19 Both the Tennessee vs. Texas A&M Aggies had high hopes heading into the 2023 college football season. A cross-divisional matchup between the Volunteers and Aggies will be highlighted as the SEC on CBS Game of the Week this Saturday. To many, those expectations have not been reached as the season near mid-October.
Texas A&M has suffered a devastating setback, 26-20 to Alabama. The Aggies had a 17-10 lead at halftime, but they lost the game due to poor pass defense, a blocked field goal, and an inopportune interception. Despite the setback, Texas A&M was able to stop Alabama’s rushing game and make several big plays, so they should be able to give the Volunteers a push for their money despite their lack of experience.
The Vols won their home game against South Carolina by a score of 41-20, but it’s still too early to tell whether they have what it takes to build off of an 11-2 campaign in 2022. The team’s September schedule was marred by a 29-16 defeat to a mediocre Florida club on September 16. The win against an overmatched Gamecocks team on September 30 did not provide satisfying answers.
Since Tennessee visited Texas A&M to close up the 2020 regular season in front of only 22,645 at Neyland Stadium as college football dealt with the COVID-19 epidemic, this will be the first time the teams have played one other. This means that the Aggies will have a home-field advantage in the series for the first time ever on Saturday, when they travel to Tennessee.
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What You Need to Know About Tennessee vs. Texas A&M
Competitive sprinting: After allowing just 54 yards rushing on 18 carries to Alabama’s Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams, Texas A&M is tied for eighth in the country in yards allowed per rush at 2.61. Alabama’s running game was held to just 23 yards after the Aggies recorded six sacks on quarterback Jalen Milroe. Texas A&M played Arkansas with the same stinginess the week before, but this week they face a far tougher opponent. The Volunteers average 6.18 yards per carry and seventh-most in the country with 230 yards running per game. What’s the weak link here?
With the passing game on the rise, the pressure will be on Vols quarterback Joe Milton to succeed against a Texas A&M pass defense that looked vulnerable against Alabama’s aerial attack. Since Milroe broke the 300-yard passing mark for the first time in his career, Milton of Tennessee might be wondering if he can do the same. Hendon Hooker, his predecessor, completed 31 plays last season of 25 yards or more, but the sixth-year senior has only eight after five games.
The impact of Ainias Smith: Texas A&M’s all-purpose weapon, Smith is the most dangerous player in this game. In his fifth year with the Aggies, Smith is having his most successful season to date. Smith scored two touchdowns for Texas A&M in their 34-13 victory over Tennessee in 2020. Smith hasn’t been given many opportunities to run for the Aggies this year, but he’s been given free reign as a returner. Against Alabama, he returned a punt 46 yards to set up a Texas A&M touchdown on the next play, and the week prior, he returned a punt for a touchdown against Arkansas. He leads the team in receiving yards with 431, so the fact that he hasn’t scored yet probably indicates he’s due.
Odds and selections from the collective wisdom at SportsLine for Tennessee vs. Texas A&M.
The matchups in the battle between the two leagues are intriguing. While Texas A&M has a top-tier run defense, Tennessee has one of the finest rushing attacks in the country. The Aggies have a vulnerable secondary, but the Vols have had trouble making deep passes connect. Both squads excel at quarterback pressure and are among only three schools in the power five to average more than nine tackles for loss per game. When both teams are equally skilled, the home team usually wins. Tennessee ML -175 is the pick.
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