Ole Miss Rebels Week 10 Opponent Preview: Texas A&M Aggies
The Ole Miss Rebels were a touchdown away from being the Texas A&M Aggies' sixth win in an abysmal season.
The Aggies were 101st in scoring offense and 93rd in total offense, leaning on the No. 25 scoring defense to keep them in games in which their offense was still sitting on the bus.
Texas A&M had quarterback turmoil all of last season, starting with Haynes King who battled struggles and injuries before turning duties over to Conner Weigman and left-hander Max Johnson.
King transferred to Georgia Tech in the offseason, and Weigman held the title as QB1 at the beginning of this season until an injury derailed his playing time. Now, those duties fall to the aforementioned Johnson.
The big question in Aggieland this offseason was if head coach Jimbo Fisher was going to get out of his own way and let Petrino call the offense in 2023. In an interview with Paul Finebaum at SEC Media Days, Fisher didn't explicitly state Petrino will call plays but surely he hinted at the fact he's turned over the majority of play-calling duties.
"Does Nick (Saban) call defenses? He doesn't call defenses," Fisher said. "Kirby doesn't call defenses, and I say that from a point that it's not that hard. It's really not because you're going to be in the meetings and what's going on in your team, and you make collective ideas about what you're going to do and how you're going to do it. But then you turn it over to guys you have confidence in the job you hired them to do. Let them do their job."
Here is an overarching preview of the Texas A&M team that is scheduled to come to Oxford on Saturday.
Texas A&M Aggies
2022 Record: 5-3 (3-2 SEC)
Head Coach: Jimbo Fisher
Offensive Leaders:
Passing: QB Max Johnson
2023 stats: 87-for-148, 1,147 yards, 8 TDs, 4 INTs
Rushing: RB Le'Veon Moss
2023 stats: 77 carries, 387 yards, 3 TDs
Receiving: WR Ainias Smith
2023 stats: 33 receptions, 569 yards, 1 TD
