Tennessee vs Texas A&M Preview
Tennessee tackles its biggest challenge yet when they face off against the Texas A&M Aggies in College Station this Saturday.
The ninth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers travel to College Station this weekend to battle the No. 8 Texas A&M Aggies in a midseason battle between undefeated teams that could have postseason implications.
Depending on how the rest of the season plays out for both teams, a win over a top-ten opponent will do a lot in deciding who wins the SEC.
College GameDay will be in College Station this week. This will be the third Tennessee game that GameDay has been to this season. So far, the Vols are 2-0 with wins over Virginia Tech and Florida, while host Lee Corso is 1-1 picking the games.
The Vols and Aggies are both perfect on the year so far at 5-0, but Tennessee’s road to the top of the SEC standings has been much rockier than Texas A&M’s. It took the Vols a fumble recovery in the end zone in overtime to get past Appalachian State, as well as a Hail Mary to escape Athens with a win over Georgia. In four of the first five games, Tennessee has faced a double-digit deficit.
Texas A&M has looked very solid so far this year. Oklahoma transfer Trevor Knight has been unstoppable at times, and the Aggies have one of the best receiving corps in the entire nation with Christian Kirk, Josh Reynolds, Ricky Seals-Jones and Speedy Noil. Along with running backs Trayveon Williams and Keith Ford, Texas A&M’s offense poses some very problematic matchups to a Vol defense that has been plagued with injuries.
Tennessee receiver Jauan Jennings has made some of the biggest plays of the season for the Vols. Against Florida in week four, Jennings roasted Jalen Tabor on a 67-yard touchdown reception. The very next week, Jennings hauled in the game-winning 43-yard touchdown as time expired against the Bulldogs. If Tennessee wants to hang with Texas A&M, Jennings and fellow wide receiver Josh Malone must have an impact from the start.
One position to watch throughout this game will be the defensive ends for both teams. Arguably the two best defensive ends in the SEC will be playing on the same field. Derek Barnett for the Vols already has four sacks on the season, while Myles Garrett for the Aggies has three. The likely first-round NFL prospects will likely terrorize the opposing quarterback all afternoon long.
The key to winning this game lies in the defense of both teams. If Tennessee actually plays up to its potential in the first half, Texas A&M’s defense must execute at a high level if they plan on stopping a Vol offense that is averaging 33 points per game, with the majority of their scoring output coming in the second half. On the flip side, Tennessee needs players such as Colton Jumper, Cortez McDowell and Baylen Buchanan to fill some pretty large shoes if they want to slow down an explosive Aggie offense that’s averaging more than 39 points per game.
Prediction
The Vols will start slow once again, but the defense keeps the game within ten points at halftime. In the second half, Tennessee closes the gap, but Knight takes over the game and delivers a 38-24 win for the Aggies.
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
Edited by David Bradford
Featured image by Sumner Gilliam, courtesy of WUTK Sports
Matt is a sophomore journalism and electronic media major at the University of Tennessee. He enjoys watching any and all sports, and is an active member in the Pride of the Southland Marching Band. Follow him on twitter @mattraymond271
