Game 9: Texas A&M at Mississippi State

Saturday, November 5

Starkville, Miss.

11:00 AM

Texas A&M

Mississippi State

Buy Tickets

Nov 04, 2016 | Football

Game Notes: Mississippi State

No. 4/7/7 Texas A&M (7-1, 4-1 SEC) returns to league play on Saturday when the Aggies face Mississippi State (3-5, 1-3) in Starkville in an 11 a.m. game inside Davis Wade Stadium.

Dave Neal, Matt Stinchcomb and Olivia Harlan will have the call of the action on SEC Network. It will air regionally on the Texas A&M Sports Network (Dave South, Dave Elmendorf, Will Johnson), and a Spanish broadcast of the game can also be heard regionally on the Texas A&M Spanish Network (Pedro Vela Almaguer, Noel Orellana).

Both Aggie radio feeds can be heard for free worldwide at 12thman.com/allaccess and inside the Texas A&M Athletics app. The MSU Radio Network broadcast will be available on Sirius Channel 83 / XM Channel 190.

A&M has won 5 of the 9 meetings all time between the schools in a series that dates back to 1912. In SEC play, the Aggies have won 3 of the 4 contests, with their lone loss coming in the last trip to Starkville (48-31 in 2014).

What to watch for: #TAMUvsMSU

Texas A&M will get back to SEC action after winning its 22nd straight non-conference home game last week with an 11 a.m. matchup with Mississippi State on Saturday in Starkville, Miss.

A win would give Aggie head coach Kevin at least eight wins in each of his first five seasons at Texas A&M, which has only been accomplished previously by R.C. Slocum. Slocum won at least eight games in his first seven seasons (from 1989-1995), which is also the overall record.
A win would tie Sumlin with Emory Bellard for Texas A&M's second-longest streak of eight-win seasons by an Aggie head coach. Bellard's streak ran from 1974-78.
A victory would give the Aggies five SEC victories, which would be the second-most since joining the elite league in 2012. The 2012 team posted a 6-2 SEC mark, which tied for second-best in the standings.
The Aggies will be seeking to improve on its 21-8 record away from Kyle Field (14-7 in true road games) during the Sumlin era (since 2012).

Milestones to Watch

Texas A&M needs seven rushing yards to reach 2,000 for the season in its ninth game of the season. The Aggies rushed for 2,198 in 13 games in 2015.
Texas A&M needs 10 yards to reach 4,000 for the 15th straight season.
The Aggies' next takeaway will be their 20th of 2016. A&M's SEC-best 19 takeaways are already the second-highest since joining the SEC (22 in 2013).
Texas A&M is allowing just 19.8 points per game in 2016. The Aggies haven't allowed fewer than 20 points/game in a season in 15 years (18.5 in 2001).
Freshman RB Trayveon Williams needs 224 rushing yards to become Texas A&M's first true freshman 1,000-yard rusher. Three redshirt freshmen have reached the 1,000-yard plateau -- Greg Hill (1991), Courtney Lewis (2003) and Johnny Manziel (2012).
The next TD catch by senior WR Josh Reynolds will be the 25th of his career, which give him sole possession of No. 2 on A&M's career receiving TDs list (currently tied with Ryan Swope).

Kirk Recap

Sophomore WR/RS Christian Kirk became the first Texas A&M player to tally a pair of punt return touchdowns in a single game with 70- and 73-yard scoring jaunts against New Mexico State.

The school record for punt return touchdowns in a season is two -- by Carl Roaches in 1972, Rod Harris in 1987, Aaron Glenn in 1993 and Kirk in 2015 and 2016.
Kirk now has a school record four punt return TDs after just 22 chances in 21 career games.
Kirk and Washington's Dante Pettis are the only FBS players with multiple punt returns TDs in each of the past two seasons.
His career punt average of 23.3 would make him the FBS active leader by more than four yards/return if he had the requisite 24 career returns.

