MMR 2016 Week 1-UCLA at Texas A&M
Just win baby!!
We are back, 2016 Aggie football is here, and this year is going to be THE YEAR!! Okay, now let me I on something exclusive here, so lean into screen. Closer…closer…(whisper) the Aggies are going to win ugly all year.
I hate to tell you that this is going to be better than Johnny Football running into save the game, because there are some BIG questions that have to be answered this season.
How good is Trevor Knight, really? It’s one thing to play in the Big XII, but this is the SEC now. Every team has a chance to win the conference and a national championship, and others look that good and end up .500 for the year. So far all we hear is he’s a solid player with great experience. Just guess we have to hold our breath and see.
Can we backfill the offensive line gaps coming into 2016? This is probably one of the most worrisome issues this Aggie team has to answer quickly. It doesn’t matter who you have as quarterback, if the O-line can’t stop the defense, the QB will only be looking up at the sky after every play, and that’s “no bueno”.
If you can read this, you may qualify to play linebacker for Texas A&M. The Aggies are looking at a bare cupboard when it comes to the position that used to define the Aggie defense. This means we will have to see more pressure from the linemen in the 4-3 defense. What makes me worried is if the Aggies play aggressive on the blitz, we are exposed in the middle of the field for medium gains. If A&M plays dime and creeps in from the corners, we could get beat by the long pass. If we go conservative, then running backs become the most dangerous option for opposing offenses.
If A&M can improve game-to-game on either 1 or 2, we look good.If we can improve on 1 or 2, and 3, then I like our chances this season.
Some things that are also not going in our favor are discipline issues.Junior Speedy Noil, who looked like he had the chance to show off his improved skills he built off-season, is not playing this week as he serves the 2nd game of his 2-game suspension from last season.Junior Josh walker is also out this week because this fool thinks shoving a woman is okay.
Sooooo, how do the Aggies beat the Bruins?
It’s been almost 18 years since the Aggies got outscored in the Cotton Bowl against the Bruins. Interesting enough, this is the first time the Bruins have ever played in Kyle Field. What can we expect from the Bruins, a decent, well coached teams that can play anyone tough. They have three key players that we need to watch out for.
WR Ishmael Adams is one of the players the Aggies will need to keep an eye on as a long-ball threat. A converted cornerback, Adams fills in a gap at wide receiver that will make the passing game something worth worrying about.
DL Eddie Vanderdoes returns this season after a season-ending knee injury knocked him out of all but one game last year. Many scouts are already rating Vanderdoes as a top round pick, and this game will allow Vanderdoes to show off his potential on a nationally-televised game playing against a team from the top conference in the country.
The Aggies will have the home field advantage, a thunderous crowd to remind the Pac 12 what a real football crowd can do for a team, and a receiving corps that is considered by many analysts as the best in college football this season. While this game won’t be pretty or a runaway, look for a game that is actually more representative of the SEC, a game won on the line of scrimmage. Expect some big plays, but the war will be won in the trenches. And when you return Daeshon Hall and Myles Garrett, you should get a few points in your favor, and with that the win.
UCLA 19
Aggies 23
And if if you’re thinking that I forgot about uber-dufus QB Josh Rosen, and the fact that he doesn’t understand how large crowds in closed stadiums affects play calling, all I have to say about him is this…
