Matchup Between Texas A&M Aggies and Tennessee Volunteers To Be Won In Trenches

The Aggies must dominate the line of scrimmage if they hope to end Tennessee's home win streak.

Games like Saturday between Texas A&M and Tennessee will be won in the trenches. Neither Josh Heupel nor Jimbo Fisher are steering away from that concern. 

Heupel and Fisher both praised their opponents' defensive fronts during Wednesday's SEC teleconference call. Heuepl, who enters his third season with the No. 19 Volunteers (4-1, 1-1 SEC), mentioned that perhaps the biggest factor in stopping A&M's offense was by winning at the line of scrimmage. 

"They're big, strong, physically athletic on the offensive line, too," Heupel said of the Aggies' front five. "And you have to do a great job of having gap integrity and then you also gotta get to the quarterback and affect him off of their play-action pass and drop-back game and get off the field on third downs." 

The Aggies (4-2, 2-1 SEC) might be coming off a heartbreaking 26-20 loss against No. 11 Alabama at home, but the season isn't all lost. A&M ranks 22nd national in third-down conversion, finding a successful play call on 47.4 percent of snaps. 

On the flip side, few teams have bested the Aggies' front seven in keeping drives alive when reaching third down. A&M ranks sixth nationally on opponents' third-down conversions, holding teams to a success rate of 25 percent. 

Texas A&M Aggies defensive lineman Walter Nolen (No. 0) celebrates a sack against Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas.  / © Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Making offenses one-dimensional has been an essential factor in the Aggies' domination of getting teams off the field. A&M leads the nation in both sacks (26) and tackles for loss (57) through six games, often finding its way into the backfield on first and second down. 

Against the Crimson Tide, the Aggies totaled six sacks and nine tackles for losses. Linebacker Edgerrin Cooper continued his mean streak with three quarterback takedowns to bring his sack total to six on the year.

"You watch the games and man, there’s a lot of second-and-longs, third-and-longs. And those are situations you don’t want to be up against this front," said Heupel. "So you gotta protect it well, but I think you also gotta strike some balance and have some effectiveness in the run game too, which is extremely difficult. These guys defend the run extremely well.”

Neyland Stadium's hospitable atmosphere gives a slight edge to the Vols on paper, who enter Saturday at a 3-point favorite. Under Heupel's watch, Tennessee rarely loses in Knoxville, as it currently is on the fourth-longest home winning streak in the country, with a dozen wins dating back to 2021. 

The Aggies' ninth-ranked run defense should impose a bit of a concern for Heupel's explosive run-heavy offensive identity. A&M has held opponents to 84 yards per contest and has only allowed one rushing touchdown. 

Of course, A&M could have its legs full with one of the SEC's better-rushing duos in Jabari Small and Jaylen Wright, who are averaging over 6.1 yards per carry. Sophomore Dylan Sampson also has been an effective third rusher with 249 yards and six TDs on 36 carries. 

"You don’t realize they’re 210, 212, 215. Very good size and strength," said Fisher. "Break tackles, very elusive, but also physical, hard to get on the ground. 

"The initial burst acceleration that you do a lot more of that, they do a good job of that and they catch the ball well, they block well.”

The Aggies last played the Volunteers at Neyland Stadium during the All-SEC COVID-19 season to close out the regular season 8-1 with a 34-13 victory. Since joining the conference in 2012, the Aggies have won both matchups, including a 45-38 double-overtime victory at Kyle Field in 2016. 

Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. EST and will be televised on CBS.