Saturday, September 23
Bryan-College Station
11:00 AM
Texas A&M
vs
Auburn
GAME PREVIEW: Aggies Open SEC Race Saturday
Sep 22, 2023 | Football
Gameday: Auburn
- Saturday, Sept. 23 • 11:07 a.m. CT
- Kyle Field • Bryan-College Station
- Live Stats: Click Here
THE MATCHUP
- Texas A&M: 2-1
- last: def. ULM, 47-3
- Auburn: 3-0
- last: def. Samford, 45-13
- Game Notes: Click Here
RANKINGS
- Texas A&M: RV (Coaches)
- ULM: RV (AP)
WATCH
- TV: ESPN
- Play-by-Play: Bob Wischusen
- Analyst: Robert Griffin III
- Sidelines: Kris Budden
LISTEN
- Radio: TAMU Sports Network
- 1620 AM/94.5 FM (local), SiriusXM 136/191
- 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
Kyle Field will be rocking on Saturday morning as Texas A&M opens its 12th season of SEC football by hosting the Auburn Tigers. Kickoff is set for 11:07 a.m. and ESPN will air the game nationally.
The Aggies (2-1) bounced back nicely last week, trouncing ULM 47-3 behind a strong showing from Conner Weigman in the pocket and a stout defensive effort. The Tigers, meanwhile, enter at 3-0 and are coming off a 45-13 win over Samford at Jordan-Hare Stadium--a game which saw Auburn put up over 550 yards of offense.
The all-time series is a strange one--it's split almost down the middle, with Texas A&M leading seven wins to six. Ironically, it wasn't until 2018 that the home team won a game. A&M has won two of the last three, including a 20-3 victory in the Tigers' last trip to Kyle Field (2021), but Auburn was able to hold off the Aggies for a 13-10 win on The Plains last fall.
Saturday's forecast calls for sunny skies with temperatures nearing 100 degrees.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
- SEC play begins for the Aggies and Tigers on Saturday as Texas A&M aims to extends its slight series edge against Auburn, 7-6, in the 14th all-time meeting between the two teams.
- Sophomore QB Conner Weigman registered the third 300-yard passing game of his career and second in as many weeks when he threw for 337 yards in the win over ULM ... He boasted a school record (min. 20 attempts) 86.2 completion percentage in the win, finishing the day 25-of-29.
- Weigman ranks 10th nationally, averaging 303 passing yards per game, while his eight touchdown passes and 326 yards of total offense are also among the top 15 in the country and top three in SEC.
- Graduate WR Ainias Smith recorded the fifth 100-yard game of his career after leading the team with 127 yards on seven catches ... Smith has moved into the top 10 at A&M in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches, while also becoming the 20th Aggie in program history to tally 3,000 all-purpose yards in their career.
- On the season, the Aggie offense ranks in the top-13 in the country in scoring offense (44.0 ppg), total points (132) and passing offense (337.3 ypg), while its 10 passing touchdowns on the year are tied for the ninth most in the nation ... A&M is the only team in the country to score at least one touchdown in every quarter of play (12) this season.
- The Aggie defense has shut down opponents on third down early this season, ranking third nationally and leading the SEC with a 20.6 opponent conversion percentage ... Against ULM, A&M allowed just one third-down conversion on 12 tries.
- A&M also limited its opponent's run game in the first two weeks of the season after holding Miami to just 77 yards on the ground in Week 2 and limiting New Mexico to 91 yards in the opener, marking the first time A&M has kept its opponent under 100 yards in consecutive games since the 2021 season.
QUICK HITS
- Sophomore WR Noah Thomas went on a scoring spree in Week 1, catching a career-best three touchdown passes ... His 24 points on the season tie him for ninth in the SEC, while his 8.0 points per game average is good for seventh in the league.
- With a catch against Auburn, graduate WR Ainias Smith would extend his streak of games with at least one catch to 31 games ... It is the longest streak of games with at least one catch for an Aggie since Christian Kirk had a string of 39 games from 2015-17.
