The Texas A&M Aggies (1-1) are looking for a bounce-back game this Saturday when they host Louisiana-Monroe (2-0) from Kyle Field at 3 p.m. CT.
Texas A&M is coming off a disappointing 48-33 loss to the Miami Hurricanes last week. The Aggies’ secondary was burned for 374 yards and five touchdowns by Hurricanes quarterback Tyler Van Dyke. The yards came on just 21 completions — an average of 17.81 yards per completion. Texas A&M led 17-7 early in the second quarter, which made the defensive breakdowns that much more frustrating.
If there is any positive to take out of last week it was the play of quarterback Conner Weigman, who threw for 336 yards and two scores and generally did his best to keep the Aggies in the game during the second half. Evan Stewart (11 catches, 142 yards) had another monster game, but the rushing attack stalled with just 97 yards on 29 carries for a paltry 3.34 average.
Expect the running game to be the focus Saturday against the undefeated Warhawks. Louisiana-Monroe has wins over Army and Lamar to start the season. This is the third of four non-conference games for the Aggies. They will begin a stretch of seven-straight conference games on September 23 with a home game against Auburn.
Texas A&M still has +1400 odds to win the SEC this year at FanDuel Sportsbook.
Let’s take a closer look at the odds and trends
Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks at Texas A&M Aggies
Time/TV: 3 p.m. (ESPN+ & SECN+)
Point Spread: Texas A&M -36.5
Over/Under: 53.5
Analysis: This should be a nice pallet cleanser for the Aggies. The questions about the secondary remain, but Louisiana-Monroe doesn’t offer a passing attack that should cause many problems. Texas A&M has far too many top-end athletes for the Warhawks to contend with. Expect the Aggies to try to get some chunk plays out of the running game early and get Weigman going into the passing game once Louisiana-Monroe over-commits to stopping the run.
Prediction: Texas A&M 49, Louisiana-Monroe 10
