Missouri’s next three SEC games are against Kentucky, South Carolina and Vanderbilt. Texas A&M has split its last four meetings against top-ranked opponents. The Tide faithful will want to catch College GameDay Saturday because, as ESPN MediaZone’s Rachel Margolis Siegal noted, Corso is only 3-3 over the last six times he has donned Alabama headgear.
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He’s averaged 5.06 yards after contact per attempt and ranks eighth nationally in elusive rating with 27 forced missed tackles on just 95 total touches. His five touchdowns is second on the team only to quarterback Trevor Knight (18). Also not good news, the fact that the Tide lead the nation in rush defense, which is where the Aggies offense excels. He’s throwing for 198 yards per game with nine touchdowns and just three interceptions. “That’s just the type of leader he is, and his mentality, his never-quit mentality, the way that he influences – it’s not even just the offense, it’s the whole team”.
That’s not the only reason Texas A&M could be in position to pull off an upset. In the days leading up to this week’s game, I thought a lot about the vibe around that 2013 Bama game. The Crimson Tide brings a ideal 7-0 record into this game with wins over USC, Western Kentucky, Ole Miss, Kent State, Kentucky, Arkansas and Tennessee. The top running back for the Crimson Tide is Damien Harris. But expect both fellow sophomore Damien Harris and freshman Josh Jacobs to also play major roles as the trio have combined on almost 1,200 rushing yards and nine touchdowns so far this season. The Texas A&M Aggies have beaten five ranked teams since last season. Now the Tigers can climb all the way back as high as #2 in the nation should they run the table. From an A&M standpoint, the timing of a Saturday triumph would offer delicious irony because it would occur during the same week as Monday’s bungled expansion fiasco by the Big 12, the league A&M fled in search of a more stable environment after the 2011-12 school year.
While opposing teams have only been able to take down the Tide just over ten percent of the time during that span, the Aggies are one of them, and their current quarterback Trevor Knight is another. If this is a close game, I’ll take Kentucky’s kicking game over Mississippi State’s.
The zone-read has been the biggest source of production for Knight and the Aggies in the run game. We all have a bad game.
Utah knows all about issues with the running game.
Both teams come into this game fairly healthy.
While it might have been tongue-in-cheek, it’s true: Knight is 17-4 in his career in games he starts.
Utah is now sitting atop the Pac-12 South with conference surprise Colorado.
In Alabama’s last 11 games against teams with winning records, the Crimson Tide are 11-0 SU and 9-2 ATS per the OddsShark College Football Database. So now the Wolfpack hits the road to face No. 7 Louisville and Heisman contender Lamar Jackson. Oh, and making field goals would be nice, too.
Needless to say this is a huge weekend in the race for the SEC West, as the victor of the Alabama-Texas A&M game will still control their own destiny.
His teammates rave about Knight’s leadership and composure as he’s led A&M to a 6-0 record that includes a pair of overtime wins over UCLA and Tennessee.
Meanwhile, Bielema’s quarterback, Austin Allen, has established himself as one of the most unsafe passers in the SEC, if not the nation.
Meanwhile, No. 10 Wisconsin will look to bounce back from a brutal loss to Ohio State with a win over Iowa.
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The last battle of ranked foes of the evening is No. 23 Ole Miss at No. 25 LSU, kicking off at a startlingly late 8 p.m. (CT). Ole Miss runs the risk of falling to 3-4 with another loss, which would sting after losing a 34-30 barnburner to Arkansas the week prior.
