No. 16 Texas A&M Aggies will take on the Missouri Tigers on Saturday at Kyle Field.
The Aggies are 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the Big 12. Missouri is 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the conference.
Do not let the record fool you, the Tigers are the most dangerous team the Aggies have faced since Oklahoma State.
Missouri has a lot of talent on both sides of the ball; when they limits turnovers they can play with any team in the country.
The Aggies have been unable to force turnovers this season, so that bodes well for Missouri.
If the Aggies want to win this game, then they are going to have to hold onto the interceptions that hit them in the hands, and jump onto the fumbles that they force.
In 2010 the Missouri Tigers embarrassed the Aggies 30-9. Since that outing, the Aggies are 9-1 in conference play.
A&M will have to play one of their best games of the year to come out on top. This is a look at what to expect in all facets of the game when A&M and Missouri meet on the field Saturday.
When Missouri is on Offense
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The Missouri Tigers offense will be the best the Ags have faced since the Oklahoma State game.
The Tigers feature a balanced offense scoring 33.9 points per game while rushing for 238 yards and passing for 253.
Quarterback James Franklin is completing 60 percent of his passes for 238 yards a game; he has thrown for 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
He is also the Tigers' second leading rusher for 445 yards and eight touchdowns and Franklin is an extremely dangerous run-pass threat.
He is not quite the passer that Robert Griffin III is for Baylor, but he is willing to tuck the ball and run more. Franklin is also much tougher than Griffin and is willing to take a hit.
Sophomore running back Henry Josey is one of the most overlooked offensive players in the country. He is leading the Big 12 with 855 yards rushing on the season and is averaging an incredible 8.6 yards per carry.
T.J. Moe and Michael Egnew are once again Missouri's top receiving threats. In 2010 Egnew cut up the Aggie secondary like Swiss cheese. This season, the senior tight end has caught 26 passes for 312 yards and two touchdowns.
T.J. Moe has 37 receptions for 478 yards and three touchdowns on the year. Last season Moe had six catches for 110 yards and a touchdown against the Aggies.
Missouri is a spread option team. They will try to spread the defense out and run the ball with a zone-read and option look, and on third downs, they will try to get the ball to Egnew to move the chains.
Missouri has an explosive offense that the Aggies will have to find some way to contain if they want to win at Kyle.
When Missouri is on Defense
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Missouri runs an attacking 4-3 defense and have done a great job finding and developing speed rushers at defensive end for their system.
The latest in this mold is junior DE Brad Madison, who leads the Tigers with 7.5 tackles for a loss on the season and 3.5 sacks.
The Aggies were not able to block Madison in 2010, as he had three sacks in the game. Further, A&M was unable to block the Tigers front four and allowed seven sacks in the game, while Missouri limited the Aggies to 1.7 yards per rush for the game.
Sophomore linebacker Andrew Wilson leads the Tigers in tackles with 56 and has added 6.5 tackles for loss. Senior linebacker Luke Lambert has 43 tackles and seven tackles for a loss.
Sophomore cornerback E.J. Gaines is a budding superstar with 41 tackles two interceptions and 2.5 tackles for loss, and also has a 44-yard punt return for a touchdown.
As a team the Tigers have made 56 tackles for a loss on the season, averaging eight tackles for a loss each game.
The Missouri defense likes to get a team behind the sticks and then attack the quarterback with pressure, and has forced 11 turnovers in seven games.
When A&M is on Offense
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The Aggies have one of the top offenses in the country; their dominant offensive line has allowed the Aggies to run and pass the ball effectively.
The Ags are rushing for 230 yards per game and passing for 292 yards per game.
Against Missouri it is very important that the Aggies run the ball effectively in order to move the chains and keep the Mizzou offense off the field.
The Aggies feature their best offensive line in school history and should be able to beat the Tigers at the point of attack.
The big question for the Aggie coaches is what to do now that right
guard Cedric Ogbeuhi is healthy again. When he went down to injury after the Arkansas game, the coaches moved Brian Thomas to RG and started redshirt freshman Jarvis Harrison at left guard.
Harrison is not a dominant player yet, but has been a quality addition at left. Madison will be controlled by whichever tafckle he lines up against.
The Aggies need to use the Tigers' aggression against them and utilize the tight ends in the passing game. The Mizzou secondary is going to want to peak into the backfield and the Aggies have to make them pay.
The Aggies cannot turn the ball over if they want to win this game, the Missouri offense is simply too explosive to afford them extra chances.
When the Aggies are on Defense
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Again, the Aggies face their toughest offense since squaring off against Oklahoma State. Baylor was more explosive in the passing game but did not have as strong of a run game as Missouri.
James Franklin will throw some interceptions, but the Aggie defenders have struggled mightily catching the ball this year.
If the Ags can force two turnovers, then they will win this game; the problem is that they have not forced two turnovers in a game since the SMU game, and the defense has not recovered a fumble since last Thanksgiving against Texas.
Middle linebacker Jonathan Stewart needs to have a big day for the Aggies. The defense needs to shut down the Mizzou running game on the early downs to force 3rd-and-long situations.
On 3rd-and-long, Sean Porter and Damontre Moore need to keep containment on James Franklin. Do not be surprised if the coaches use Sean Porter to spy Franklin. And if they use Porter as a spy, then expect to see much of Charlie Thomas to match up with Egnew.
The Aggies need Tony Jerod-Eddie, Eddie Brown and Spencer Nealy to have big games this week. If they can control the line of scrimmage and shut down the Tigers run game, the Aggies have to like their chances.
Missouri has lost three of their last four games. If the defense can get some stops early and the Aggies can put up a few scores, the Tigers may just chalk it up as another loss.
Prediction
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Missouri is a top 25 team talent-wise that has not always ended up on the winning side of the scoreboard and the Aggies are facing a bowl team.
A&M is going to need to limit turnovers in this game. The Aggie defense cannot be counted on to force turnovers, so the offense is going to have to simply limit theirs.
Further, the Aggies need to be solid in special teams. In a game like this, the special team could be the difference.
If the Aggies could get anything by the way of kick or punt return, it would be a plus. The Aggies really just need to keep Mizzou CB E.J.Gaines from switching field position on a punt return.
A&M really just need to play their game: run the ball and control the clock on offense, limit turnovers and execute in the red zone.
On defense they need to limit explosive plays and force Missouri into 3rd-and-long situations.
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