Road Warriors

Texas A&M has compiled a 21-8 record in games away from Kyle Field (road and neutral site games) during the Kevin Sumlin era.
The Aggies are 7-1 at neutral sites and 14-7 in true road games.
Alabama, Texas A&M and LSU are the only SEC teams without a losing road season record since 2012.

On the Road under Sumlin

*Year*	*Record*	*AP Top 25 road wins*
2012	7-0	#22 LT, #15 MSU, #1 ALA, #11 OU
2013	3-2	#22 Duke
2014	5-2	#9 SC, #3 AUB
2015	3-3	#15 ASU
2016	3-1	#17 ARK

SEC Road Records since 2012

*Team*	*Overall*	*Pct.*	*2016*
Alabama	28-4	.875	4-0
Texas A&M	21-8	.724	3-1
Georgia	19-12	.613	3-2
Missouri	16-12	.571	0-3
Florida	15-13	.536	2-1
LSU	12-12	.500	0-2
South Carolina	13-14	.481	1-2
Ole Miss	13-14	.481	0-3
Mississippi St.	13-15	.464	1-3
Vanderbilt	12-15	.444	2-2
Auburn	11-15	.423	2-0
Tennessee	11-15	.423	2-2
Arkansas	8-18	.308	1-2
Kentucky	2-20	.091	1-2

The Chavis Effect

Veteran SEC defensive coordinator John Chavis was hired at Texas A&M prior to the 2015 season and his influence on the Aggies' defense has been undeniable, especially in scoring and run defense and takeaways.

After the Aggies defeated New Mexico State on Oct. 29, head coach Doug Martin said: "Defensively, I told Coach Sumlin after the game, their defensive coordinator is the hardest guy I've ever had to game plan against in my career."

Defensive Turnaround

*Stat Category*	*2016 (FBS RK)*	*2015 (FBS RK)*	*2014 (FBS RK)*
Total Defense	424.0 (#83)	380.0 (#51)	450.8 (#104)
Pass Eff. Defense	113.5 rtg (#26)	127.8 rtg (#64)	136.5 rtg (#88)
Run Defense	176.5 (t#74)	213.7 (#108)	216.0 (#111)
Scoring Defense	19.8 (#21)	22.0 (#28)	28.1 (t#77)
QB sacks	3.3 (t#10)	2.6 (t#24)	2.7 (t#27)
Tackles for loss	9.6 (#1)	8.5 (t#3)	5.9 (t#60)
Interceptions	1.1 (t#28)	0.9 (t#71)	0.4 (t#121)
3rd D % Against	34.3% (#30)	33.0% (#16)	40% (#67)
Turnover Margin	+0.6 (t#24)	-0.5 (t#102)	-0.5 (t#108)
Turnovers Gained	+2.3 (t#4)	+1.3 (t#79)	1.0 (t#122)

Disruptive Defense

Harkening back to its Wrecking Crew roots, the 2016 edition of defense ranks among the nation's best at QB sacks, TFLs and takeaways.

Aggies lead the nation with 77.0 tackles for loss (TFL), which is 13.0 more than the No. 2 producer in the SEC (Alabama with 64).
Texas A&M ranks tNo. 10 in QB sacks (3.3/G) and tNo. 4 in takeaways (19 total).
Defensive ends Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall have combined for 7.5 QB sacks, 18 QB hurries and 19 TFLs.
DC John Chavis' charges have made at least seven tackles for loss (TFL) in every game and have generated 10 or more in five of eight contests.
Produced a season-high 13 TFLs vs. Auburn on 9/17 and had 12 vs. Alabama on 10/22.

New Wrecking Crew?

*Opponent*	*QBS-YDS*	*TFL-YDS*	*Take*
UCLA	5.0-39	10.0-47	3
PVAMU	3.0-24	7.0-37	1
at Auburn	4.0-32	13.0-55	1
vs. Arkansas	1.0-9	10.0-35	3
at S. Carolina	3.0-23	10.0-41	2
TENNESSEE	4.0-29	8.0-37	7
at Alabama	3.0-11	12.0-36	2
NEW MEXICO ST.	3.0-12	7.0-20	0

Garrett Set to Join Elite Texas A&M, SEC Groups

Junior DE Myles Garrett is just two sacks away from the 30-sack plateau, which has only been reached by six players in SEC history and five players in Texas A&M history.

