Football Finally Returns to Kyle Field, Hosts No. 15 Ole Miss

Saturday, October 29

Bryan-College Station

6:30 PM

Texas A&M

Ole Miss

Photo by: Craig Bisacre/Texas A&M Athletics

Oct 28, 2022 | Football

By: Athletics Communications

Texas A&M is back at Kyle Field for the first time in six weeks on Saturday night when the Aggies host No. 15 Ole Miss in the SEC home opener (6:30 p.m., SEC Network).

GAME 8: TEXAS A&M (3-4, 1-3) vs #15 OLE MISS (7-1, 3-1)

Saturday, October 29 • 7:39 p.m. (ET)/6:39 p.m. (CT)
Kyle Field (102,733)
TV: SEC Network (Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers, Cole Cubelic)
Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network, SiriusXM 191 (Andrew Monaco, Dave Elmendorf, Will Johnson)
Watch Live: Click Here
Live Audio: 12th Man Mobile app
Live Stats: Click Here
Weather: low 60s, clear, wind NW 10

GAME NOTES (PDF)

GAMEDAY CENTRAL

COLLEGE STATION, TX - September 10, 2022 - Deep snapper Connor Able #49 of the Texas A&M Aggies during the game between the Appalachian State Mountaineers and the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field in College Station, TX. Photo By Brendall O'Banon/Texas A&M Athletics

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Texas A&M returns home for the first time in six weeks to face its fourth AP top-15 opponent of the season in Ole Miss ... The Aggies lead the all-time series 9-4 and have taken three of the last four meetings with the Rebels.
Junior RB Devon Achane ranks third in the SEC averaging 89.6 rushing yards per game and sits in fourth with 627 total yards on the ground ... He is the only Power 5 player to score as a rusher, receiver and kickoff returner this season.
Achane ranks fifth in the country and leads the way in the SEC averaging 156.1 all-purpose yards per game ... His 1,093 total yards on the season rank him eighth nationally.
Freshman WR Evan Stewart ranks sixth overall in the SEC and leads all league freshmen averaging 65.0 receiving yards on the season ... His 390 receiving yards so far this season are good for second among conference freshmen.
The A&M defense boasts the No. 12 passing defense (174.4 y/g) and No. 25 scoring defense (20.4 ppg) in the country, also limiting its opponents to just 5.9 yards per pass, which is good for ninth nationally.
The Aggies have forced 10 fumbles on the season, which ties them for sixth in the country ... A&M’s nine fumble recoveries are the fourth-most in the nation.
Sophomore DL Fadil Diggs has broken out for the Aggies, tallying 4.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks and three forced fumbles through A&M’s last two outings, setting new career highs in all three categories ... Diggs’ three forced fumbles tie him for second nationally and put him atop the SEC in the category.

QUICK HITS

The Aggies have forced at least one fumble in every game this season and have recovered the ball 75-percent of the time it has been fumbled ... Against Alabama the Aggies knocked the ball loose three times, marking their highest total in the category since forcing three against UCLA to start the 2017 season.
Senior DB Demani Richardson has put his veteran leadership and versatility on display this season, leading the team with 38 career starts ... He registered the third double-digit tackles game of his career when he led the Aggies with 12 takedowns at Alabama and ranks 16th in the country with two forced fumbles.
Sophomore DB Jardin Gilbert has been a key contributor on the Aggie defense in his first year as a starter ... After making multiple tackles in a game just three times last season, Gilbert has tallied at least five takedowns in all seven games this season, helping lead the way at South Carolina with six tackles.
A&M is sixth in the SEC with 28 pass breakups on the year ... Sophomore DB Tyreek Chappell ranks 10th in the league with five breakups on the season.
Junior RB/RS Devon Achane holds the No. 6 spot nationally and is second in the league with 28.4 yards per kickoff return ... As a team, the Aggies rank seventh in the country with a 25.7 yards-per-return average.
Quick starts have been a harbinger of Aggie victories in the Jimbo Fisher era ... The Aggies are 28-4 when scoring first and a perfect 26-0 when leading after the first quarter.

MILESTONE WATCH

Junior RB Devon Achane is 99 rushing yards away from reaching the 2,000 mark for his career and is 174 yards away from moving into the top 20 on A&M’s all-time career list, chasing Tra Carson’s (2013-15) mark of 2,075, racking up 1,901 to-date.
Achane is currently climbing A&M’s career all-purpose yards list and sits in 18th with 3,026 yards.

ACHANE IS OFF THE CHAIN

Junior RB Devon Achane leads the Aggies in his first season as the premier back after flexing his speed and versatility last year.
It took Achane just three games this season to show off his versatility and reach the end zone as rusher, receiver and returner, totaling a team-best six touchdowns so far this year ... He is the only player in the Power 5 that has reached the end zone as a rusher, recieiver and kickoff returner.
Achane made it back-to-back games with 100-plus yards on the ground for the second time in his career after tallying 111 on 16 carries at Mississippi State to register his seventh career 100-yard game.
Achane racked up a career-high 156 yards on the ground, in the win over Arkansas to register his first 100-yard game of the 2022 season.
Against App State, Achane’s two trips to the end zone marked the seventh multi-TD game of his career, when he scored on a 26-yard rush to put the Aggies on the board and later added the second special teams touchdown of his career.
Achane ranks fifth in the country averaging 156.1 all-purpose yards per game, while his 1,093 total yards on the season are good for eighth nationally.
Achane is quickly climbing A&M’s career all-purpose yards list, currently sitting in 18th with 3.026 career yards ... Against Mississippi State he registered A&M’s first 200 AP yard game since the 2019 season, finishing with 208 (111 rush, 21 rec., 76 KOR)
With his 95-yard kickoff return against App State, Achane became the fourth Aggie with multiple kickoff return TDs of 95-or-more yards, joining Leeland McElroy (100 vs. Southern Miss, 1994 and 100 vs. Texas, 1994), Carl Roaches (100 vs. Boston College, 1973 and 97 at LSU, 1972) and Cyrus Gray (99 at Colorado, 2009 and 98 vs. Oklahoma, 2008).
Despite a slow start in 2022, Achane still averages an impressive 6.6 yards per carry for his career (1,901 yards on 290 carries in 27 games) ... Among Aggies with more than 1,400 career yards, Achane is one of three that averaged 6.0-or-more yards per carry -- Johnny Manziel (6.3) and Trayveon Williams (6.0).
The talented back also runs track for the Aggies, receiving NCAA All-America selections in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay ... In April of this year, Achane clocked the sixth-fastest time in A&M history in the 200m (20.20) and posted a time of 10.14 in the 100m at the 2022 Texas Relays.