- Sophomore WR Evan Stewart has tallied over 100 receiving yards in each of the two games he has played in this season and currently ranks eighth in the SEC with 19 catches and 11th with 257 total receiving yards so far this season.
- As a unit, the Aggie offense boasts one of the most successful scoring rates in the red zone, ranking 19th nationally and second in the SEC converting on 94.7 percent of its chances ... A&M is averaging 21 first downs per game and is among the top five in the country with 48 passing first downs on the year.
- Junior PK Randy Bond connected on all four field goal attempts against ULM, including a career-long 52-yarder in the fourth quarter and he is 14-of-14 on PATs this season ... He leads the SEC, averaging 11.7 points per game and is second in the leagues with 35 total points this year ... Bond's next point will put him at 100 for his career.
- The Aggies are 27-7 (.794 win pct.) at Kyle Field under Coach Fisher ... In the five seasons prior to Fisher's arrival, the Aggies were 23-12 on their home turf (.657).
- Quick starts have been a harbinger of Aggie victories in the Jimbo Fisher era ... The Aggies are 32-5 when scoring first and are 30-2 when leading after the first quarter.
- Graduate DB Sam Mathews was named the 12th Man ahead of the 2023 season, becoming just the fifth student-athlete in program history to hold the season-long honor.
MILESTONES TO WATCH FOR
- Graduate WR Ainias Smith aims to continue his climb through the A&M record books and is in need of just two receiving touchdowns to move into the top five all-time, currently sitting in a tie for seventh with Mike Evans (2012-13) at 17 scoring receptions.
- Smith is just eight catches away from passing Jhamon Ausbon (2017-19) on the Aggies' career receptions list as Smith has tallied 140 catches to-date.
- After breaking into the top 10 on A&M's career receiving yards list against ULM, Smith is just 12 yards away from passing Ausbon's mark of 1,818 yards, heading into Week 4 with 1,806 receiving yards.
- Smith is 43 punt return yards away from moving into eighth on A&M's all-time career list ... He became the 20th Aggie in program history to reach 3,000 all-purpose yards and is in need of just 34 yards to move up to 19th on the all-time career list, chasing Jeff Fuller's (2008-11) mark of 3,092.
- Sophomore QB Conner Weigman cracked the top 20 on A&M's all-time career passing touchdowns list in just seven career appearances and enters Week 4 in need of two touchdown passes to match Mark Farris' (1999-00) 18 career TD passes ... He is seven scoring strikes away from making his way into the top 15.
- Weigman is also just 16 completions away from making his way into the top 25 of A&M's career list with 147 entering the game, as he chases Lex James' (1970-72) mark of 162 career completions.
- Junior WR Moose Muhammad III is on the verge of moving into the top 20 of A&M's all-time career receiving touchdowns list with nine career touchdown receptions, while he is also 165 receiving yards away from reaching the 1,000-yard mark for his career.
- Sophomore WR Evan Stewart, who started the season with backto- back 100-yard games, needs just 106 receiving yards away from 1,000 career yards.
SWISS ARMY KNIFE
- Graduate WR Ainias Smith has been called a "Swiss Army Knife" by head coach Jimbo Fisher because of his do-it-all ability on the field. • Smith recorded the fifth 100-yard game of his career when he led the way with 127 yards on seven catches in the win over ULM.
- Smith has etched his name into Aggie history as he has climbed into the top 10 on A&M's all-time career receiving touchdowns (17), receiving yards (1,806), receptions (140) and punt return (67-607) lists, while also recently becoming the 20th Aggie in program history to rack up 3,000 all-purpose yards in their career.
- Dating back to the 2019 LSU game, Smith has caught a pass in 30 consecutive games ... This streak is the 10th-longest active streak in the nation, sixth among Power 5 receivers, while it is also the longest streak by an Aggie since Christian Kirk (2015-17) had a string of 39 games.