SEC Career QB Sacks List

1.	Derrick Thomas, Alabama	52
2.	Billy Jackson, Mississippi St.	49
3.	Ben Williams, Ole Miss	37
4.	David Pollock, Georgia	36
5.	Alex Brown, Florida	33
6.	Reggie White, Tennessee	32
7.	Richard Tardits, Georgia	29
	Eric Norwood, South Carolina
9.	Jimmy Payne, Tennessee	28
	Leonard Little, Tennessee
	Jarvis Jones, Georgia
	Myles Garrett, Texas A&M

Texas A&M Career QB Sacks List

1.	Aaron Wallace, 1986-89	42
2.	Jacob Green, 1977-79	37
3.	John Roper, 1985-88	36
4.	Keith Mitchell, 1993-96	34
5.	Von Miller, 2007-10	33
6.	Marcus Buckley, 1990-92	29
7.	Myles Garrett, 2014-present	28
8.	Damontre Moore, 2010-12	26.5
9.	Ray Childress, 1981-83	25
10.	Roylin Bradley, 1997-2000	24

Run-Game Renaissance

A year after ranking No. 66 nationally with a 169.1 rushing average, Texas A&M has improved its rushing attack by over 80 yards per game and nearly two yards per rushing attempt.

Texas A&M ranks No. 3 in the SEC and No. 14 in the FBS with a 249.1 rushing average and averages 6.3 per carry in 2016.
The Aggies have rushed for 200+ yards in seven of eight games with five of the seven 200+ rushing efforts coming against FBS Power 5 teams (UCLA, AUB, ARK, SC, UT).
Opponents have rushed the ball 25 more times than the Aggies but gained 581 fewer yards.

Ground Attack 2016

*Statistic*	*2016 (FBS RK)*	*2015 (FB RK)*
Rushing Offense	249.1 (#14)	169.1 (#66)
Yards/Rush	6.3 (#5)	4.4 (t#70)
TDs/Game	2.6 (t#18)	1.0 (t#111)
Rushes/Game	39.9 (t#61)	38.8 (#59)
10-yd+ gains/G	8.0 (t#13)	5.7 (t#48)
20-yd+ gains/G	2.6 (t#11)	1.3 (t#75)
30-yd+ gains/G	1.3 (t#17)	0.4 (t#101)
40-yd+ gains/G	1.0 (t#6)	0.2 (t#107)
60-yd+ gains/G	0.5 (t#3)	0.0 (t#83+)

Making and Limiting Explosive Plays

Texas A&M has allowed just four TD plays of more than 20 yards in length while scoring 17 touchdowns of more than 20 yards.

The Aggies have 50 rush or pass plays of 20 or more yards through the first seven games, including 16 plays over 35 yards.
The 50 rush/pass explosive plays have been made by 13 different players.
Opponents have been limited to 33 20-yard offensive plays -- including just 11 over 35 yards.
Opponents have just nine 20-yard+ rushing plays while the Aggies have 21.

Balanced Attack

Texas A&M is one of five FBS teams averaging more than 245 rushing and passing yards per game and those fiveteams' combined record is 31-8.

Texas A&M's rush/pass play breakdown is 1,993 yards on 319 rushes/1,997 on 292 pass attempts.
Texas A&M is one of seven FBS teams with more than 1,700 yards rushing and passing.
The Aggies have rushed and passed for 200-plus yards in seven of eight games in 2016, which is tied for most in the FBS (with South Florida).

Transfer Impact

The Aggies have a number of four-year school and JC transfers making significant contributions in 2016.

