Texas A&M Aggies vs. Auburn Tigers Inside the Numbers Preview
Posted by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @RyanWrightRNG
A pivotal SEC West matchup is set to kickoff on Saturday in Jordan-Hare Stadium when the No. 5 Texas A&M Aggies (6-1) travels east to face the Auburn Tigers (5-3). With the Tigers 42-13 loss last week to bitter rival Alabama, Auburn is mathematically out of the equation for any claim to a divisional title. But A&M is technically still in the running with hopes of a College Football Playoff berth. The Aggies have to guard against an upset facing a challenging team, even if unranked.
From the look of A&M’s 20-7 home win against LSU last week, their minds were already in Alabama ready to face Auburn. The offense was anemic only scoring on a breakaway 52-yard Isaiah Spiller touchdown run with seconds to go in the first quarter. A&M’s other touchdown came on a Buddy Johnson 15-yard pick-six. LSU stymied an otherwise potent Aggies offense to just 267 yards of offense. Oddly enough, A&M’s defense held the visiting Tigers to the exact same amount of yards on offense.
The inevitable happened last week for Auburn suffering a defeat at the hands of the top team in the land. There were very little highlights for three quarters outside of Anders Carlson nailing a 47- and 45-yard field goal. With most of Alabama’s starters on the sidelines, Tigers’ quarterback Bo Nix scored the team’s lone touchdown on a 1-yard keeper with 4:39 remaining in the game. An optimist’s view, there were positives winning the time of possession (36:30) and converting 9 of 19 third down attempts, but two costly Nix interceptions and five Mac Jones touchdown passes were too much to overcome.
Since A&M joined the SEC in 2012, Auburn owns the series 5-3 winning the last three meetings, but the final two contests were decided by a total of 12 points.
No. 5 Texas A&M (6-1) vs. Auburn (5-3)
Kickoff: 12:00 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Spread: Texas A&M -6.5
Inside the Numbers Breakdown
TAMU Strength of Schedule: 44th
AU Strength of Schedule: 25th
Offensive Breakdown
TAMU Points Per Game: 31.43
AU Points Per Game: 26.63
TAMU Rushing Yards Per Game: 185.3
AU Rushing Yards Per Game: 164.1
TAMU Passing Yards Per Game 233.14
AU Passing Yards Per Game: 231.75
TAMU Total Offense: 418.4
AU Total Offense: 395.9
TAMU Third Down Conversion Percentage: 51-95 – 53.68%
AU Third Down Conversion Percentage: 60-119 – 50.42%
TAMU Red Zone Offense: 24-28 – 19 touchdowns
AU Red Zone Offense: 25-30 – 18 touchdowns
TAMU Key Offensive Players
QB Kellen Mond: 128-216, 1,573 yards, 16 TDs, 2 INTs; 139 rush yards, 1 TD
RB Isaiah Spiller: 131 carries 777 yards, 6 TDs
SB Ainias Smith: 34 carries, 187 yards, 2 TDs; 29 rec. 348 yards, 5 TDs
TE Jalen Wydermyer: 32 rec. for 342 yards, 4 TDs
WR Chase Lane: 24 rec. for 323 yards, 2 TDs
AU Key Offensive Players
QB Bo Nix: 159-260 passing, 1,854 yards, 10 TDs, 7 INTs; 283 rush yards, 4 TDs
RB Tank Bigsby: 103 carries, 566 yards, 5 TDs
WR Seth Williams: 36 rec. for 560 yards, 3 TDs
WR Anthony Schwartz: 46 rec. for 566 yards, 3 TDs
Defensive Breakdown
TAMU Total Defense: 328.0
AU Total Defense: 407.5
TAMU Points Allowed Per Game: 22.43
AU Points Allowed Per Game: 24.50
TAMU Passing Yards Allowed Per Game: 240.86
AU Passing Yards Allowed Per Game: 245.13
TAMU Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game: 87.1
AU Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game: 162.4
TAMU Defensive Third Down Conversion: 33-92 – 35.87%
AU Defensive Third Down Conversion: 64-119 – 53.78%
TAMU Red Zone Defense: 16-18 – 13 touchdowns
AU Red Zone Defense: 20-27 – 17 touchdowns
TAMU Key Defensive Players
LB Buddy Johnson: 66 tackles, 4 TFL, 2 sacks, 3 PBU, and 2 FF
LB Aaron Hansford: 38 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 2 sacks, and 1 PBU
DB Leon O’Neal Jr.: 34 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 sacks, and 3 PBU
AU Key Defensive Players
LB Zakoby McClain: team-high 77 tackles, 3 TFL, and 2 sacks
LB Owen Pappoe: 67 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 INT, 2 PBU, and 1 FR
LB Colby Wooden: 36 tackles, 8.5 TFL, and 3 sacks
DB Roger McCreary: 37 tackles, 7 TFL, 2 INT, 3 PBU, and 1 FF
Photo credit: ESPN.com; Isaiah Spiller vs. Florida (2020)