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What To Watch For | Texas A&M at Mississippi State

Texas A&M (5-2 overall, 3-1 SEC) seeks bowl eligibility for a school-record 10th straight season when the No. 16/17 Aggies take on Mississippi State at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Miss., on ESPN.

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2018 TEXAS A&M FOOTBALL
GAME 8 | AT MISSISSIPPI STATE
SATURDAY, OCT. 27, 2018
GAME TIME: 6 PM CT | SITE: DAVIS WADE STADIUM  | TV: ESPN


WHAT TO WATCH FOR #TAMUvsMSST:

  • Texas A&M (5-2 overall, 3-1 SEC) seeks bowl eligibility for a school-record 10th straight season when the No. 16/17 Aggies take on Mississippi State at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Miss., on ESPN.
  • The Aggies' nine-year streak of bowl appearances is tied for the 11th-longest active streak in the FBS (fourth-longest among SEC schools behind Georgia (21), LSU (17), Alabama (14).
  • Texas A&M will be seeking its fourth consecutive SEC victory on Saturday, which would match the Aggies' longest conference win streak since joining the SEC. Texas A&M won four straight in 2012 (@AUB, @MSST, @ALA, MIZZ) and 2016 (@AUB, vs. ARK, @SC, TENN). 
  • A win would be the Aggies' third this month, which would match the most in the month of October since joining the SEC (2012 and 2016). 
  • Head Coach Jimbo Fisher has won five of his last six games as a HC when coming off a regularly scheduled bye (FSU's 2017 schedule was revamped after Hurricane Irma).
  • In a battle of first-year SEC coaches, Jimbo Fisher and Mississippi State's Joe Moorhead square off for the first time. 
  • The Bulldogs own a slight advantage over Texas A&M, 6-5, in the series, which dates back all the way to 1912. Since joining the SEC, the series is tied at 3-3 with Mississippi State winning the last two meetings. 
  • Armed with their highest national ranking since 2016, the Aggies look to snap a two-game losing streak against the Bulldogs in Starkville. 
 



SETTING THE SCENE: TEXAS A&M vs. MISSISSIPPI STATE

  • KICKOFF: 6:00 p.m. (CT)
  • SERIES VS. MISSISSIPPI STATE: Mississippi State leads 6-5 
    10/28/2017 | College Station | L, 14-35
    11/5/2016 | Starkville | L, 28-35
    10/3/2015 | College Station | W, 30-17
    10/4/2014 | Starkville | L, 31-48
    11/9/2013 | College Station | W, 51-41
    11/3/2012 | Starkville | W, 38-13
    12/31/2000 | Shreveport, La. | L, 41-43
    10/9/1937 | Tyler, Texas | W, 14-0
    11/25/1915 | College Station | L, 0-7
    11/1/1913 | Dallas | L, 0-6
    11/28/1912 | College Station | W, 41-7
  • SITE: Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, Miss.   (capacity: 61,337) 
  • RANKINGS: Mississippi State: RV (AP), RV (Coaches) | Texas A&M: #16 (AP), #17 (Coaches)
  • TELEVISION: ESPN (National)
    Dave Pasch, play-by-play
    Greg McElroy, analyst
    Tom Luginbill, sideline  
  • RADIO: 
    Texas A&M Radio Network (Regional) - The Texas A&M Radio Network provides coverage via nearly 60 stations across the state of Texas.  
    Andrew Monaco, play-by-play
    Dave Elmendorf, analyst 
    Will Johnson, sideline

    Texas A&M Spanish Network (Regional) - Texas A&M's Spanish broadcast can be heard on radio stations in Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, El Paso, Brownsville and McAllen, Texas. Locally, the TAMU Spanish Network can be heard on 1550 AM.
    Pedro Vela Almaguer, play-by-play
    Noel Orellana, analyst 

    SIRIUS XM: The Texas A&M Radio Network call of the game can be heard on SiriusXM at Sirius 81 / XM 81 / Internet 81. 
     


MILESTONES TO WATCH:

  •  RB Trayveon Williams is on the cusp of breaking into the top 10 in career rushing at Texas A&M. With 2,653 career yards, the junior needs 59 yards to pass surpass Courtney Lewis (2003-06) for 10th. 
  • Senior LB Otaro Alaka, who has started in 33 consecutive games, needs just 13 tackles to eclipse the 250 career tackle mark.