Transfer Impact in 2016

*Player*	*Pos*	*Former School*
Kalvin Cline	TE	Virginia Tech
#Jermaine Eluemenor	OT	Lackawanna (Pa.)
#Justin Evans	SS	Gulf Coast (Miss.) CC
#Keith Ford	RB	Oklahoma
#Avery Gennesy	OT	E. Mississippi CC
Claude George	LB	Hutchinson (Kan.) CC
Jake Hubenak	QB	Blinn (Texas) JC
#Trevor Knight	QB	Oklahoma
Damion Ratley	WR	Blinn (Texas) JC
#Josh Reynolds	WR	Tyler (Texas) JC
#Priest Willis	CB	UCLA
# -- Denotes 2016 starter

True Freshman Impact

Multiple true freshmen from the Aggies' highly-regarded 2016 signing class have been making an early impact.

Early Risers

*Player*	*Pos*	*Hometown*
Austin Anderson	OL	Mineola, Texas
Clyde Chattman	DB	New Orleans, La.
Tyrel Dodson	LB	Franklin, Tenn.
Aaron Hansford	WR	Washington, D.C.
Braden Mann	PK/P	Houston, Texas
Charles Oliver	DB	Fairfield, Texas
#Colton Prater	OL	Bossier City, La.
Trayveon Williams	RB	Houston, Texas
# -- Denotes 2016 starter

Nightmare for QBs, OCs

Junior DE Myles Garrett is, arguably, the nation's most feared pass rusher.

Missed the SC game due to injury, was limited to 3rd down duty in return vs. UT.
Garrett was a finalist for the Rotary Lombardi Award (college lineman of the year), the Hendricks Award (top DE), a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award (defensive POY) and was a quarter-finalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy.
His older sister, Brea Garrett, was a NCAA Champion thrower for the A&M track and field team. His older brother, Sean Williams, has played for several NBA teams and currently plays basketball overseas.
Among his measurables are: 40-yard dash: 4.46; broad jump: 9 feet, 5 inches; vertical jump: 38.5 inches; power clean: 372 pounds; deadlift: 528 pounds; incline bench press: 355 pounds; leg press: 1,100 pounds.
Described as a "dino-geek," Garrett says of his post-football life: "I want to be a paleontologist, whether it's amateur or professional." (Sports Illustrated, July 27, 2015)

Veteran Leader

One of the keys to Texas A&M's 2016 improvement on defense has been the continued development and leadership for senior LB Shaan Washington.

Washington leads the team with 57 tackles.
Washington is regularly referenced by the coaching staff for his physical development over the past year.
Washington arrived at Texas A&M as a 210-pound safety in 2013 but has developed into a 240-pound linebacker in 2016.
Has increased his bench press to over 400 pounds, according to DC John Chavis.
Chavis also believes Washington has a future in the NFL.
Despite battling various injuries over the past two seasons, the Louisiana product or "Louisianimal" ranked No. 2 on the team with 81 tackles in 2015 and No. 4 with 64 in 2014.
Injured for the first three games of 2014, Washington averaged 6.4 tackles per game after returning to lineup which was the best per-game average on the team.

Hall's Growth

While developing into one of the nation's top DEs, senior DE Daeshon Hall has gained nearly 60 pounds since coming to campus on his recruiting visit.

Hall came to Texas A&M on his recruiting visit in 2013 as a 208-pound "basketball player," according to head coach Kevin Sumlin. He has bulked up to 270 pounds as a senior.
Hall's nickname is "Dae Dae."
Hall moved from Seattle, Wash., to Lancaster, Texas in high school. His high school coach Chris Gilbert got his first glimpse of Hall playing basketball. "He was just like hammering dunks," Gilbert said. "He was a little thin, but I could tell he was strong. He said, 'Coach, I love basketball but everybody tells me they think I can play on Sundays, and I think I can.' '' (Dallas Morning News, Sept. 12, 2014)
Hall's four-sack effort vs. Arizona State in 2015 tied for second-most in a single game in school history, trailing only the five-sack performance by Alex Morris vs. Houston in 1987. Hall matched the sack total of three first-team All-Americans: Jacob Green, Ray Childress and John Roper.
Teams with Myles Garrett to give the Aggies one of the nation's top defensive ends combos.
Garrett said of the pair's friendly competition to get to the quarterback, "It's a race to get to the quarterback every time."

