SEC West Previews: Texas A&M

Dec 31, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Kevin Sumlin reacts from the sidelines in the third quarter against the Duke Blue Devils in the 2013 Chick-fil-A Bowl at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

The Aggies of Texas A&M have taken the SEC by storm in their two years since joining the conference. Their up tempo, high speed offense has put a lot of points on the board, and it has made them one of the most fun teams to watch in the entire country. In 2013, what they brought to the table on offense was often negated by a porous defense. The Aggies had three players from that offense taken in the first round of the NFL Draft. While the Aggies have talent to replace those players, losing that much talent in one year without much help from the defense should see the Aggies take a step back in 2014.

Schedule

• at South Carolina (Thursday, first game televised by the SEC Network)
• Lamar
• Rice
• at SMU
• vs. Arkansas (in Arlington, TX)
• at Mississippi State
• Ole Miss
• at Alabama
• Bye Week
• UL Monroe
• at Auburn
• Missouri
• Bye Week
• LSU

Playing the first game on the SEC Network will be interesting for the Aggies, but doing it at South Carolina won’t be the ideal way to start their year. How well the Aggies compete against Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Alabama in October will go a long way toward determining how the Aggies’ season turns out. They will probably be exhausted by the time they get to the Alabama game as they don’t have a bye until after that game. The one thing going for the Aggies in those three games is that they have Mississippi State after the Bulldogs play LSU and Ole Miss after they play Alabama. It could be let down games for both the Bulldogs and Rebels. If the Aggies can get two wins out of those three, Texas A&M could have a big year. If they lose two or all three, it will be an uphill climb to get to bowl eligibility.

Returning Starters

WR Malcolm Kennedy
LT Cedric Ogbuehi
LG Jarvis Harrison
C Mike Matthewes
RT Germain Ifedi

DE Julien Obioha
DE Gavin Stansbury
DT Alonzo Williams
CB De’Vante Harris
CB Deshazor Everett
SS Howard Matthews
*NG Isaiah Golden and LB Darian Claiborne were expected to start from last year’s team but both were dismissed from the team after being charged with aggravated robbery in May.

Returning Production

Passing
Kenny Hill 16-22 72.7 % Completion Percentage, 183 Yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs

Rushing
Trey Williams 58 Attempts, 407 Yards, 6 TDs

Receiving
Malcome Kennedy 60 Receptions, 658 Yards, 7 TDs

Offensive line – returns 89 career starts

Defense
Tackles (Howard Matthews, 90) Sacks (Gavin Stansbury and Shaan Washington, tied with 3) INTs (Howard Matthews, 3)