 

QUICK HITS:

  • Texas A&M's defense ranks second nationally in third-down conversions, holding opposing teams to just 22.8%. 
  • The Aggie defense is holding opposing offenses to 81.6 rushing yards per game, which is the best in the SEC and fourth in FBS. 
  • Texas A&M has dominated possession in the first seven games averaging 36:39 per game. The tally ranks first in the SEC and is tops among Power 5 schools. 
  • The Maroon & White averages 486.7 yards of offense per game, which ranks 14th nationally. 
  • Texas A&M is averaging 27.0 first downs per game, the most in the SEC and third in FBS, and is allowing just 14.9 first downs defensively, which tops the SEC and is third among P5 schools. 
  • The Aggies are just one of five schools nationally to rank in the top 25 in both total offense and total defense, joining Alabama, Appalachian State, Clemson and Washington State. 
  • Texas A&M carries a 34-game streak of scoring at least 14 points into Saturday's game, which is the longest such streak in the SEC and ranks third among Power 5 schools (Oklahoma, 47 & West Virginia, 38.
 



MANN ON A MISSION:

  • Junior P Braden Mann leads all of the FBS in gross punting by over four and a half yards with an average punt of 54.5 yards. 
  • Mann is averaging 54.5 yards per punt, the best mark in college football history by over four yards (min. 36 punts). 
  • At No. 1 Alabama, Mann broke the NCAA record with the highest gross punt average in a single game at 60.8 on five boots, which broke the old record of 60.4 that was originally set by BYU's Lee Johnson vs. Wyoming in 1983 and matched by Quinn Sharp of Oklahoma State vs. Nebraska in 2010.
  • Mann needs just one more punt of 60+ yards to match the NCAA record of 13, set by Ryan Plackemeier of Wake Forest in 2005. Twelve of his 27 punts in 2018 are 60-or-more yards in length, including a career-long 82-yarder against Kentucky. 
  • Mann leads the SEC with a 54.5 average on 27 punts through seven games, and leads the No. 2 punter, Kentucky's Max Duffy, by 8.3 yards. 
  • Texas A&M leads the FBS with a 45.3 net punting average, which is on pace for the second-best mark in FBS history, trailing only Utah's 1971 team (46.7 net yards per punt). No team in FBS since BYU in 1983 has averaged 45.0 or more net yards per punt for a full season. 
  • Mann is on pace to break the NCAA season record of 50.3 (min. 36 punts) set by LSU's Chad Kessler in 1997. (Also the SEC record) 
  • Mann's 82-yard boot is the longest punt this season in FBS and the third longest in Texas A&M history. 
  • Sometimes long punts can lead to long punt returns, but only nine of Mann's boots have been returned for a total of 69 yards. 
  • On the longest return, a 32-yarder by South Carolina's Bryan Edwards, Mann forced a fumble that was recovered by the Aggies. 
  • Only one other team in FBS history that does not play home games at altitude has averaged over 45.0 net yards per punt—Southern Miss in 1972, led by legendary punter Ray Guy. 
  • Texas A&M is #PunterU and counts long-time NFL standouts Shane Lechler (9-time NFL All-Pro), Yale Lary (NFL Hall of Fame) and Steve O'Neal (NFL record 98-yard punt in 1969) among its alumni.
     



INSTANT IMPACT:

  • Hailing from the tiny junior college Northeastern Oklahoma A&M CC, junior TE Jace Sternberger has immediately become an integral part of the Aggie offense. 
  • Sternberger has hauled in six TD catches, which is the Aggies' TE school record and is tops in the SEC and co-leads the FBS among tight ends. 
  • Has posted at least one 20+ yard catch in every game. 
  • He earned John Mackey TE of the Week honors after making five catches for 56 yards with two TDs against NSU (8/30) and was an honorable mention after his performance at South Carolina in which he set career highs in receptions (9) and yards (145) with a touchdown.
     



CONTROLLING THE BALL:

  • Through seven games, including three against AP top 15 teams, Texas A&M is the SEC's leader in first downs per game and time of possession.  
  • Additionally, the Aggies join Alabama as the the only teams in the SEC to average more than 200 rushing and 280 passing yards per game.
  • Texas A&M leads all SEC teams that have played 7 games with 189 first downs, and is averaging 27.0 first downs a game, tops in the SEC.
  • Speaking to the balance of the Aggies' offense, Texas A&M is one of four FBS schools with 80+ first downs via rush (81) and 90+ first downs via pass (93). 
  • The Aggies are far-and-away the SEC leader in time of possession with an average of 36:39 per game, which is more than four and a half minutes per game more than No. 2 LSU (31:57), and ranks third nationally. 



CONNECTIONS:

  • Texas A&M offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey was the QBs and RBs coach at Mississippi State for the 1990 season.   
  • Aggie tight ends coach Tim Brewster served as the wide receivers coach in Starkville from 2012-13. 
  • Texas A&M's cornerbacks coach Maurice Linguist was the safeties coach at Mississippi State in 2016. 
  •  Mississippi State CB coach, Terrell Buckley, was on staff at Florida State from 2007-11 was OC/HC.Â