Two things can be true: 1. Texas A&M defeated Miami because they scored more points than the ‘Canes. 2. The Aggie offense is still showing an almost complete inability to score points.
With the exception of the Aggies’ week one victory against FCS opponent Sam Houston State where they generated 497 yards of total offense (in which they still struggled for a half), they have only managed 444 yards of total offense combined against Appalachian State and Miami respectively.
For context, Ohio State, which leads the NCAA in total offense, is averaging 565.3 yards per game so far this season. 15 years ago you could say that’s an unfair comparison because back then the Buckeyes had far superior talent. That’s not the case in 2022.
According to 247Sports Composite rankings, ten of Ohio State’s 11 starters on offense were either rated four or five stars coming out of high school. On the other end, eight of the Aggies’ 11 offensive starters were four or five star recruits coming out of high school. It should be noted however that the Buckeyes have five offensive starters who were rated five stars compared to the Aggies’ one.
A few more five stars definitely make a huge difference, but is it enough to separate two teams that have been recruiting on the same wave length the past few years? In short, it’s not.
The Aggies currently have the 110th ranked offense in the NCAA (imagine how bad that’d be without Sam Houston State). The same Appalachian State team that defeated them two Saturdays ago is ranked 37th. How many blue chip recruits do you think they have on their roster?
It’s not hard to score points in today’s college football landscape. Take a look at the other teams ranked ahead of the Aggies in total offense if you still need convincing on how easy it is. So why is it so hard to generate for a team with more talent across the board than most teams in the country and a supposed “quarterback guru” at head coach to score points?
Let’s take a look at what the Aggies offense has looked like so far this season.
The Texas A&M Passing Game
The quarterback situation for Texas A&M has been less than reliable. To recap, head coach Jimbo Fisher opted to go with Haynes King to start the season and from the opening kick things looked shaky. Although he threw for 364 yards and three touchdowns against the Bearkats (that’s not a typo), he was wildly inconsistent which led to two interceptions.
But it was understandable. You could chalk it up to week one jitters where many teams looked shaky. The Aggies’ would definitely turn it around against an Appalachian State team that gave up 63 points and 352 yards through the air the week before to North Carolina, right?
In the Aggies’ 17-14 loss against the Mountaineers, King was 13/20 for 96 yards and no touchdowns. Okay, maybe they just needed a quarterback change. Someone to light a spark with the team.
Fisher opted to go with LSU transfer Max Johnson in the Aggies’ win against Miami last week. Johnson seemed to give the offense a pulse, but it still looked to be breathing with a ventilator.
Johnson had some good throws but there were just as many times where he airmailed passes to wide open receivers. Even more troubling were the volleyball spikes that landed at the receiver’s feet in short yardage situations.
So what’s the issue? Is it entirely a quarterback problem? Are receivers not getting open? Is the offensive line not holding up in pass protection? It seems to be a little bit of everything.
Wide reciever Ainias Smith has been the Aggies’ most explosive threat on offense and played a large part in Texas A&M’s win against Miami with 74 yards on four receptions. He’s been about the only receiver to consistently show up so far this season totaling 259 yards on 14 receptions, but what will the Aggies do if he gets taken away?
Evan Stewart, the one five star on the Aggie offense mentioned before, is the second leading receiver on the team with 105 yards on 10 receptions. The only other consistent target has been running back Devon Achane.
In Johnson’s first start he completed passes to just four different targets and only two of them are considered wide receivers. If the Aggies hope to live up to anywhere near their lofty preseason expectations, Johnson will need to spread the wealth and more importantly, have more receivers step up.
The offensive line has been average in pass protection giving up five sacks although some of them have been coverage related. The pass rushes they face are only going to get more intense with matchups against Arkansas, Mississippi State, and Alabama who have terrific pass rushes.
If there was ever a time for the Aggies to get their passing game back on track it will be this weekend against Arkansas. Out of 131 teams, the Razorback pass defense is ranked 131st among all FBS teams and are giving up 353 yards per game. The Hogs have been decimated by injuries in the secondary and are expecting to get safety Myles Slusher back this week. However, preseason All-American safety Jalen Catalon is out for the year and cornerback LaDarrius Bishop is still questionable. Expect to see the Aggies take a lot of shots in hopes to get the offense off the ventilator.
The Texas A&M Rushing Attack
Following a 2021 season in which Texas A&M running back Devon Achane rushed for 910 yards and nine touchdowns, many felt good about the shape of the Aggies’ rushing attack going into this year. With Achane and an experienced offensive line with a combined 31 starts returning you would expect a lot of the same this season.
This has turned out not to be the case, as the Aggies’ rushing attack has been largely bottled up with the 112th best rushing attack in the FBS averaging 105.7 rushing yards per game. Achane has been held to just 196 yards and 4.8 yards per carry so far this season. A far cry from his 7.0 yards per carry average from last season.
The offensive line has also struggled to get consistent push at the line of scrimmage and this was most prevalent in the Aggies’ loss to Appalachian State where they were dominated and held to just 83 rushing yards.
Thankfully for Texas A&M, the rushing attack did show life this past weekend against Miami. Achane rushed for 88 yards on 18 carries and Johnson even chipped in 23 yards off the read option and scrambles. Overall, the Aggies combined for 124 team rushing yards which was a massive improvement from the week before.
As mentioned in the “passing game” section, Texas A&M has a brutal stretch coming up and if the rushing attack can’t provide a spark like they did against Miami, SEC defensive coordinators are going to force the Aggies to beat them through the air. Johnson has only had one start so he has time, but so far he has not proven he can do that for four quarters.
The offensive line and the rushing attack will be put to this ultimate test this weekend against an Arkansas team with the 7th ranked rush defense in the country. The Razorbacks are only giving up 68.3 yards per game on the ground and are led by their big linebackers Bumper Pool and Drew Sanders who have made a living in opposing backfields all season long.
Arkansas’ secondary hasn’t been great this year but if Texas A&M is unable to run the ball then the Razorbacks can afford to drop more into coverage to help out. The passing attack and the quarterback situation has been the main talking point, but if the Aggies’ are unable to run the ball they are going to have a hard time escaping AT&T Stadium with a win.