The Texas A&M Aggies have been on a roll in recent weeks. They enjoyed a terrific October in which they defeated Alabama and dramatically changed the trajectory of their season.
By Matt Zemek
Skeptics will still point out, however, that A&M – after beating Alabama – encountered a soft and cushy portion of its schedule. Beating Missouri and South Carolina doesn’t prove that A&M has fully re-established itself after the brutal start to the season. Now the schedule gets tougher again with a home date against the improving Auburn Tigers. If A&M wins this game and then a visit to Ole Miss one week later, it will be clear the Aggies are back. If they lose one of these two games, their renaissance will end before it ever truly had a chance to begin. Let’s see what they need to do against Auburn:
1 – Make Bo Nix win with the pass
It’s not a new line of thought with Bo Nix, but it remains a salient point and a central pillar of a good performance against Auburn’s offense: Make Bo Nix throw from a contained pocket. A&M doesn’t want Nix running around and making improvisational schoolyard plays. That’s when Nix is at his most dangerous and creative. A&M needs to keep him hemmed in the pocket, having to drop back and throw and having no chance to run for a big gain or do other things in open space which can put defenders in a very uncomfortable in-between position. Zach Calzada is the better dropback pocket passer. If this is a battle of dropback passers, the Aggies have to like their chances.
2 – Calzada, continuing
Zach Calzada figured out how to play versus Alabama. Jimbo Fisher was patient with him and got the results he wanted. Calzada was strong and in command in subsequent games against Missouri and South Carolina, but those are two of the worst teams in the SEC. Auburn provides a much bigger and more rigorous challenge, so we will see where Calzada stands in the larger workings of the SEC. If he plays a high-level game here, we will know that his ascendance is for real. One obvious key for him is to not think he has learned everything there is to learn. He has made great progress this season, but his development should not – and cannot – lead to complacency.
3 – Mike Elko excellence
Auburn doesn’t have an especially talented offense, but the Tigers have fared well against mediocre defenses from Arkansas and Ole Miss. Texas A&M needs to win this game with its defense. The Aggies can make Auburn look bad if coordinator Mike Elko can get his defensive front and linebackers to confuse and overpower Auburn’s suspect offensive line. This is where A&M can exert the greatest amount of pressure in this game.
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