Game Preview and Prediction: Texas A&M at Ole Miss
This Saturday, the No. 11 Texas A&M Aggies will travel to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss. and take on the No. 15 Ole Miss Rebels. This is one of the most highly anticipated matchups for the SEC this weekend, as both teams have won four out of their last five games against their respective opponents. The Aggies have been playing great defense all year and the Rebels have excelled on offense. Here is some information fans should know regarding both teams.
Defensively, the Aggies are coming into the game giving up only 14.7 points per game. The only team performing better than the Aggies in this category are the No. 1 ranked Georgia Bulldogs. This stems from the Aggies' ability to create turnovers and also control the line of scrimmage with their running game. This ability was apparent last week in their commanding 20-3 win over Auburn. Senior defensive lineman Tyree Johnson, who leads A&M with eight sacks, had two against Auburn.
Early in the fourth quarter, senior defensive lineman Jayden Peevy sacked Auburn quarterback Bo Nix, which forced him to fumble. This time senior defensive lineman Michael Clemons recovered the fumble and ran it for a touchdown.
In a big moment, the leadership of the defensive line stepped up and created huge plays for their team that changed the momentum of the game. They held Auburn to only 226 yards of total offense, and they will look to carry that momentum into this week against the high-powered offense of Ole Miss Head Coach Lane Kiffin.
Offensively, Ole Miss scores 37.8 points per game. That places them as the No. 16 national scoring offense. Further, the Rebels average 524.2 yards of total offense per game. Coach Kiffin’s offense has been led by starting quarterback and likely NFL first-round pick Matt Corral, who is also the Rebels leading rusher this season in addition to being a tremendous passer.
In addition to Corral running the ball, Coach Kiffin relies on sophomore Henry Parrish Jr and two junior running backs, Jerrion Ealy and Snoop Conner. Having four different players averaging greater than 4.5 yards a carry has helped Ole Miss win key matchups against their opponents like Arkansas on Oct. 9. Both Henry Parrish Jr. and Conner had over 100 yards rushing, and Conner even added three second half touchdowns. Corral also added 94 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Establishing the running game has been something Ole Miss has had success with against past opponents, but they will face a different level of defense when Texas A&M comes to Oxford. The Aggies will come prepared and be just as physical and just as talented as Ole Miss. Expect a high-scoring game that could ultimately be decided by which team forces more turnovers.
Texas A&M 35 Ole Miss 30
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