GAME PREVIEW: Aggies Close Home Schedule, Host ACU

Nov 17, 2023 | Football

By: Athletics Communications

Gameday: ACU

Saturday, Nov. 18 • 11:03 a.m. CT
Kyle Field • College Station
Live Stats: Click Here

THE MATCHUP

Texas A&M: 6-4
last: def. Miss State, 51-10
Game Notes: Click Here
ACU: 5-5
last: lost to Tarleton, 31-30
Game Notes: Click Here

RANKINGS

Texas A&M: NR
ACU: NR

WATCH

TV: SEC Network + (stream)
Play-by-Play: Courtney Lyle
Analyst: Hutson Mason
Sidelines: Ashley Stroehlein
How to Watch

LISTEN

Radio: TAMU Sports Network
1620 AM/94.5 FM (local), SiriusXM 108/205
Play-by-Play: Andrew Monaco
Analyst: Dave Elmendorf
Sidelines: Will Johnson
Listen Live: 12th Man Mobile App

Spanish Broadcast: Click Here
102.7 FM (local)
Play-by-Play: Michel Gonzalez
Analyst: Pedro Luna
Analyst: Alejandra Dorbecker
Listen Live: 12th Man Mobile App

Texas A&M will play its final home game of the season and honor its senior class when the Aggies host ACU Saturday morning at Kyle Field. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m.

The game will be streamed on the ESPN platform and available to SEC Network + and ESPN + viewers. Many fans who normally watch A&M events such as volleyball, baseball, basketball, etc. on the SECN+ platform will access the game in much the same way. Unsure of how to watch? Click here.

The Aggies, who are 5-1 at home in 2023, enter the game off a dominating 51-10 win over Mississippi State at Kyle Field last Saturday. A&M will be led by interim head coach Elijah Robinson, who was named to the position on Sunday afternoon.

ACU (5-5) will be playing its final game of the year after losing its home finale last weekend to Tarleton, 31-30. Saturday will mark the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

Saturday's forecast calls for partly cloudy skies and temps in the low- to mid-70s.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

The Aggies and Wildcats meet for the first time Saturday as A&M will honor its senior class in its final home game of the season.
Graduate WR Ainias Smith has been a spark for the A&M offense, tallying 21 20-plus yard plays this season and has added at least 25 yards after the catch in six of A&M's seven SEC games, including a season-high 68 yards against South Carolina ... Smith ranks eighth in the SEC averaging 71.6 receiving yards per game and 16.7 yards per catch.
Smith, the FBS active career leader in punt return yards, ranks sixth nationally and leads the SEC averaging 17.1 yards per return ... He also ranks seventh in the SEC averaging 105.4 all-purpose yards per game, eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark this season for the first time in his career.
The A&M offense has tallied over 350 yards of total offense in eight of the team's 10 games this season, most recently tallying 396 yards against Mississippi State, while ranking 24th nationally and fourth in the league averaging 34.2 points per game.
Junior LB Edgerrin Cooper has been a beast for the Aggies in SEC play, tallying 12.0 tackles for loss and 7.0 sacks through six league games ... Cooper leads the SEC and is tied for eighth nationally with 16.0 TFLs and is tied for 24th in the country and third in the league with 7.0 sacks, while his 70 total tackles on the year are good for seventh in the SEC.
A&M leads the Power 5 with 88.0 tackles for loss and 39.0 sacks on the year ... The Aggies have tallied 69.0 TFL and 33.0 sacks through seven league games this season.
The Aggie defense has shut down opponents on third down this season, ranking 11th nationally with a 29.0 opponent conversion percentage ... The unit is also seventh in the country allowing just 15.2 first downs per game, while its 56 rushing first downs allowed rank ninth among Power 5 programs.

QUICK HITS

Sophomore transfer QB Jaylen Henderson became the third Aggie QB to start a game this season as he helped the Aggies rank up 51 points, the most in an SEC game since the 2015 season ... Henderson accounted for four touchdowns, including a 22-yard sprint to the end zone on A&M's first drive, and 210 yards of total offense.
Junior RB Amari Daniels has seen the bulk of the carries over the last few games and ranks 13th in the SEC averaging 53.8 yards per game ... Against Mississippi State he added 59 yards on nine attempts, scoring his fifth touchdown of the season late in the first quarter.
Junior DL Shemar Turner has been a consistent disruptor on the line this season, recording at least 1.0 tackle for loss in eight of the team's 10 games ... Turner is tied for seventh in the SEC with 6.0 sacks and tied for ninth with 10.0 TFLs on the year ... Turner has also made impactful contributions on special teams, blocking a field goal attempt at Ole Miss that resulted in an Aggie touchdown and getting his hand on a 49-yard attempt against Mississippi State.
The Aggies recorded 5.0 sacks in the win over Mississippi State, their fourth time registering five-ormore sacks in seven SEC games.
Texas A&M picked off three passes and forced a season-high four turnovers in the win over Mississippi State ... The interception total marked the most in a league game since tallying three picks against Ole Miss in 2015.
The Aggies have limited the opposition to less than 240 yards of total offense six times this season and have only allowed an opponent to tally over 100 yards rushing and receiving in the same game twice this year.
Junior PK Randy Bond ranks seventh in the nation and second in the SEC averaging 10.1 points per game, while his 101 total points on the year rank fifth across the country ... His 21 made field goals on the season are tied for the most nationally.

