible Satuday.

How Texas A&M may want to counter

Come after Barnes early and often, but don’t make the same mistakes you did last weekend — especially against the run. It’s not a secret that the Utah State has trouble up front — or, at least, now it is isn’t — giving up 12 tackles for loss and six sacks in any game is bad, but to UTEP? That’s a very bad warning about things to come.

Even though the Aggies only sacked Owen McCown once, that was largely due to the very, very quick passing game UTSA was using last weekend. They were very well aware of A&M’s pass rush potential, and either used quick passes or draws to counter it. Odds are USU will look to do something similar, because they’ll have to.

UTSA threw 32 times last weekend, and less than 20% of those attempts (six of them) were true dropbacks. On five of them, Cashius Howell pressured McCown and Rylan Kennedy sacked him on the sixth. There’s no reason the Aggies (Texas A&M style) shouldn’t be just as aggressive this weekend. They have some significant mismatches across the field.

The keys to this one will likely be the linebackers, Taurean York, Scooby Williams, Jordan Lockhart and Daymion Sanford. USU wants the ball in Davis’ hands in space, and it’s going to be up to the linebacker to stalk him, especially in the passing game. If Barnes is under pressure, which is likely, short checkdowns or dumpoffs are going to be a big part of the offense.

If USU gets into third and long situations, they’re in serious trouble. They converted two of 12 third downs against UTEP, which ranks 124th nationally after the first week. They just don’t have the talent for big plays that don’t involved a lot of yards after the catch and Barnes doesn’t have time to throw. As a result, it makes a whole lot of sense to bring pressure, even if it’s not the exotic stuff they want to save for Notre Dame.