No. 11 A&M Travels to Mississippi State

THE MATCHUP

• (#11) Texas A&M at Mississippi State
• Date/Time: Saturday, Oct. 17 / 3:05 p.m. (CT)
• Venue: Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field
• Live Stats: Click Here

TV INFO

• ESPN (Dave Neal, DJ Shockley, Dawn Davenport)
• Live Stream: Click Here

RADIO

• Texas A&M Sports Network (Andrew Monaco, Dave Elmendorf, Will Johnson)
• Local: WTAW-AM 1620/94.5 FM, The Zone 1150 AM/93.7 FM
• Satellite: Sirius/XM 83
• Live Stream: 12th Man Mobile
   
• Texas A&M Spanish Network (Michel Gonzalez, Pedro Luna, Alejandra Dorbecker)
• Local: 102.7 FM La Jefa
• Live Stream: 12th Man Mobile

What to watch for: #MSUvsTAMU

• Texas A&M aims to even the series with Mississippi State, in search of it first win in Starkville since joining the SEC in 2012. 
• Senior QB Kellen Mond needs 407 yards of offense to pass Johnny Manziel for the career total offense record at A&M ... He needs one touchdown to become the third Aggie with 60-plus career scoring passes.
• Mond is also in search of the 25th victory of his career, which would tie him for second all-time at A&M. 
• Mond made his 37th career start against Florida, which is the second-most by a QB in school history ... Corey Pullig (1992-95) is the school record holder with 40 career QB starts (33-6-1).
• The Aggies have a veteran o-line at work this season that has combined to make 122 starts ... The unit ranks third in the nation, allowing just 0.33 sacks per game.
• Senior LB Buddy Johnson has led the defense in tackles in each of the team’s three games, matching a career high with 11 against Vandy and Florida ... Johnson was A&M’s most consistent performer on defense last season and led the team with 77 takedowns. 
• Junior PK Seth Small needs two field goals to move into the top five in career makes at A&M ... At Alabama he became the eighth Aggie to reach the 40-FG mark.
• Small sent a 26-yard FG through the uprights as time expired to knock off No. 4 Florida, marking the first time A&M has hit a game-winning field goal with zeros on the clock since Josh Lambo connected on a 33-yard attempt to top Ole Miss 41-38 in 2013.

QUICK HITS

• Senior QB Kellen Mond became A&M’s all-time leader in career passing yards in the win over Florida, upping his total to 8,224 ... Mond also holds the all-time record for career completions (680) and attempts (1,168).
• Mond recorded the seventh 300-yard passing game of his career against Florida, throwing for 338 yards and three touchdowns, which ties his regulation career high. 
• Sophomore RB Isaiah Spiller’s 174 yards on the ground and sophomore WR Caleb Chapman’s 151 receiving yards against Florida marked the first time in program history A&M has had a receiver and rusher with more than 150 yards each in a game. 
• Spiller surpassed the 1,000 career rushing yards mark in just the 14th game of his career after tallying 117 yards on the ground against Vandy, the fifth 100-yard rushing game of his career.
• A&M’s win over Florida was the program’s first victory over a top-five team since topping No.3 Auburn in 2014.
• The Aggies racked up 543 yards of total offense against Florida, 205 rushing and 338 through the air, marking the most for the Aggies in regulation since 2016. 
• Quick starts have been a harbinger of Aggie victories in the Jimbo Fisher era. The Aggies are 14-4 when scoring first and a perfect 13-0 when leading after the first quarter. 
• Under DC Mike Elko, the Aggies ranked in the top 35 in total defense in 2018 (No. 32)and 2019 (No. 29) FBS statistical rankings. Prior to Elko’s arrival, the Aggies hadn’t ranked in the top 50 nationally in more than a decade (since 2006). 

MILESTONES TO WATCH FOR

• Senior QB Kellen Mond needs 406 yards of offense to pass Johnny Manziel (9,989 from 2012-13) as A&M’s all-time career leader in total offense.
• Mond needs two rushing TDs to join Johnny Manziel, Joel Hunt and Bucky Richardson as the only Aggie QBs with 20 career rushing scores. 
• Mond currently ranks No. 4 on the Aggies’ winningest QB list, one behind No. 3 David Walker (25-9 from 1973-74, 76-77).
• Senior OL Carson Green is slated to make his 33rd consecutive start, which is the longest streak on the team.
• Senior S Keldrick Carper needs four tackles to reach the century mark for his career. 
• Senior DB Myles Jones has 24 career pass breakups, which is three shy of breaking into the school’s top 10 list for PBUs. 

