Analysis: Texas A&M Brings Difficulty and Opportunity to Tennessee’s 2020 Schedule
Tennessee fans — along with all 13 of the other fanbases of the SEC — waited anxiously throughout the entire day on Friday dying to find out which two opponents would be added to their team’s College Football schedule. As the day progressed, and each of the opponents were announced, there were mixed reactions throughout the southeastern conference; Alabama and Georgia fans were overfilled with joy as they watched their teams add what they consider to be easy victories, while fans of Arkansas watched in horror as their schedule morphed into what their athletic director described as “the toughest schedule in the history of College Football.”
As for the reaction in Knoxville, fans were less than pleased. Despite already having arguably the three best teams in the conference on their schedule — Alabama, Georgia, and Florida — Tennessee was forced to add Texas A&M and Auburn to their 2020 schedule. While there is no doubt that Tennessee drew the short end of the stick on Friday afternoon, it is important to remember that with great challenges come great opportunities.
Last season Texas A&M and 2nd year head coach Jimbo Fisher started their year off with high expectations — dreaming of an unlikely trip to the playoffs coming true. Unfortunately, those aspirations evaporated quickly for Fisher’s Aggies because of an incredibly difficult schedule. While Texas A&M finished their season with 5 losses, all 5 of them came from teams which were inside the top 10 at the time of the game— No. 1 Clemson, No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 LSU, No. 4 Georgia, and No. 8 Auburn.
The Aggies came out victorious against all of their other opponents; however, none of their wins came against ranked teams. As a result, Texas A&M seems to be a mystery entering Jimbo Fisher’s third season in College Station. Despite a multitude of unknowns surrounding the program, one thing that is clear to fans all across the nation is that hopes are high for the Aggies around College Station — with a No. 14 ranking in the preseason coaches poll, in addition to a battalion of other honors. While Texas A&M also began last season with a high preseason ranking, many claim that this year will be different because of an increased amount of depth.
Ultimately there is no doubt that the Vols’ match-up against Texas A&M will be very competitive, especially with a significant amount of young talent returning for the Aggies this season. Isaiah Spiller, Jalen Wydermyer, and Ainias Smith will likely be big factors for the Aggies on the offensive side of the ball, in addition to DeMarvin Leal likely preparing to take more of a leadership on the defense. The Aggies will also bring in some new talent, as they earned their 2nd top 10 recruiting class of the Jimbo Fisher Era during the class of 2020.
If the Vols want to defeat the Aggies during their match-up, one of the most important factors is their pass-rush. Texas A&M was vulnerable upfront along the offensive line throughout the entire season, and while quarterback Kellen Mond had a decent season, the Vols could force a few mistakes out of him if Jeremy Pruitt’s pass-rush can be strong enough. Tennessee will also need senior Jarrett Guarantano — assuming he is the starter — to take a big step forward in order to capitalize off of a mediocre Aggie secondary.
In the end, the biggest key for the Vols to beat Jimbo Fisher is slowing down Texas A&M’s run game. Sophomore Isaiah Spiller is known throughout the western division as a physical runner who is great at making defensive lineman struggle. While Spiller started the 2019 season as the back-up at his position, he would quickly take a leadership role and win the starting job — finishing the season with 10 touchdowns and just shy of 1,000 yards. In addition to Spiller, the Aggies will also have Anias Smith, a converted wide-receiver, and Devon Achane, a big-hitter, lurking in the backfield. If Tennessee is able to shut down the Aggies game on the ground, putting pressure on Kellen Mond, then a strong secondary could potentially force some mistakes out of him.
On the offensive side of the ball, Tennessee’s elite offensive line will likely be able to completely shut down a mediocre Aggie pass rush. As a result of the Volunteer’s strong advantage at the line of scrimmage, they could also benefit off of a young linebacker group featuring sophomores Buddy Johnson and Anthony Hines — as they both struggled to slow down the run game in 2019. Eric Gray, who is generally considered to have the potential for a breakout season for the Vols in 2020, could see a large amount of action against Texas A&M.
The date for the Vols’ and Aggies’ match-up will reportedly be determined sometime next week, but it is already confirmed that the game will take place in Neyland Stadium; although it has not yet been announced how many fans — if any — will be allowed to attend.
