SEC Kickoff: Everything you need to know about Lamar vs Texas A&M

Here’s everything you need to know about the match-up between the Lamar Cardinals and Texas A&M Aggies tonight on SEC Network.

When: Saturday
Where: College Station, Texas
Game Time: 7:30 PM ET
TV: SEC Network

Current Line: -44.5

Game Buzz: Tonight’s game is the Aggies’ first game after the impressive road win against South Carolina. All eyes will be quarterback Kenny Hill and the Aggies’ offense after putting up 680 total yards of offense. It appears head coach Kevin Sumlin has yet another explosive and dynamic offense with multiple weapons on the outside. Tonight’s home-opener for the Aggies will also be the first game inside the newly renovated and expanded Kyle Field.

SATURDAY DOWN SOUTH NEWS & PREVIEWS

• Texas A&M claims one of nation’s three best wins
• How high can Kenny Hill climb?
• Scouting Report: Lamar at Texas A&M
• Texas A&M has work to do in the secondary
• Kenny Hill doesn’t want to be Johnny Manziel…and that’s OK

TEXAS A&M AGGIES

Players to watch:

• QB Kenny Hill
• WR Maclome Kennedy
• WR Ricky Seals-Jones
• OT Cedric Ogbuehi
• RB Trey Williams
• WR Josh Reynolds
• S Armani Watts

Freshmen to watch:

• DE Myles Garrett
• WR Speedy Noil

Keys for Texas A&M:

• Secondary improvement. Last week, if there was one area where the Aggies needed to show improvement, it was in the secondary. They showed some vulnerability to the deep ball as South Carolina quarterback Dylan Thompson beat them with two deep passes for touchdowns. Overall, the Aggies allowed 366 passing yards. Lamar shouldn’t test them too much tonight, but the important thing is that they shore up their weaknesses before facing tougher opponents later in the season.

• Spread the ball around. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Texas A&M’s win against South Carolina was just how versatile and dangerous seemingly every wide receiver was for the Aggies. Kenny Hill needs to keep getting his players involved – the more, the merrier for Kevin Sumlin’s offense.

• Ride the energy of Kyle Field. The 12th man will be rocking tonight as the fans eagerly await the home debut of their beloved Aggies. The crowd gives the Aggies an incredible advantage, even in much more competitive games. You can bet the energy of Kyle Field will jack up the Texas A&M players, especially against an inferior Lamar team.

Texas A&M’s glaring weakness to watch: The secondary needs to work on its pass defense after giving up 366 passing yards last week.

Most interesting part of the game: Kenny Hill threw for 511 yards last week and sealed his spot as the starting quarterback. Backup Kyle Allen, who competed for the starting job in camp, should see several reps today as the Aggies are expected to make this a blowout. Allen was a heralded five-star recruit last year.

Team Buzz: After last week’s thrashing of the Gamecocks, Texas A&M is certainly no sleeper in the SEC anymore. Behind Hill, they have arguably one of the nation’s most explosive and dynamic offenses. Look for the Aggies to put up big points in front of the home crowd.

LAMAR CARDINALS

Players to watch:

• QB Caleb Berry
• RB Kade Harrington
• WR Mark Roberts
• WR Reggie Begelton
• LB Ronnie Jones
• DB Xavier Bethany
• LB Anthony Beard

Keys for Lamar:

• Force turnovers. In their season-opening win, Lamar forced five turnovers against Grambling State. In order to have any shot at pulling off a major upset, they must force Kenny Hill and the other Aggies to turn the ball over. Shorter fields for Lamar’s offense will make their job much easier.

• Air the ball out. Lamar did excel in the passing game last week. Quarterback Caleb Berry threw the ball for 389 yards and five touchdowns. He’s got two viable weapons on the outside in Mark Roberts and Reggie Begelton, who combined 15 receptions, 258 yards and three touchdowns. Lamar has the firepower to put up some points against a questionable Texas A&M secondary.

Lamar glaring weakness to watch: As great as Lamar’s offense played last week, they also turned the ball over five times themselves. They’ll need to protect the ball much better this week if they’re expected to compete at all against Texas A&M.

Most interesting part of the game: Mark Roberts and Reggie Begelton are Lamar’s two most dangerous offensive weapons. They’re experienced and explosive. Roberts only caught three passes last week, but still racked up 139 yards and two touchdowns.

Team Buzz: Lamar has some impressive offensive players, but they shouldn’t have much of a chance to compete with Texas A&M for an entire 60 minutes. The talent is just too good on the opposing sideline.

Drew Laing

Drew Laing will be providing analysis and insight on Florida, Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina.