Game Day Preview: South Carolina

Saturday, October 31

College Station

11:00 AM

Texas A&M

South Carolina

Tickets

Oct 30, 2015 | Football

The Matchup:	South Carolina (3-4, 1-4) at (RV/RV) Texas A&M (5-2, 2-2)
Kickoff:	Saturday, Oct. 24 - 6 p.m.
Venue:	Kyle Field (102,733)
Watch:	SEC Network (Tom Hart, Andre Ware, Laura Rutledge) \| WatchESPN
Listen:	Texas A&M Sports Network (Dave South, Dave Elmendorf, Will Johnson) \| 12thMan.com - TuneIn - Sirius 83/XM 190
	Texas A&M Spanish Network (Pedro Vela, Noel Orellana) \| 12thMan.com
Live Stats:	Click Here
Game Notes:	T exas A&M \| South Carolina \| SEC

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: #SCvsTAMU

A Texas A&M victory would make the Aggies bowl-eligible for a sixth-straight season. Texas A&M has made 36 bowl trips in program history and have a FBS-best four bowl wins in the last four seasons.
For Saturday's matchup with South Carolina, the Aggies will wear special all-black uniform designed by adidas, in collaboration with Texas A&M Athletics. A&M has won an all-black uniform ensemble once previously in the Kevin Sumlin era -- 2012 vs. Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss. (W, 38-13).
Research indicates that it's the first time Texas A&M will wear black at a home football game. In regard to wearing a color other than maroon at home, the Aggies won red jerseys changing to maroon in the 1920s.
Junior WR Josh Reynolds' next receiving TD will put him in a tie for No. 5 on A&M career receiving TDs list with Mike Evans.
Senior PK Taylor Bertolet needs four points to become the ninth kicker/16th player in school history to score 200 career points. He needs two FGs to become 10th player with 30 for his career.
WR Christian Kirk needs 45 receiving yards to break Uzoma Nwachukwu's true freshman receiving yards record (670 in 2009).
Sophomore DE Myles Garrett needs 1.5 QB sacks (has 20 in 19 games) to move into A&M's career top 10.
Sophomore QB Kyle Allen needs 53 passing yards to reach 3,000 in his 16th career game. He would become the 16th passer in A&M history to reach 3,000.

DIPLOMA CHASERS

By the end of the 2015 season, there will likely be more than a dozen graduates on the Texas A&M football roster.

Five Aggies enter the fall semester with their degrees already in hand: TE Brandon Alexander, PK Taylor Bertolet, OG Joseph Cheek, P Drew Kaser and TE Caden Smith.
Expected to receive their diplomas at Texas A&M's fall commencement include: DB Devonta Burns, RB Tra Carson, DL Isaac Flores, OL Ryan Lindblade, C Mike Matthews, 12th Man Sam Moeller, OL Jeremiah Stuckey, RB Blaine Townsend, QB Jordan Traylor and RB/CB Brandon Williams.

DEFENSIVE RESURGENCE

The Texas A&M defense has take a huge step forward under the direction of first-year defensive coordinator John Chavis.

Comparing 2015 to 2014
Stat Category              2015 (FBS RK) 2014 (FBS RK)
TOs Forced                                     13 (42)               13 (122)
Sacks/game                                   3.0 (15)                2.7 (27)
3rd D % Against                         30.8% (16)            40.0% (67)
TFL                                                  66 (7)                 76 (60)
Opp 1st D                                       21 (76)            23.2 (106)
Yds/Game Allowed                    391.6 (65)          450.8 (104)
Opp Red Zone % (Scores)            78.6% (37)            86.1% (94)
Opp TD in RZ                            39.3% (10)            53.5% (27)
PBU/game                                   5.43 (24)              3.77 (92)
Int/game                                     0.86 (68)            0.38 (121)
Fumble Recoveries                           7 (17)                   8 (79)

Other notables:

Aggies have already equaled the takeaway total from last season (13 in 13 games vs. 13 in 7 games)
Surpassed interceptions from last season (5 in 13 games vs. 6 in 7 games)
Just 10 TFLs short of equaling last season's total (76 in 13 games vs. 66 in 7 games)

Trends and Notables

Team:

