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First look at UK's 2018 schedule: Texas A&M

Texas A&M is an unfamiliar opponent for Kentucky football, at least compared to every other SEC program.

Kentucky hasn't played a football game in College Station since 1952. Adding further intrigue to the Wildcats' 2018 trip to A&M will be the presence of first-year Aggie coach Jimbo Fisher on the opposite sideline.

Opponent Previews: Central Michigan | Florida | Murray State | Mississippi State

South Carolina

Landis Durham (USA TODAY Sports)
Landis Durham (USA TODAY Sports)

Kentucky at Texas A&M, October 6th, 2018

2017 Overview: Last season marked the end of the Kevin Sumlin era and, thus, the beginning of the Jimbo Fisher regime in Aggieland. A&M often had exciting offenses under Sumlin and 2017 was no exception, with the Aggies averaging nearly 33 points per game. The big problem for last season's team was the defensive regression. Texas A&M allowed a porous 30.7 points per game, up from 24.5 in 2016 and 22 in 2015.

Opposing quarterbacks threw 28 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions against A&M's secondary. In the Aggies' last two games, losses to LSU (45-21) and Wake Forest (55-52), Texas A&M allowed 751 yards and seven touchdowns with no picks. In A&M's six losses the defense allowed 16 touchdowns against one interception.

Much the same as Kentucky, Texas A&M started the season fantastic defending the run with three straight opponents (and four of the first five) rushing for less than 100 yards. But later in the year with so many young players and a tougher schedule, seven of eight opponents topped the 200 yard mark.

On offense, freshman quarterbacks Nick Starkel and Kellen Mond combined to throw 22 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, but the Aggies rushed for about 700 fewer yards than they did in 2016. The quarterback play was not up to par overall, however. The offensive line struggled as well.

Had you told Aggie fans or really anyone who follows SEC football closely before the season that Sumlin would be gone after 2018, nobody would have blinked. He wasn't an abject failure. Not at all. He just couldn't get over an eight-win hump following Johnny Manziel's and his "make or break" year happened to be one that everyone knew would be more of a rebuilding effort. Sumlin created some of the expectations. It didn't help his cause that A&M routinely flashed the potential for a major breakthrough in the West, only to regress and disappoint.

By the end of the season Texas A&M was starting seven freshmen, four on offense and three on defense, and with one of those at quarterback that tells you something about how difficult it was for the Aggies in the nation's premier division.

If you just look at A&M's stats on the surface you might wonder what the problem really was. If you dig deeper, it becomes more apparent. When A&M had a close lead (by 1-7 points), they were only able to rush for 2.28 yards per carry. In other words, this is not a team that could exert its will against opponents. They also failed to rush for more than 120 yards in seven of their final eight games.

Offseason Questions and Storylines: Texas A&M threw the bank at Jimbo Fisher, redefining blockbuster hire with a 7-year, $75 million package that pried a national championship-winning coach away from Florida State, one of the nation's premier programs. It got ugly for Fisher towards the end of the season at Florida State, in part because it was a disappointing season but also because of how he seemed to let uncertainty hang over the program as it became apparent that he wouldn't be returning.

Was Fisher worth $75 million? That kind of money is easier to find at A&M, with its vast cash reservoirs and football-obsessed fan base. It's tough to doubt the wisdom of hiring someone with as successful a history as Fisher. The more immediate question is how quickly he might be able to turn around a program with some young talent but plenty of questions.

Plenty of players return but with the quarterback position needing to improve the big question is how the Aggies will replace Christian Kirk (71 catches, 919 yards, 10 touchdowns), an excellent go-to receiver who could be counted on to produce at a high level. Damion Ratley, the Aggies' second leading receiver and a big-time big-play threat is also gone.

On defense the biggest departure is Armani Watts, the team's second leading tackler who also had four picks from his safety position.

Those are tough losses, but A&M doesn't lose much else. How quickly Fisher can fix the quarterback position and improve the defense will be the big things to watch.

Previewing A&M's 2018: While Texas A&M's defense turned in a stinker of a performance in a loss to Wake Forest in the Belk Bowl, quarterback Nick Starkel passed for 499 yards and four touchdowns in a showing that should give rise to some optimism over what he's capable of.

The receivers will be young, but Jhamon Ausbon (50 catches, 571 yards, 3 TD's), Camron Buckley (17 catches, 282 yards, 3 TD's), Roshauud Paul and Kendrick Rogers all showed they could form a potent receiving corps down the road.

Running back Trayveon Williams saw his production dip a bit from 2016, but over his first two seasons at the college level he has rushed for nearly 2,000 yards with 16 touchdowns.

The offense has to become more than a big play machine. S&P ratings show Texas A&M was one of the SEC's better teams at producing chunk yardage plays and blowing the top off a defense, but they ranked 107th in efficiency. That's not too surprising when you consider the offensive line struggled and there was a major youth movement in place at key spots.

The defense should be able to rely on rising senior defensive lineman Landis Durham (10.5 sacks) to provide a pass rush, and A&M has often been able to get after the quarterback in recent years. Eighteen of the Aggies' top 20 tacklers return and it will be a much more experienced unit.

A&M has a brutal first month of the season with a September 8th home game against Clemson - Fisher won't avoid Dabo Swinney this year - and then a trip to Tuscaloosa to meet the Crimson Tide two weeks later.

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