Texas A&M football: Stopping Matt Corral a major factor in Aggies’ bid for NY6 bowl
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Not many bowl games will have the same atmosphere that is about to surround Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday when No. 11 Texas A&M visits The Grove in Oxford to face No. 12 Ole Miss. It’s the biggest game that day in the SEC and the nation for that matter. College GameDay will be on hand.
It should be interesting to see which headgear Lee Corso dons. Vegas has installed the Aggies as a 1-point favorite.
The importance of the game for Texas A&M is obvious. The Aggies still hold on to slim hope of representing the West Division in the SEC Championship Game. Should the Aggies continue their current 4-game win streak and then take down LSU in Baton Rouge, they would need Alabama to lose to either Arkansas or Auburn in order to advance to Atlanta.
Saturday’s game with Ole Miss is a classic matchup that surprise, surprise involves Ole Miss Heisman Trophy front-running quarterback Matt Corral. No, it’s not his arm. Corral will likely get his passing yards. Even against a strong Texas A&M defense that is 4th in the SEC yielding an average of 317.8 yards per game through the air, Corral should be able to meet his season’s average of 280.8 passing yards per game.
No, the classic matchup will be Texas A&M’s strength vs. Ole Miss’ strength. That is, the Aggies’ run defense against the Rebels’ run game. Ole Miss led the SEC in rushing last year. Their just as strong this year. Easily overlooked because of what Corral has done with his arm this season, the Rebels rank 2nd in the SEC in rushing, averaging 237.89 yards per game on the ground this season.
Yes, that’s difficult to fathom, but Corral leads the way with his legs as well as his arm. He’s 1 of 4 Rebels averaging more than 50 yards rushing per game.
Of course, it’s Corral’s passing abilities that open up the run game, but the Rebels have been nearly as effective on the ground as through the air. And that’s where Texas A&M must continue to be stingy.
In 4 of the past 5 games, the Aggies have held the opposition to under 100 rushing yards. Over the past 3 games, the Aggies have held Missouri to 98 rushing yards, South Carolina to 71, and on Saturday limited Auburn to 73 total yards on the ground.
Do that again this Saturday and the chances for victory increase exponentially for Texas A&M.
But that’s easier said than done. Corral presents a different challenge, an X-factor if you will, for stopping the run. Yes, the Aggies should be able to keep Ole Miss running backs in check, including Jerrion Ealy. But can it do so while also spying Corral and keeping him from making big plays with his feet?
That’s the unique test that sets Corral apart from most quarterbacks.
But is he healthy? That’s a big question. He was injured in the Auburn game 2 weeks ago but later returned in a 31-20 loss. On Saturday, he hobbled through a 27-14 victory over Liberty, a game in which he ran a season-low 6 times, for 9 yards. He still threw for 324 yards and a touchdown, completing 20-of-27 passes.
So, Corral’s health will play a major role in the shootout at Oxford on Saturday.
Additionally, it’s the Texas A&M stout run game against a porous Ole Miss run defense that just might swing the advantage the Aggies’ way. With the emergence of what has suddenly become a solid offensive line, Texas A&M has risen to 5th in the SEC in rushing, averaging 191.33 yards per game.
But consider that over the past 3 games, the Aggies have found a new gear, averaging 263.33 rushing yards per game. Couple that with an Ole Miss run defense that allows an average of 195.33 yards per game on the ground and we may have discovered the tipping point for this game.
Among SEC teams, only Missouri allows more yards on the ground than does Ole Miss.
In any case, it’s just another big game in a string of big games that Texas A&M has suddenly and dramatically found out how to win. Beginning with the season-changing victory over Alabama, the Aggies have ridden that wave through the 3 subsequent games, claiming victories over Missouri, South Carolina, and now Auburn.
A victory over Ole Miss on Saturday places Texas A&M squarely in the middle of the New Year’s 6 bowl mix and with a little luck added in could propel the Aggies toward Atlanta.
Glenn Sattell is an award-winning freelance writer for Saturday Down South.
