We have found our way to the final regular season game of the year and it’s undefeated Texas A&M coming into Austin. The Longhorns CFP hopes are incredibly slim, but a win over a third top 10 win would go a long way. The Aggies have put together an incredible year and the Longhorns will have their hands full on Friday. 

Let’s jump into the Aggies and why they are built as a true national title contender: 

This is a dangerous offense. Marcel Reed has taken massive strides forward since last year, the OL is one of the best in the country and their stable of playmakers are incredibly dangerous with the ball in their hands. The Aggies currently rank in the top 11 in points/game, yards/game and yards/play. The Texas defense will have to communicate much better in this game than they have the past couple of weeks. 

The Aggies’ run game is a remarkably diverse and dangerous attack, as is often the case for Collin Klein offenses. Marcel Reed brings a numbers advantage to the run game, but the slew of RBs is what makes it special. Between Reuben Owens II, Amari Daniels, EJ Smith, Jamarion Morrow and Le’Veon Moss, the Aggies likely have more quality options than anyone in the country. Moss has been injured as of late, but is expected to be back Friday, which makes the group that much more dynamic. 

Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!

The run game is incredibly tough to defend, which makes it that much harder to keep up with this pass game. Marcel Reed still has some accuracy issues, but has taken a massive step forward as a passer and the trio of WRs create all types of problems. KC Concepcion and Mario Craver are two of best WRs after the catch in the country, but the emergence of true freshman Ashton Bethel-Roman has added another dynamic to an already dangerous group. Add in Terry Bussey and a duo of very solid pass catching TEs in Boerkircher and Melin Öhrström, the Longhorns will have plenty to contend with Friday. 

Texas A&M Aggies Defense 

The Aggies defense has been more of an up-and-down product this season, but has really started to roll the last month or so. They give up 48th in the country in points/game(23.6), top 25 in yards given up per game and are actually the best 3rd down defense in the country, giving up first downs only 24% of the time on 3rd down. 

The special part of this defense is incredibly similar to what makes the Longhorns defense different, the pass rush. Cashius Howell is the SEC leader in sacks with 11.5 on the season. Dayon Hayes and Daymion Sanford have added 4.5 and 3.5 sacks respectively, and they have a number of dangerous DTs that can get after the QB, like Tyler Onyedim and DJ Hicks. It’s a special unit up front for the Aggies, something the Texas OL has to rise to the challenge of. 

At the LB position, Taurean York and Scooby Williams are one of the best duos in the SEC, with York sitting as one of the best LBs in the country. On the backend, it’s filled with elite talent, including Will “The Blanket” Lee III, Dalton Brooks, Marcus Ratcliffe and Tyreek Chappell. The pass defense is top 30 in the country, but has only forced 3 INTs this season. That could give Arch Manning and the pass game some opening if they can protect up front. 

Texas A&M Aggies Overall 

This is an incredibly dangerous team coming to Austin this weekend. Marcel Reed has taken strides forward this season as a passer, their WR core is as good as there is in the SEC and they have an attacking, intense defense. The Longhorns have been playing much better as of late but this will be a challenge similar to Georgia, so Texas will need to step up their game for this one. 

Mike Elko has done an incredible job with Texas A&M in his second season. The Aggies are essentially locked into the CFP so a loss wouldn’t kill them here, but the energy of a rivalry game will bring the best out of the Aggies on Friday. Texas will likely have to play their best game of the year to get a win on Friday, but there are small openings that the Longhorns should be able to take advantage of. 

It’ll be a heavyweight bout in Austin this weekend and Texas A&M is coming in looking to cap an undefeated season. If the Longhorns want to play spoiler, they have to elevate their level of play.