Big Play Ability

Junior FS Armani Watts is the SEC's only player to have registered at least one QB sack, tackle for loss, QB hurry, interception, pass breakup, forced fumble and recovered fumble.

Earned SEC Defensive Player the Week after the Aggies' 2016 win over Arkansas. He posted a pair of game-changing plays with a strip and fumble recovery at the goal line and a fourth-down TFL vs, ARK.
Had a record-setting season in 2015 with six double-digit tackle games, including a 20-tackle effort vs. Ole Miss, and he ranked No. 2 in the SEC with 126 tackles (9.7 per game).
With 126 tackles, Watts was the first Aggie to hit the century mark since LB Michael Hodges had 115 in 2010. Only a handful of Aggie DBs have reached 100 tackles in a season, most recently Jaxson Appel had 135 in 2003.
Watts led the SEC with an amazing 83 solo tackles.
His 20-tackle game vs. the Rebels was the second-most prolific tackle game by a DB in school history. Safety Larry Horton matched the overall school record with 24 tackles vs. Baylor in 1990 (originally set by LB Larry Kelm in 1985).
Watts finished 2015 tied for 14th nationally with 126 tackles.
A consensus 4-star recruit out of North Forney HS, Watts earned all-state honors at safety and was an all-district pick on offense and defense and as a return man.

Record-Setting Reynolds

Senior Josh Reynolds is the only player in Texas A&M and SEC history and FBS's only active player with two 90-yard plus catches -- a 95-yarder vs. Vanderbilt in 2015 and a 92-yard vs. Arkansas in 2016.

Reynolds is the SEC's leading active receiving TD producer with 24 since 2014.
Reynolds led the SEC with a 17.8 per catch average among players with more than 35 catches in 2015. He's on the same track in 2016 with a 19.5 average, which ranks No. 2 in the SEC.
Overlooked by FBS programs out of HS, Reynolds went to Tyler JC as a full qualifier and then transferred to A&M with three years of eligibility in 2014. The FB coaching staff was tipped off to Reynolds by TAMU T&F coach Pat Henry, who had recruited Reynolds as a high jumper.
Reynolds' younger brother, Moses, is a true freshman DB for the Aggies.

SEC Active Receiving TDs list

1.	*24 - Josh Reynolds, TA&M*	*2014-16*
2.	17 - Fred Ross, MSU	2013-16
	16 - Keon Hatcher, ARK	2012-16
4.	13 - Drew Morgan, ARK	2013-16
	13 - Travin Dural, LSU	2013-16
	13 - Malachi Dupre, LSU	2014-16
	13 - Christian Kirk, TA&M	2015-16
	13 - Evan Engram, Ole Miss	2013-16

TAMU Career Receiving TDs

*Player, Years*	*TDs*
Jeff Fuller, 2008-11	34
Ryan Swope, 2009-12	24
Josh Reynolds, 2014-	24
Bob Long, 1966-68	19
Uzoma Nwachukwu, 2009-12

Honey Badger Redux

Junior nickel back Donovan Wilson has drawn comparisons to former LSU playmaker Tyrann Mathieu or the "Honey Badger" because of his penchant for making big plays.

Wilson ranked third in the SEC with five interceptions in 2015, which matched the entire Texas A&M team's output in 2014.
Texas A&M defensive coordinator John Chavis says of Wilson, "We need that catalyst and he's been that catalyst force. He's made big play after big play. (Former LSU All-American Tyrann Mathieu) had the 'it' factor. We're starting to see some of that with Donovan." (Bryan-College Station Eagle, Oct. 7, 2015)

2015 Wilson (13 gms) vs. 2011 Mathieu (13 gms)

*Player*	*TFL*	*QBS*	*INT*	*PBU*	FR	FF
Wilson	8.5	2.0	5	3	2	3
Mathieu	7.5	1.5	2	9	5	6

Wilson fills the stat sheet like few other defenders. He ranked No. 4 on the team in tackles (63), had 8.5 TFL, 2.0 QBS, three FF, two FR and three PBUs, along with his five INTs last season.
A late addition to the Aggies' 2014 signing class, Wilson led the Shreveport, La., area with 13 interceptions while earning All-City Defensive POY (Shreveport Times) and Louisiana Class 4A all-state honors.

