Last season, the Texas A&M Aggies had 136 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground while quarterbacks Max Johnson and Haynes King completed 64.1 percent of their 39 pass attempts for 252 yards and a score.
After getting shut out in the first half, the Aggies nearly kept pace with the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the second, putting up 24 points to their 28. Mississippi State walked away with the 42-24 win, but Texas A&M is back in 2023 with a quarterback whose potential had yet to be tapped into — a complete opposite from the Bulldogs' gunslinger.
Here's the difference in the ballgame for both the Aggies and Bulldogs when the two square off Nov. 11 at Kyle Field.
Texas A&M wins if...
... it contains quarterback Will Rogers.
Last year against the Aggies, Rogers went 31-for-45 for 329 yards and three touchdowns — two-consecutive to open the scoring and one to counter a Texas A&M rally.
Rogers' 920 completions are the most in the last two seasons in the Football Bowl Subdivision, throwing for 8,713 yards the past two seasons.
His gunslinger mentality earned him a spot on the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award Watch List Tuesday.
He owns 11 of the top-12 single-game completion and touchdown marks, the career completions, attempts, yards and touchdown records and holds the lowest career interception percentage in Mississippi State program history. It's safe to say he's the most accomplished quarterback in program history and still has a season to go.
Texas A&M's secondary and defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin will have to dial up blitz packages and coverage schemes to confuse Rogers and potentially create a turnover.
Mississippi State wins if...
... it can stop the run.
When the Bulldogs allowed at least 175 yards on the ground, they were 2-3 with an overtime win against Auburn. The only loss last season in which Mississippi State didn't allow at least 175 yards was to Alabama with their second win coming against Arkansas.
On the contrary, take a look at Texas A&M's most impressive wins last season against Arkansas and LSU. The Aggies notched 195 and 273 yards on the ground against the Razorbacks and Tigers, respectively.
Texas A&M will have to find the right ball-carrier to replace running back De'Von Achane while also taking on the Bulldogs' tackling duo of linebackers Jett Johnson and Nathaniel Watson, who combined for 228 tackles last season.
Follow Casey Smith on Twitter @casey_smith2419
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