MILESTONES TO WATCH FOR

Graduate WR Ainias Smith continues his climb through the A&M record books and needs just one receiving touchdown to earn sole possession of fifth on the all-time list.
Smith enters the week with 170 career receptions and is in pursuit of Terrence Murphy's (2001-04) 172 career mark to move into fourth on A&M's all-time list.
After upping his career receiving yards total to 2,328 against Mississippi State, Smith is chasing Mike Evans' (2012-13) mark of 2,499, which is good for sixth all-time.
On the verge of breaking into another top five, Smith is currently in sixth with 824 punt return yards and is in need of 100 yards to move up a spot ... He is also 329 yards away from passing Leland McElroy's (1993- 95) 4,441 career yards to move into seventh on A&M's all-purpose yards list, entering the week with 3,858.
Sophomore WR Evan Stewart made his way into A&M's career receptions list, currently tied with Mike Goodson (2006-08) in 26th with 90 career catches ... He is three receiving touchdowns away from breaking into the top 25 all-time at A&M, as well as 47 receiving yards away from cracking A&M's top 30.
Junior WR Moose Muhammad III is on the cusp of moving into the top 20 of A&M's all-time career receiving touchdowns list with nine career scoring receptions, while he is also 107 receiving yards away from reaching the 1,000-yard mark for his career.
Freshman LB Taurean York is 1.5 tackles for loss away from tying Dat Nguyen's (1995) No. 3 freshman TFL total of 7.0, not including sacks, and is three tackles away from passing teammate Edgerrin Cooper and Sammy O'Brient (1984) who are tied for 12th on the list with 58 takedowns in their debut seasons.
Junior PLK Randy Bond is on the cusp of entering the top 10 on A&M's all-time field goals made list, just four away from passing Taylor Bertolet (2012-15) in 10th who tallied 37 made field goals in his career ... Bond's 21 made field goals this season are tied for fourth on A&M's single-season list and his next make with put him in a tie for second with Seth Small (2021) and Bertolet (2015) ... Bond's 101 points on the year are good for 17th on the Aggies' single-season list.

QB ROOM

The Aggies have seen three different starting quarterbacks lead the team to victory this season after the QB room has battled injuries throughout the team ... Sophomores Conner Weigman, Max Johnson and Jaylen Henderson have all started at least one game under center this season and each earned an SEC victory donning the Maroon & White.
Henderson impressed in his first career start for the Aggies, leading A&M to its highest point total since the 2014 season and becoming the first Aggie QB to score multiple rushing touchdowns in a game since 2019 ... Henderson finished the win over Mississippi State with 210 yards of total offense and accounted for four touchdowns on the day.
Henderson transferred to A&M after spending two seasons at Fresno State, seeing action in five games ... He was a 3-star prospect out of Chaminade High School and though his senior season was shorted in the spring of 2021, he threw for over 1,400 yards and 15 touchdowns while posting 345 rushing yards and a trip to the end zone.
Johnson stood ready for the Aggies through camp and the early part of the 2023 season, returning to the starting lineup Week 5 against Arkansas before suffering an injury late at Ole Miss ...He was thrown into action in the second half of the Auburn game with A&M up 6-3 at the break following an injury to Weigman and immediately tossed a pair of scoring passes in the third quarter to distance the Aggies and position the team for victory.
Johnson, who has played in 30 games as an SEC quarterback between A&M and LSU, registered his first 300-yard passing game as an Aggie and the sixth of his college career when he completed a career-best 31 passes for 305 yards at Ole Miss.
In his first season in Aggieland after transferring from LSU, Johnson led the Aggies to back-to-back victories over AP top-15 teams, topping No. 13 Miami 17-9 at Kyle Field in his first start for the Maroon & White before knocking off No. 10 Arkansas, 23-21 at AT&T Stadium ... Johnson's stint as the A&M starter was cut short the following week after suffering a season-ending hand injury at Mississippi State.
Weigman was named the starter at end of fall camp this year after closing out the 2022 season starting four of the final five games ... He made it back-to-back 300-yard passing games, three for his career, after tallying 336 at Miami and racking up 337 against ULM ... Weigman also finished the ULM game 25-of-29 passing for a school record 86.2 completion percentage.
Weigman put on a show against New Mexico, connecting on five touchdown passes and finishing the opener going 18-of-23 for 236 yards through the air.
Making his first career start against No. 15 Ole Miss in 2022, Weigman racked up 338 yards on 28-of-44 passing and four touchdowns ... His passing yards were the most in a game by a true freshman in program history and his four passing TDs were the most by any A&M freshman.