Captain Kirk

Sophomore WR/RS Christian Kirk is the only receiver in the SEC with 50-plus catches in 2016 and he has a school-record four TD punt returns on just 22 career tries.

Became the first Aggie to post two punt return TDs in same game last week vs. NMSU (70 and 73 yards).
Kirk and Washington's Dante Pettis are the only FBS players with multiple PR TDs the past two seasons.
Among his 22 career punt returns are four TD and five 50-yard plus returns. His career PR average of 23.3 would make him the FBS active leader by more than four yards per return if he had the requisite 24 career returns.
Kirk posted a career-high 12 catches vs. South Carolina.
A consensus 5-star recruit out of Saguaro HS in Scottsdale, Ariz., Kirk was an early enrollee in January of 2015.

Tough Matchup

At 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds, junior WR Ricky Seals-Jones ranks as one of the toughest matchups for defensive backs in the nation.

Seals-Jones missed the SC and UT games due to injury, but returned vs. ALA.
Seals-Jones has been consistently praised as one of the team's top blockers on the perimeter.
Seals-Jones has been the team's third-leading receiver the past two seasons with 49 catches in 2014 and 45 in 2015.
His receptions single game high is 10 catches vs. Mississippi State in 2014, which ranks as one of five double-digit catch games by a freshman.
RSJ played in two games as a true freshman in 2013 before suffering a season-ending injury. In his first career game, Seals-Jones reeled off a 71-yard TD catch and run against Rice that remains his career long.
The early-season showdown of future Texas A&M signees Seals-Jones of Sealy HS and QB Kohl Stewart of St. Pius in 2012 was the first destination of the "Swag-copter" when head coach Kevin Sumlin used a helicopter to get from College Station to St. Pius' Parsley Field in Houston.

Graduate Transfer QB

Graduate transfer Trevor Knight is the first upperclassman QB starter of the Kevin Sumlin era at Texas A&M with a caveat: Junior Matt Joeckel started the 2013 season-opener vs. Rice in place of Johnny Manziel, who was suspended for the first half.

Named Midseason National Offensive Player of the Year by CollegeFootballNews.com.
Knight joined the Aggies in January as a graduate transfer after playing three seasons at the University of Oklahoma.
Has already established career highs in total offense (422 vs. PVAMU) and rushing yards (157 vs. ARK).
Named Davey O'Brien National QB of the Week and Earl Campbell Tyler Rose POTW after rushing for 157/2 TDs and passing for 225/2 TDs in win over ARK (9/24).
At OU, Knight started 15 games, including two bowl games.
Knight's stats at OU were 3,424 passing yards/25 TDs and 852 rushing yards/8 TDs. He was named the MVP of OU's 2014 Sugar Bowl win over Alabama after connecting on 32-of-44 passes for 348 yards and four TDs.
Knight had four 300-yard passing games and two 100-yard rushing games at OU.
His fraternal twin brother, Connor, is a senior fullback for the Sooners.
Knight earned his bachelor's degree in finance at OU and is pursuing his master's degree in management at Texas A&M.
Knight helped spearhead the Aggies' humanitarian trip to Haiti last summer, and had made previous trips to the impoverished nation while at OU.

Ball Hawk Safety

Senior SS Justin Evans has a well-earned reputation as one of the SEC's biggest hitters. He added ball-hawk to his repertoire with four pickoffs in 2016, which is tied for the SEC lead.

