5 Bold Predictions Ahead Of Texas A&M vs Utah State Matchup

Which side of the ball shows growth or decline?

Oct 5, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; The Texas A&M Aggies run onto the field prior to facing the Missouri Tigers at Kyle Field. | Matt Guzman-Texas A&M Aggies On SI

It’s Aggies battling Aggies. Mountain West vs SEC. Mendenhall against Elko. 

Traveling from Logan, Utah, a 1-0 Utah State squad prays Saturday, September 6, can be the day they make history by pulling off a major upset against a championship-aspiration team in Texas A&M, who is on upset alert. 

Will it be a nail-biter, or can A&M take a commanding lead and head to South Bend, Indiana, with a 2-0 record? Here are a few bold predictions on what may or may not surprise college football fans. 

A&M’s run game destroys Utah State defense

Sep 7, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies running back Le'Veon Moss (8) scores a touchdown against the McNeese State Cowboys during the first quarter at Kyle Field. | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

In last week’s Roadrunners vs. Aggies matchup, the Aggies’ rushing game lacked its usual massive attack on the ground, with only 110 total yards on 22 attempts. Collecting 5.0 yards per carry is a decent statistic considering it was only week 1, but it has to improve steadily.

Le’Veon Moss was limited, but he quietly returned to the field for a few more plays. Moss had only three touches for 19 yards, allowing Rueben Owens more reps on offense. Neither player managed to crack 50 yards or score a touchdown. This week, that changes when the duo shoulders their responsibilities, breaking over 200 yards. 

The tight end room gets a pair of touchdowns

Theo Melin-Ohrstrom, Amari Niblack and Nate Boerkircher combined for six receptions from their quarterback, Marcel Reed. Melin-Ohrstrom had the only touchdown the tight end group recorded in the third quarter on a 1-yard pass. Interestingly enough, Melin-Ohrstrom only registered 184 yards with two touchdowns in 2024, while neither Niblack nor Boerkircher was successful scoring six points. 

With a heavy emphasis on the RPO offense, these tight ends are extensively involved in blocking in the Collin Klein offense. Klein gets the room involved this week by calling numerous vertical routes for the group that gets A&M on the board. 

Miles O’Neill plays two quarters 

Sep 7, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Conner Weigman (15) hands the ball to running back Amari Daniels (5) during the first quarter against the McNeese State Cowboys at Kyle Field. | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

There was a small sample size on what backup quarterback Miles O’Neill brought to the table after entering last week’s game late in the fourth quarter. The Marblehead, Massachusetts product completed one pass off two attempts for two yards. In 2024, he hardly ever saw the field, but when he did, the 6-foot-5, 220-pound lethal arm completed 83.3% of his passes.

Reed and his soldiers do their job, sitting out a majority of the second half, which opens the eyes of many Aggie fans as they digest what might be the future in Aggieland. 

Utah State fails to gather 200 yards rushing

Last week, linebacker Tauren York terrorized the UTSA offense, piling 10 total tackles, four of which were solo. Safety Marcus Ratcliffe also filled a hole when Dalton Brooks was unavailable to play, where he was second on the team in total tackles with seven and tied York for the most solo tackles. 

On the defensive line, Albert Regis, Landon Rink, and Rylan Kennedy made a name for themselves in the tackle department with 13 tackles combined, but were also responsible for allowing UTSA to clobber the A&M defense on four big plays that accumulated over 200 yards rushing. 

Watching the film, Utah State coaches know that A&M was vulnerable and will attempt to formulate the same game plan that UTSA had. Elko and Co. make adjustments in their week of practice and stop the two running backs, in what he calls possibly the two most skilled players on Utah State, from running down A&M’s throat. 

A&M D-line piles up three sacks

Sacks were a huge issue last season for offenses that battled a pressure-filled A&M team that racked up 25 total sacks, led by Nic Scourton and Cashius Howell. Rylan Kennedy was the sole member of the defense to record a sack last week, so dialing up the blitz might be in store for Elko. 

Going against a traditional post-out system that Elko called Utah State’s offense, quarterback Bryson Barnes is not a dual threat, which makes him vulnerable to being taken down behind the line of scrimmage. Regis, Howell and York have an enormous day.