After a slightly disappointing 9-4 season where the Aggies were expected to challenge for the national title, Kevin Sumlin comes back for his third season as head coach in College Station. This year’s schedule offers a very comfortable out-of-conference slate, but a more difficult SEC schedule as Vanderbilt was swapped out for South Carolina in the annual schedule rotation. Here is a look at the first 6 games the Aggies face.
2014 Texas A&M Schedule Analysis: Games 1-6
Game 1: at #9 South Carolina; Thursday, August 28th
A tough test on the road against a top ten opponent to start the season. Whoever wins the starting job at quarterback will have to hit the ground running if the Aggies are to have any chance of leaving Williams-Brice Stadium with a win. The Gamecocks return a lot of talent in the trenches which will be a worry for the weak defensive line that A&M currently has. Dylan Thompson hasn’t been stellar in his college career so far for the Gamecocks at quarterback, so the key to winning this game will be to create turnovers and then hope the offense can stay on the field. A win would have to be classed as a surprise result based on preseason analysis.
Prediction: 35-21 Loss
Record: 0-1 (0-1 in SEC)
Game 2: vs Lamar; Saturday, September 6th
The FCS Lamar Cardinals finished last season 5-7 in the Southland Conference and lost 59-3 at Oklahoma State in 2013. Based on this, there is no reason why the Aggies shouldn’t be winning by a similar margin in their first home game of the season.
Prediction: 56-14 Win
Record: 1-1 (0-1 in SEC)
Game 3: vs Rice; Saturday, September 13th
Last year saw Johnny Manziel suspended for the first half and Luke Joeckel struggle as A&M led by just 7 points at the half. In the end, the Aggies cruised to a 52-31 win, but the Rice Owls were certainly capable of exploiting the defensive problems the Aggies had, so this game might be more interesting than it seems on paper.
Prediction: 49-21 Win
Record: 2-1 (0-1 in SEC)
Game 4: at SMU Mustangs; Saturday September 20th
A regular fixture on the Aggies schedule in recent years, the once mighty Mustangs have failed to get within 30 points in the previous three games between the teams. For the third week running, A&M faces an opponent that should cause few problems realistically.
Prediction: 42-10 Win
Record: 3-1 (0-1 in SEC)
Game 5: vs Arkansas; Saturday, September 27th
The Razorbacks have struggled immensely in recent years and never found any sort of answer to the Air Raid offense of Kevin Sumlin. Last year, they stayed in the game as the Aggies defense wilted, but still fell short with a final score of 45-33. Arkansas is a team that is slowly improving as they recruit talent, but they are still at least a year away from challenging the upper echelons of the SEC. With the game at Kyle Field, this should be another Aggies win that should bring them to at least four wins for the year.
Prediction: 38-24 Win
Record: 4-1 (1-1 in SEC)
Game 6: at Mississippi State; Saturday, October 4th
This is the most intriguing game on the first half of the A&M schedule. Mississippi State is a dangerous team coming into this year with many touting quarterback Dak Prescott as a sleeper candidate for the Heisman. The Bulldogs are another team that the Aggies are unbeaten against in the SEC so far, but without Johnny Football, this year’s clash will be closer.
This is the sort of game that will define the Aggies season. If they can win games like this against the other teams expected to be around the middle of the SEC, then they could once again be pushing for 9-10 wins. On paper though, this game looks set to be a real shootout between two teams loaded on offense.
Prediction: 45-42 Loss
Record: 4-2 (1-2 in SEC)
Look out for the following article that will look at the second half of the Aggies season, where they face the likes of Alabama, LSU, and Auburn.
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