Named Midseason National Defensive POTY by NFL.com...Semifinalist for the Thorpe Award (best college DB).
Evans was spectacular in the season-opener against UCLA with a pair of interceptions, another broken up pass, a 21.0 average on kickoff returns and eight tackles. He earned Nagurski and Thorpe National Player of the Week honors.
After the Auburn game, Evans was named SEC Defensive POTW after making a game-high 12 tackles and breaking up a pass against the Tigers.
Evans ranked No. 3 on the team with 78 tackles in 2015, and he also contributed an interception and three broken up passes.
He had a season-high 10 tackles in SEC games against Alabama and Vanderbilt.
Evans joined the Aggies as an early enrollee after transferring from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
Was also a standout baseball player in high school, batting .495 as a senior at Wiggins High School.

Instant Impact

True freshman RB Trayveon Williams still isn't listed as the Aggies' starter at running back, but his impact on the Texas A&M rushing attack is undeniable.

Williams ranks No. 5 in the SEC with an average of 97.0 rushing yards per game, while averaging 7.8 yards per rush.
With 217 rushing yards against UT, Williams became the first Aggie true freshman to surpass the 200 rushing yards plateau. His 89-yard sprint vs. AUB was the second-longest by a freshman in A&M history.
Was an early enrollee at Texas A&M in January 2016. A four-star recruit, Williams was District 15-5A MVP in 2015 after rushing for 1,409 yards and 20 TDs as a senior at C.E. King. Rushed for nearly 4,000 yards and 40 touchdowns his final two seasons.

Runs Like a Ford

The other half of the Aggies' formidable running back tandem is hard-running junior Keith Ford, who is in his first season of action for Texas A&M after transferring from Oklahoma.

Running style has been described as "physical" with an "earnest pursuit of contact." (Dallas Morning News, 10/27/2016)
While not being the homerun threat of Williams, Ford does have at least one 15-yard or longer run in six of eight games.
While sitting out the 2015 season per NCAA transfer rules, Ford was named the Offensive Scout Team MVP.
Played two seasons at OU, seeing action in 18 games with three starts in 2013 and 2014.
Rushed for 369 yards and 5 TDs on 63 carries in 2014. Had a career-high 91 yards on nine carries vs. OSU. Earned starts against KU, UT and Tulsa, while seeing action in eight games. As a freshman, Ford gained 134 yards on 23 carries in 10 games.
Five-star recruit from Cypress Ranch HS near Houston after rushing for 1,868 yards and 24 TDs as a senior.

Big Maroon Goons

Calling themselves the Maroon Goons since 2012, the Aggies' typical starting lineup of tackles Jermaine Eluemenor and Avery Gennesey, guards Colton Prater and Connor Lanfear and center Erik McCoy weigh in at 1,555 pounds, or 311.0 pounds per goon.

Collectively, they are the second-heaviest starting five in school history, just behind the year-ending starting five in 2014 that averaged 312.0.

Here's the Beef

*Goon*	HT	WT	*Starts*
Jermaine Eluemunor, RT	6-5	315	9
Connor Lanfear, RG	6-6	315	7
Erik McCoy, C	6-4	305	8
Colton Prater, LG	6-4	295	8
Avery Gennesy, LT	6-5	315	21

Texas A&M has produced a NFL first-round pick at offensive tackle for the past four seasons -- Luke Joeckel in 2013, Jake Matthews in 2014, Cedric Ogbuehi in 2015 and Germain Ifedi in 2016.
Easily the most experienced Goon, senior LT Avery Gennesy started all 13 games in 2015 and has 21 career starts.
Entering 2016, RT Jermaine Eluemenor was the only other Goon with starting experience -- he started one game at guard in 2015 (bowl game vs. Louisville).
Eluemenor is nicknamed "London" because he grew up in London, England before moving to New Jersey as a teen.
Eluemenor was the "hot chicken eating" champion at last year's Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tenn.
The Aggies have rushed for 200+ yards in seven of eight games, including 366 vs. ARK which was the most against a SEC opponent since joining the league.
Texas A&M hadn't rushed for 200+ yards in the first six games of a season since the days of Emory Bellard's famed Wishbone offense with Bubba Bean and George "Big Woo" Woodard in 1975.
Texas A&M (6.3) and LSU (6.7) are the only teams in the SEC averaging more than six yards per carry.
The first Goon off the bench has been 305-pound swing tackle Koda Martin, who has made a pair of starts at RT in 2016 and came in for an injured Gennesy against UCLA.