Texas A&M has been a quick starting team in 2015 with a 137-81 first half scoring advantage (19.6-11.6 average), including quarter advantages of 66-41 in the first quarter and 71-40 in the second stanza.
While the Aggies' top scoring quarters have easily been the first and second, opponents have scored between 40 and 44 points in all four quarters.
The Aggie defense ranks in the top 25 nationally in QB sacks (21.0), tackles for loss (66.0) and forced fumbles (11).
Texas A&M leads the SEC in home attendance with an average of 104,248 fans per game.
Players earning weekly honors after the Ole Miss were: DE Myles Garrett (Lott IMPACT nominee), P Drew Kasers (Ray Guy Award Player of the Week).
Twenty-two players weighing 300 or more pounds dot the Aggies' 2015 roster, which is the most in school history. Leading the way were junior OT Germain Ifedi and freshman DT Daylon Mack, who tipped the scales at 335 pounds.
After his first three seasons, Sumlin's 28 wins were a record for an Aggie head coach. The previous record was 27 victories by National Football Foundation Hall of Fame coach R.C. Slocum in 1989-91.
Changes to the Aggies' 2015 coaching staff include the additions of John Chavis (defensive coordinator/LB), Dave Christensen (run game coordinator/OL) and Aaron Moorehead (WR). 2014 LB coach Mark Hagen, who served as interim defenisive coordinator in the Liberty Bowl, shifted his coaching responsibility to DTs. Terry Price, who oversaw the entire DL from 2012-14, now focuses on the DEs.

Offense:

True freshman WR/RS Christian Kirk leads all SEC freshmen in touchdowns (6), receptions (5.9/G), receiving yards (89.3/G), punt return average (22.7), all-purpose yards (168.6/G).
Kirk is the overall NCAA FBS and SEC leader in punt return average (22.7).
With three 100-yard receiving games in 2015, Kirk has already matched the Texas A&M freshman record for season 100-yard games set originally by Uzoma Nwachukwu in 2009 and matched by Mike Evans in 2012.
Sophomore QB Kyle Allen has started at QB in the Aggies' last 12 games (8-4 record in those starts).
Allen became the ninth Aggie with 30 career passing touchdowns. He did it in his 15th career game (11 starts), which matched the fastest to 30 passing TDs pace set by Johnny Manziel (15 games/14th start). In fact, Allen and Manziel are the only QBs in school history to reach 30 in fewer than 20 games.
The Scottsdale, Ariz., connection between Allen and true freshman WR Christian Kirk provided the winning margin over ARK when Allen and Kirk hooked up on a 20-yard TD catch in the first overtime period. Members of the 2014 and 2015 signing classes, respectively, Allen went to Desert Mountain HS and Kirk attended Saguaro HS. Both were early enrollees at Texas A&M.
Allen has thrown at least one TD in six of seven games in 2015 and in 13-of-16 career games.
Allen's had a career-high four passing TDs once in 2015 and three times in his career.
Allen had a career-high 387 total yards against MSU with 322 passing yards and a career-high 65 yards on the ground.
Allen arguably had the most complete game of his career against Arkansas, establishing a then-career high in total offense (363 yards) and a career-high in passing yards (358), while completing 21-of-28 passes (75.0 percent) for two touchdowns with no interceptions.
Senior RB Tra Carson has emerged as the Aggies' workhorse running back since earning Offensive MVP honors in the 2014 Liberty Bowl vs. West Virginia. Including last year's bowl effort (25 rushes-133 yards), Carson has averaged 18.3 carries / 82.1 rushing yards in his last eight outings. The Aggies have posted a 6-2 record in those games.
Carson's top backup James White saw his first extended action last week vs. Ole Miss. White had nine carries for 31 yards against the Rebels. White had seen action in just two games prior to the MISS due to injuries and had only five carries in those games.
Also providing depth is senior Brandon Williams, who converted to cornerback during the summer but remains an option at RB.
Providing depth behind Carson are senior former walkon Brice Dolezal and freshman walkon Kwame Etwi. Dolezal was called the "human victory cigar" by Sumlin because he only saw action when the game was in hand prior to 2015. Etwi was an invited walkon after being named the District 16-6A Offensive MVP in 2014.
Junior WR Josh Reynolds, who set the season receiving TDs record with 13 last year, had 100-yard receiving games vs. ARK and MSU, including a career-best 141 on seven catches vs. the Bulldogs. It is the first time that Reynolds had reached 100 in consecutive games.
Reynolds hit the 1,000-yard plateau in career receiving yards vs. ARK. It was just his 17th career game (fourth fastest in school history).
Allen won the starting job out of August camp after a strong challenge from true freshman Kyler Murray, who arrived at Texas A&M in June with sparkling credentials, including a perfect 42-0 record as a starter at Allen High School (suburb of Dallas). He was also named the 2015 Gatorade Male Athlete of the Year. Kyler's father, Kevin Murray, was a record-setting passer for the Aggies and posted a 25-6-1 record as a starting QB from 1983-86.
The Aggies' WR corps returns five players that grabbed 29 or more catches in 2014, including three that grabbed more than 40 -- Josh Reynolds (52-842-13), Ricky Seals-Jones (49-465-4) and Speedy Noil (46-583-5).
The offensive front returns three of five starters from 2014 -- Mike Matthews (C), Joe Cheek.
Ifedi, as a redshirt junior, could have decided to jump to the NFL after the 2014 season but elected to come back for his junior year. Texas A&M has had an offensive tackle selected in the first round of the last three NFL Drafts (Luke Joeckel, Jake Matthews and Cedric Ogbuehi).
OL newcomer Avery Gennesy, a 2014 JC transfer that redshirted last year, is generally considered the Aggies' most athletic offensive lineman.