MOOSE STEPS UP

With the Aggies looking for a spark at wide receiver after the loss of senior leader Ainias Smith to injury, sophomore WR Moose Muhammad III was up to the task in his second career start vs. Mississippi State ... Muhammad led the Aggies with 119 receiving yards on six receptions, both career bests, and he also grabbed his first TD catch of the 2022 season.
The young receiver put A&M on the board at Alabama with a 5-yard touchdown grab in the second quarter ... He finished the game with six catches for 64 yards.
Muhammad also stepped in Smith’s role at punt returner against MSU, with 22 yards on a pair of returns, including a 20-yarder.
He is the son of longtime NFL wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad II, who enjoyed a 14-year professional career with the Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears from 1996-2009. He was a two-time Pro Bowler and earned first-team AP All-Pro honors in 2004 when he led the NFL with 1,405 yards and 16 receiving TDs on 93 catches.

KING RETURNS AS QB

Sophomore QB Haynes King returned to the field for the Aggies in the 2022 season opener against Sam Houston ... King previously earned the starting job in 2021, but suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the first quarter of the Colorado game, A&M’s second game of the season.
King had one of his most impressive performances in the nail-biter in Tuscaloosa, throwing for 253 yards on 25-for-46 passing, including a pair of scoring strikes.
King showed Aggieland why he was able to regain his starting job, going 20-for-31 on 364 yards passing and three touchdowns in the lopsided win over the Bearkats.
The two 60-plus yard touchdown passes by King marked the first time an Aggie QB has sent multiple scoring passes over 60 yards to the end zone since Oct. 15, 2011, when Ryan Tannehill tossed a pair of 68-yard passes to Ryan Swope against Baylor.
Despite his limited time on the field, King is set to graduate in December 2022 with a degree in management.

SEASONED SECONDARY

A&M boasts a seasoned secondary that returns five Aggies that have tallied double-digit career starts, as Demani Richardson (38), Jaylon Jones (27), Antonio Johnson (19) and Tyreek Chappell (14) have combined for 98 starts.
The A&M defense ranks 25th nationally in scoring defense, allowing 20.4 points per game and is allowing just 5.9 yards per pass, good for ninth in the country and second in the SEC ... The Aggies’ 10 forced fumbles on the season are also good for sixth in the nation.
Richardson and Chappell teamed up against Arkansas for the Aggies’ first defensive touchdown of the season after Chappell scooped up a loose fumble and later handed it off to Richardson, who took it 82 yards to the house.
Against Miami, A&M’s top five tacklers were all defensive backs, tallying six-or-more takedowns in the victory, while also adding 1.0 TFL and five breakups.
The Aggies did not allow a touchdown in the win over then-No. 13 Miami, keeping an AP top 15 team out of the end zone for the second straight season after topping then-No. 12 Auburn 20-3 last year.
In the season opener against Sam Houston, two of A&M’s leaders in tackles were from the secondary with Richardson also sending the opposing running back 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage and sophomore DB Jardin Gilbert adding the first interception of his career and returning the ball 13 yards in the second quarter.
The Aggies picked up right where they left off last season, shutting out Sam Houston and limiting the Bearkats to just 198 yards of offense, including 91 yards through the air, which marked the sixth game under Coach Fisher that A&M has held its opponent to less than 100 passing yards in a game.
A&M was one of the best in the nation at limiting opponents last season, finishing the year second in the country in points allowed (191) and third in scoring defense (15.9) ... A&M led the SEC in yards allowed (3,930) and pass yards allowed (2,312).

AJ, RICHARDSON LEAD DEFENSE

Senior DB Demani Richardson and junior DB Antonio Johnson have taken on the role of veteran leaders on the defense this season.
Richardson is in his fourth year as a starter at safety, leading all Aggies with 38 career starts, and has ranked among the top three on the team in tackles in two of his first three seasons ... He is tied for 16th nationally and third in the SEC with two forced fumbles on the year.
Richardson helped turn the game around for the Aggies against Arkansas, successfully grabbing the handoff from a wrapped up Tyreek Chappell on a fumble return that was picked up on the 2-yard line and taking it 82 yards to the end zone to put A&M within one after trailing early.
Johnson cemented himself as one of the league’s top tacklers last season and has remained the same this year, currently leading the Aggies with 48 total takedowns so far this year ... For his impressive play this year, Johnson was named a Paycom Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist.
Johnson registered the fourth double-digit tackle game of his career and second of the season against Arkansas, tallying 13 takedowns to lead the way for the Aggies.
Johnson tallied 79 tackles in 2021, which was the second most on the team ... He led the Aggies and was tied for 11th in the SEC with 53 solo takedowns.