- Smith has recorded seven multi-touchdown games in his career, catching multiple TD passes in a game five times ... Against Sam Houston last season, Smith hauled in a 63-yard scoring pass to put the Aggies up 17 points at the half and extended the lead in the fourth quarter with a 43-yard TD grab.
- A true quadruple threat, Smith has gained more than 250 yards as a rusher (389), receiver (1,806), punt returner (607) and kick returner (257) ... Among Aggies already in the 3,000-yard club, only six players even have stats in all four categories and just two -- Dante Hall and Larry Stegent -- had 250+ in all four.
- Smith is one of two players in SEC history to rack up 1,000 receiving yards while also gaining 250+ yards as a rusher and returner (punt and kickoff) ... The other is Kentucky's Randall Cobb, who posted 1,661 receiving yards along with 1,313 rushing yards, 619 punt return yards and 1,081 kickoff return yards from 2008-10.
WEIGMAN TAKES OVER AS QB1
- Sophomore Conner Weigman was officially named QB1 ahead of the season opener after logging four starts toward the end of the season in 2022.
- Weigman 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 an 86.2 completion percentage, which was the best by an Aggie since 1996.
- The hot start to his second season ranks Weigman among the best in the nation as his 303 yards per game, eight scoring strikes and 326 yards of total offense per game each rank in the top-15 nationally and top-three in the SEC ... Spearheading the highly productive Aggie offense, he has helped the team rank in the top-12 in the country in scoring offense (44.0 ppg) and passing offense (337.3 ypg), while sitting in a tie for fifth with 48 passing first downs.
- 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 ... His five touchdown passes were the most in regulation by an Aggie QB since Johnny Manziel (2012-13) threw five touchdown passes against Mississippi State in 2013 and the tally is tied for fifth on A&M's single-game chart.
- In just seven career games Weigman cracked the top 20 on A&M's all-time career passing touchdowns list and is just two scoring passes away from moving into 19th all-time.
- Weigman entered the season as the only SEC quarterback with at least 85 pass attempts that had not thrown a pick ... Despite ending his streak at Miami, he holds the A&M record with 179 consecutive attempts without a turnover.
- Making his first career start against No. 15 Ole Miss, Weigman put 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.
- Weigman made his collegiate debut in the fourth quarter of the 2022 South Carolina game, finishing with 91 yards on 8-of-15 passing.
- Weigman was a highly touted prospect out of Bridgeland High School and was rated the No. 1 quarterback by Rivals and ESPN ... He was named a 2022 Under Armour All- American and was a multi-sport athlete that was also rated as one of the top baseball prospects in Texas.
STEWART MAKES IMPACT
- Sophomore WR Evan Stewart has become a favorite target for Aggie quarterbacks after making an immediate impact in his debut season and continuing to shine this year.
- Stewart made it back-to-back 100-yard games as he set career highs with 11 catches for 142 yards against Miami ... He became the first A&M receiver to catch 10-plus passes in a game since the 2017 season and the first to record back-to-back 100-yard games since the 2019 season.
- Stewart started his sophomore season in a big way, registering the third 100-yard game and first multi-touchdown game of his career, racking up 115 yards on eight catches and a pair of touchdown receptions.
- Stewart ranked eighth among all SEC receivers, averaging 64.9 yards per game last season, which led all FBS freshmen nationally ... He was also tied for 10th overall and led all freshmen in the league with 53 receptions.
- As a newcomer, he registered two 100-yard games, catching eight passes for 106 yards at Alabama and eclipsing the century mark with 120 yards on eight receptions against Florida.
- Stewart scored the first touchdown of this career on a 10- yard grab to put the Aggies on the board in the win over No. 10 Arkansas.
- A highly-touted recruit in A&M's top 2022 signing class, Stewart was an Under Armour All-American that was also a track standout ... He earned top-two finishes at the Texas 5A state championships in the long jump and triple jump, while also helping his 4x400m and 4x200m relay teams to medal finishes.
Players Mentioned
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QB
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