Defense:

Texas A&M has been stingy on defense in the fourth quarter against Power 5 teams. In five fourth quarters vs. Power 5s (vs. Arizona State, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Alabama and Ole Miss), the Aggie defense has allowed a total of 20 points and 369 total yards on 93 plays (3.9 per play). A&M has allowed a total of 186 rushing yards (3.1 yards per carry) and 183 passing yards (5.4 yards per pass attempt).
The Aggies' defensive front has claimed SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors three times in seven games (two by Myles Garrett, one by Daeshon Hall).
Sophomore DE Myles Garrett leads the SEC with 8.5 QB sacks and four forced fumbles. He also has 13.5 tackles for loss, a blocked punt and an interception on his 2015 resume.
Garrett was recently named a quarter-finalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy, and on the watch lists for the Hendricks Award (top DE), Rotary Lombardi Award (top lineman), Bronko Nagurski Trophy (outstanding defender) and the Bednarik Award (defensive POY).
The Aggies have spent a lot of time in opponents' backfields in 2015. Ranked No. 6 in the FBS with 66.0 tackles for loss, the Aggies have reached double digits in TFLs in three games this season -- vs. ASU (14), NEV (Sumlin-era high 16) and ALA (15).
Prior to 2015, the TFL game-high in the Sumlin era was 12 vs. Vanderbilt in 2013.
The A&M defense has forced a turnover in 12 straight games dating back to 2014, and have 13 takeaway in seven games in 2015. Last season the Aggies mustered just 10 takeaways in 13 games.
The Aggies are tied for second in turnover margin in SEC play only with a plus 0.50 average in four games (9 takeaways/7 turnovers).
A&M already has four pickoffs in four SEC games in 2015.
Sophomore FS Armani Watts posted a career-high 20 tackles vs. Ole Miss, making him the first Aggie to post 20 stops in a game since LB Dat Nguyen in the 1998 Cotton Bowl vs. UCLA. It was the second-most prolific tackle game by a DB in school history (Safety Larry Horton had a school record 24 tackles vs. Baylor in 1990).
Watts is tied for third in the SEC with 9.9 tackles/game, and he has four double-digit tackle games in 2015.
Junior SS Justin Evans, who transferred to A&M in 2015 from Gulf Coast CC in Mississippi, is the SEC's No. 2 tackler among newcomers with 46 tackles behind only Jake Ganus of Georgia, who transferred from UAB.
The physicality and play-making abilities of sophomore Armani Watts and Donovan Wilson and junior Justin Evans has been a huge boost for the defensive secondary and the trio rank as the top three tacklers on the team. While Watts was a known commodity as the secondary's top returning tackler, the development of Wilson (one start in 2014) and addition of JC transfer Justin Evans have been crucial. Watts leads the team in tackles with 69. Wilson is the team's No. 3 tackler with 44 stops and has filled his stat sheet with three pickoffs and three forced fumbles, along with two sacks, 6.0 TFLs and a fumble recovery. The hard-hitting Evans has 46 stops and two pass breakups.
After seven games, the position change for senior Brandon Williams from RB to CB has to be considered an unmitigated success. A rare combination of speed, size and long arms for a cornerback, Williams has contributed 24 tackles and leads the team with six pass breakups.
The athletic and competitive Williams was voted a team captain by his teammates. He started six games at RB last year and was a stalwart on the Aggies' kick coverage units.
While generally being locked up with the opponent's top receiver, senior CB De'Vante Harris has been stacking up solid performances in 2015. Easily the secondary's most experienced player with 32 career starts, Harris has five PBUs, a pick-six interception and has contributed 18 tackles.
The Aggies' top freshman tackler is DT Daylon Mack, who has contributed 19 tackles and six TFLs in the first seven games of his career. Mack leads the defensive tackle rotation in both statistical categories. Playing with great effort, Mack ran down a Ball State RB from behind after gain of 32 yards.
Texas A&M limits opps to 31.3 percent success rate on 3rd downs, which ranks No. 17 nationally. Last year, the Aggies allowed 40.0 percent.
Nevada schemed for the challenge of facing Garrett by having its scout team defensive ends line up offsides in practice to simulate Garrett's quickness, according to the SEC Network TV crew.
Despite the game-planning by Nevada and also having his wisdom teeth removed less than a week previously, Garrett matched his career high with 3.5 sacks against the Wolf Pack.
Virtually every time Chavis has spoken to the media since being hired, he has spoken confidently about his starting DEs Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall. He raised eyebrows in August when he called the ends two of the best in college football. "That's a pretty big statement, but I'm not afraid to make that statement," Chavis said.
The defensive front returns all four starters from 2014 -- Garrett, Obioha, DT Hardreck Walker and DT Alonzo Williams.
A three-year starter at DE, Obioha has bulked up to 280 pounds and moved inside to DT for his senior season. He missed the first two games of 2015 due to a fall camp appendectomy.
Injuries kept the Aggies' top four linebackers -- Otaro Alaka, Josh Walker, Shaan Washington and A.J. Hilliard -- from going through spring drills under Chavis.
Washington was the team's top returning tackler with 64 stops in 2014, despite missing three full games and not making any starts. He has started every game in 2015 and ranks No. 4 on the team with 37 tackles.
Expect starting LB Otaro Alaka has been lost for the season due to an injury, Sumlin announced on 10/20. The 2014 Liberty Bowl Defensive MVP played sparingly in three games before the announcement.
Hilliard started the 2014 season-opener vs. SC at LB, but was lost for the season due to injury early in the third quarter after a strong start. Healthy in 2015, he has started the last three games and contributed 24 stops.
The healthy return of Noel Ellis has given the Aggies more DB options. Ellis missed 2014 after being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. With the disorder managed in 2015, he has contributed 15 tackles and recovered a fumble.