Kevin Sumlin

Years at TAMU:      5th (hired Dec. 10, 2011)
Coaching Record    43-17 at Texas A&M / 78-34 overall (9th season)
Birthdate:              Aug. 3, 1964
Hometown:            Indianapolis, Ind.
Wife:                     Charlene
Children:                daughters Courtney and Shelby, sons Jackson and Joey
High School:           Brebeuf Jesuit Prep, Indianapolis, Ind.
College:                  Purdue, 1988

Kevin Sumlin enters his fifth season at Texas A&M in 2016. His 36 wins (36-16 record) after his first four seasons marked the second-fastest coaching start in school history behind R.C. Slocum's 39 wins from 1989-92.
Sumlin was just the second Texas A&M head coach to lead the Aggies to at least eight wins in his each of his first four years.
Sumlin's record against non-conference teams ranked in the AP Top 25 is a perfect 5-0 (wins over No. 22 Louisiana Tech and No. 11 Oklahoma in 2012, No. 22 Duke in 2013, No. 15 Arizona State in 2015 and No. 16 UCLA in 2016).
Sumlin's 11 wins against AP Top 25 opponents rank No. 2 among Texas A&M head coaches in school history. Slocum leads the list with 17 wins vs. ranked opponents.
Sumlin was the first Texas A&M coach to win three straight bowl games (2012-14). His three bowl wins match the most by a Texas A&M head coach (Slocum had three from 1989-2002). He was the second head coach in program history to take his first four squads to a bowl game.
Sumlin was the 2012 SEC Coach of the Year by the Associated Press and the SEC Co-Coach of the Year by the league head coaches.
Sumlin was a 2009, 2011 and 2012 Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year finalist, and a AFCA Coach of the Year finalist in 2011.
Sumlin was hired at Texas A&M on Dec. 10, 2011 after four highly successful seasons as head coach at the University of Houston.
He compiled a 35-17 record at UH, and led the Cougars to three bowl games in his four seasons.
He earned his degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Purdue University in 1988. Sumlin was a standout linebacker for the Boilermakers from 1983-86.
Sumlin served as an assistant coach at Texas A&M from 2001-02. Was hired as assistant head coach and wide receivers coach, and he added offensive coordinator to his responsibilities early in the 2002 season after the offense struggled early in the season. With Sumlin calling the plays, the Aggie offense flourished, averaging 33.0 points and 419 yards per game for the remainder of the season after posting just 16.0 points and 286 yards per game previously. A highlight of the season included a 30-26 win over top-ranked Oklahoma with the Aggies gaining 404 total yards to key the victory.
Other assistant coaching stops for Sumlin include: Oklahoma (2003-07), Purdue (1998-2000), Minnesota (1993-97) and Wyoming (1991-92). He got his coaching start as a graduate assistant at Washington State from 1989-90.
Sumlin is a native of Indianapolis, Ind., and attended high school at Brebeuf Jesuit Prep. He was born Aug. 3, 1964, in Brewton, Ala.

Sumlin vs Top 25

In his ninth season as a head coach, fifth-year Aggie coach Kevin Sumlin has a career record of 15-13 against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 (12-12 at A&M).

Sumlin's record against non-conference teams ranked in the AP Top 25 is a perfect 5-0 (wins over No. 22 Louisiana Tech and No. 11 Oklahoma in 2012, No. 22 Duke in 2013, No. 15 Arizona State in 2015 and No. 16 UCLA in 2016).
Sumlin's three road wins over AP top 10 teams is a school record.
Sumlin's five road wins and nine wins away from Kyle vs. AP Top 25 squads are already the most by any coach in school history.
The win over No. 9 Tennessee was Kevin Sumlin's 12th win over an AP Top 25-ranked opponent, which is No. 2 among A&M coaches. R.C. Slocum leads the list with 17 wins vs. ranked opponents.