Victory over Gators vital to bowl hopes
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M is playing for a bowl game and for 2023, and the two are tied together. A bowl game to cap this season means extra practices and time together for a young squad, which can only be helpful springing into 2023.
The Aggies must win three of their final four regular-season games to qualify for a bowl. With that in mind, here’s a handful of things to keep an eye on with A&M favored over Florida, including a caveat:
1. Team ailing
The A&M campus has been hit by a wave of illness this week, and its contagiousness has impacted the football team. Exactly how many players are out will be determined before the 11 a.m. kickoff.
The Aggies have scholarship quarterback Eli Stowers, a class of 2021 signee who has rebounded nicely from an ailing shoulder that sidelined him much of last year, and walk-on Blake Bost ready to go at quarterback if starter Conner Weigman or backup Haynes King cannot take snaps.
“Home of the 12th Man” might never be more fitting than Saturday depending on how many players are out with sickness.
2. Slowing the run
Mississippi rushed for 390 yards last week in the Rebels’ 31-28 win at A&M, the most by an Aggies opponent since star running back Cedric Benson and Texas rushed for 393 in 2003.
Florida’s Anthony Richardson is a running quarterback capable of throwing a decent deep ball — a scary combination for the Aggies. The Gators rush for nearly 200 yards per game, or nearly what the Aggies allow at 206 ypg — the latter just 120th out of 131 FBS programs.
Expect the Gators to have plenty of patience in establishing the run, because previous A&M opponents have shown it can be done. Over and over again.
3. Five-star encore?
Weigman turned in an impressive performance in his first start for the Aggies, throwing for 338 yards (28 of 44) and four touchdowns with no interceptions against Mississippi. A&M coach Jimbo Fisher chose an up-tempo approach early, which seemed to fit Weigman just fine, before settling into his usual more methodical approach.
The question is whether fans will even be treated to a Weigman encore Saturday, based on the wave of illness circulating on campus and within the program. If not, his first road start likely will come at wobbling Auburn next week.
4. Players still suspended
Receiver Chris Marshall, defensive back Denver Harris, offensive lineman PJ Williams and defensive lineman Anthony Lucas, all freshmen, were suspended indefinitely before the Mississippi game, and Fisher said this week their collective status has not changed.
No official statement concerning the suspensions has been offered because they stemmed from an in-house incident that did not involve law enforcement, according to multiple insiders. It is unknown whether any of the four will return to the lineup this season.
5. A rare morning game
The Aggies have played three consecutive night games and only have one prior morning kickoff on their ledger this season: a 31-0 victory over Sam Houston in the opener.
The Aggies started slow against their FCS foe and led only 7-0 in the second quarter. A better start Saturday morning is imperative to A&M snapping a four-game losing streak, its longest since 2005 under thencoach Dennis Franchione.
The Aggies are trying to avoid losing five straight games for the first time since 1980, when they lost to Houston, Baylor, Rice, SMU and Arkansas under then-coach Tom Wilson.