Special Teams

Senior PK Taylor Bertolet has been a long-range scoring threat for the Aggies with three 50-yard plus field goals in 2015. Bertolet has connected from distances of 55 vs. Mississippi State (career long) and 54 and 52 vs. Alabama. For his career, Bertolet has six career boots of 50-yards or more.
Bertolet's three 50-yard FGs match Auburn's Daniel Carlson for the FBS lead, and his 55-yarder is fifth-longest in 2015.
True freshman RS Christian Kirk has been a game-breaker for the Aggies as a punt returner. Kirk leads the nation with a 22.7 average (on 12 returns) and is tied for the FBS lead with two touchdowns. He also has an NCAA-best three returns of 50 yards or more.
Kirk has matched the season school record for PR TDs originally set by Carl Roaches in 1972 and matched by Rod Harris (De'Vante Harris' father) in 1987, Kevin Smith in 1991 and Aaron Glenn in 1993. He is one shy of the career school record of three by Roaches (1972-74) and Dustin Harris (2009-12)
Senior P Drew Kaser was named Ray Guy Award Player of the Week after posting four "inside the 20" boots and a healthy 47.9 yards on a career-high 10 punts vs. MISS.
Kaser leads the SEC and is tied for the FBS lead with a 49.0 punt average. He is on pace to break his own school record of 47.4.. Texas A&M ranks No. 8 nationally with a 41.8 net punt average.
With an overall career punt average of 46.3 and a SEC-only career punt average of 46.3 (he had two punts in 2011), Kaser is on pace to break the Texas A&M record (44.7 by Shane Lechler, 1996-99) and the SEC record (45.6 by Rickey Anderson of Vanderbilt, 1983-84).
Sophomore DE Myles Garrett blocked a punt attempt vs. Alabama and now has punt and field goal block in his first 19 career games, in addition to 20.0 QB sacks.
True freshman LB Riley Garner, a product of A&M Consolidated HS in College Station, leads the team with eight special teams tackles. He was ejected for targeting in the second half of the Ole Miss game and will miss the first half of the SC game.
Bertolet has been successful on 35-of-39 placekicks in 2015 – 13-of-17 on field goal attempts and 22-of-22 on extra point tries.
Senior DB Sam Moeller made 33 consecutive 12th Man starts, which is a school record. The old record was 30 by Nick Lamantia from 2006-08.
Bertolet returned to the starter's role on field goals and extra points in 2015 after concentrating on kickoff duties the past two seasons. Bertolet was the Aggies' full-time PK as a freshman in 2012 and connected on 13-of-22 FGs and a whopping 67 PATs that season.