Obviously A&M is a good running team. They have three options to go to with Lane, Goodson, and McGee. They're basically a slower version of Illinois with Stephen McGee playing the part of a poor man's Juice Williams. The front seven for Penn State should be able to contain them well forcing the Aggies to go to the air. Though Penn State struggled in pass defense late in the year, this Aggie team doesn't have a James Hardy or Devin Thomas. We should contain their offense just fine.
When Penn State is on offense it appears they should have success. A&M ranked #104 in pass defense. And the rush defense is meh coming in at #57.
Special teams is my concern. The Aggies can hang right with us in the punting game, though they don't return as well. Look for a lot of fair catches in this game. But what bugs me is our kickoff coverage. Our kickoff coverage hasn't been so great this year. Ok, it sucks. And the Aggies kick return game is better than suck. Ok, they're pretty good. But there is hope since Brian Norwood used to coach the kickoff coverage team and he's gone. Kermit Buggs has assumed that role now so maybe he can turn things around. Let's hope he can do it in about 10 practices.
| Statistical Category | Texas A&M | NCAA Rank | Penn State | NCAA Rank | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rushing Offense (ypg) | 216 | 13 | 187 | 32 |  |
| Passing Offense (ypg) | 187 | 98 | 212 | 70 |  |
| Pass Efficiency Offense | 120.5 | 79 | 124.9 | 66 | |
| Total Offense (ypg) | 403 | 54 | 399 | 56 | |
| Scoring Offense (ppg) | 28.8 | 53 | 30.8 | 44 | |
| Rushing Defense (ypg) | 152 | 57 | 88 | 6 | |
| Passing Defense (ypg) | 264 | 104 | 219 | 46 | |
| Pass Efficiency Defense | 141.8 | 100 | 119.1 | 44 | |
| Total Defense (ypg) | 416 | 83 | 307 | 9 | |
| Scoring Defense (ppg) | 26.1 | 55 | 17.6 | 8 | |
| Net Punting (yards) | 38.1 | 10 | 39.2 | 6 | |
| Punt Returns (yards) | 5.9 | 103 | 10.8 | 34 | |
| Kickoff Returns (yards) | 23.5 | 21 | 21.4 | 62 | |
| Turnover Margin | 0.67 | 20 | 0.08 | 47 | |
| Sacks Per Game | 1.5 | 96 | 3.8 | 2 | |
| Tackles for Loss | 5.7 | 81 | 8.0 | 10 | |
| Sacks Allowed Per Game | 1.3 | 7 | 1.7 | 41 | |