This is the best midway point of a Texas A&M season in more than two decades.

The Aggies have come away with victories in all six games so far this season, including two overtime thrillers. The last one was against No. 9 Tennessee, and it marked the Aggies’ first victory over a top 10 team at Kyle Field since a 9-6 upset of No. 9 Nebraska in 2010.

The last time the Aggies were undefeated at the halfway point in the season was back in 1994 when Texas A&M went on to finish 10-0-1. This year’s 6-0 record includes the first 4-0 start in SEC play since joining the conference.

Here’s a closer look at this season so far and the reasons for its unbeaten first half and No. 6 ranking nationally.

OFFENSE

The offense has improved dramatically in OC Noel Mazzone’s first year at College Station. His up-tempo spread offense has balanced out an attack that has become very difficult for opposing defenses to scheme for. Most notably, it’s the Aggies’ run game that has been most impressive at the halfway point. It leads the SEC and averages 274.3 yards per game.

Individually, freshman Trayveon Williams has burst onto the scene. He leads the SEC in rushing at the midway point in the season, averaging 117.3 yards per game and is also ninth in the country with 8.6 yards per carry.

But QB Trevor Knight has become the X factor in the run game. His nine rushing touchdowns sit atop the SEC. Knight is also fifth in the conference with an average of 7.7 yards per carry and ninth in average yards per game (83.7). Knight has added the extra dimension that opposing teams have found difficult to defend. As a team, Texas A&M has rushed for 200-plus yards in each game this season, including two 300-plus games.

DEFENSE

The Aggies’ defense continues to improve under DC John Chavis, who is in his second season at College Station. Run defense was one of the biggest concerns entering the 2016 season, and the Aggies have made big strides. At or near the bottom of the SEC in rush defense the last three seasons, Chavis has found a way to tighten up against the run. At the midway point in the season, the Aggies rank seventh in the SEC, yielding an average of 159.3 yards per game.

It’s a pressure defense that leads the SEC in tackles for loss after six games. The Aggies have piled up a league-leading 58 such tackles for a conference-leading 9.7 per game. Not surprisingly, the Aggies are also second in the conference with 20 sacks.

Of course, the play from standout DEs Daeshon Hall and Myles Garrett are a big reason for it but also much-improved play from the linebackers, another key area of concern for the Aggies entering this season. Claude George, Shaan Washington and Otaro Alaka have been outstanding for the most part.

The downside to that is the Aggies are last in the SEC against the pass, allowing an average of 278.2 yards per game. That’s 30 yards more than Kentucky, who has the second-worst pass defense in the conference. Whether overcompensation or a glaring hole in the overall defense, the Aggies have proven to be vulnerable through the air. In their last game, Tennessee took advantage of that in rolling up 684 total yards, the most ever allowed by any Texas A&M team in program history.

FRESHMAN CLASS

Obviously, Williams is the leader of this class this season. The SEC rushing leader has three 100-yard games and two other games of 98 and 94 yards. His most recent game was his best. Williams rushed for 217 yards on 28 carries against the Vols.

But he certainly isn’t the only freshman making big contributions to the team this season. Freshmen linemen Erik McCoy and Colton Prater are starters and big reasons for the success of the Aggies’ offense.

In addition, freshman LB Tyrel Dodson has seen action in all six games and is 10th on the team in tackles with 15. Freshman DB Larry Pryor has gotten into all six games as well and has six tackles.

RETURNING STARS

When you talk about returning stars at Texas A&M, the focus is either on the positions of wide receiver or defensive end. The group of great receivers includes Josh Reynolds, Christian Kirk, Ricky Seals-Jones and Speedy Noil. Kirk leads the SEC with 40 pass receptions, while Reynolds is currently second in the SEC in total yards (488), average yards per catch (19.5) and average yards per game (81.3).

On the other side of the football, Hall is picking up where he left off last season as is Garrett to a lesser extent because of injury. Hall leads the team with 9.0 tackles for loss and is second on the team in sacks with 3.5. Despite missing one game, Garrett still leads the team in sacks with 4.0, and the two remain one of the top sack duos in college football.

Throw in veteran DBs Justin Evans, the team’s leading tackler with 48, and last year’s leading tackler Armani Watts, who has compiled 36 stops so far this season, and the Aggies are paced to their fast start by a group of stellar returning standouts.