Mond Making History

• Senior QB Kellen Mond is only pace to finish his career atop nearly every A&M career passing record ... Against Alabama Mond claimed the top spot in career completions and attempts, and later set the career passing yards record in the win over No. 4 Florida.
• One of the winningest quarterbacks in program history, Mond boasts a 24-13 record and needs one victory to tie Kevin Murray and David Walker for second all-time.
• Mond and Johnny Manziel are the only quarterbacks in A&M history to tally over 9,000 yards of total offense in their careers, and are the only two Aggie signal callers to throw for over 7,000 yards and rush for 1,000-plus yards.
• Mond has surpassed the 300-passing yard mark seven times in his career, most recently with 338 against Florida this season... Only Jerrod Johnson (12), Johnny Manziel (10) have tallied more 300-yard games.
• Mond is also climbing the SEC career passing and total offense charts ... He is currently tied with Jake Fromm for 25th on the league’s all-time career passing yards list, and ranks 16th on the total offense list.  

Spiller Shines Early

• Sophomore RB Isaiah Spiller has established himself as one of the top running backs in the SEC and ranks third in the league with 316 yards on the season. 
• Spiller has recorded two 100-yard rushing games against SEC opponents through three outings this year ... As a freshman he eclipsed the century mark just once in league play. 
• Against Florida, Spiller rushed for 174 yards and two touchdowns which marked the seventh 100-yard game and the third multi-touchdown game of his young career.

SEC Rushing Leaders

Player, School Att. Yds Avg.
Najee Harris, Alabama   52 347 6.67
Kevin Harris, S Carolina   56 326 5.82
Isaiah Spiller, A&M          46 316 6.87
Larry Roundtree III, Missouri 50 270 5.40
Jerrion Ealy, Ole Miss      45 243 5.40

GOONS PROTECTING QB1

Despite being one of just two FBS teams with a pair of games vs. top 5 opponents arleady, Texas A&M’s offensive front, long known as the Maroon Goons, has emerged as one of the best at limiting pressure on the quarterback. 

• The Maroon Goons have allowed just one sack (3 games) in 2020, which is the fewest in the SEC and ranks in a tie for No. 3 nationally. 
• Next closest among SEC teams are Florida and Alabama, who have both given up 4.0 QBS in three games. 
• Of the teams in the top 5, Texas A&M is the only team with more than 70 pass attempts (111). 
• Additionally, the Aggies are averaging a robust 455.0 total yards/game and 6.63 yards/play. 

Fewest Sacks Allowed

Rk. School QBS-Yards QBS/G
1. Florida Atlantic 0.0-0 0.00
Temple 0.0-0 0.00
3 Texas A&M 1.0-2 0.33
Georgia Southern 1.0-7 0.33
Coastal Carolina 1.0-11 0.33

Wydermyer Surges vs Top 5 Opponents

Sophomore TE Jalen Wydermyer ranks in a tie for second among SEC tight ends with 15 catches, but he’s done his most damage in the Aggies’ last two games vs. No. 2 Alabama and No. 4 Florida with 13 receptions for 135 yards. 

• Wydermyer’s 13 catches vs. AP Top 25 teams ranks in a tie for third nationally, and ranks first among tight ends. 
• Wydermyer is the Aggies’ leader with 10 catches for first downs, and he also leads with six catches for first downs on third-down plays. 

SEC TE Receiving Leaders

Player, School Rec.-Yds Avg. TD
Kyle Pitts, Florida 17-274 16.1 7
Kenny Yeboah, Ole Miss 15-355 23.7 4
Jalen Wydermyer, A&M 15-154 10.3 0
Arik Gilbert, LSU 14-177 12.6 2
Nick Muse, S Carolina 11-156 14.2 0
Ben Bresnahan, Vanderbilt 11-97 8.8 1