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Kyle Allen’s starting debut was one many Texas A&M fans will look to forget as soon as possible, but he’s got a chance to wash away some of the bad taste of last week against Auburn. The Aggies face a defense that lacks in the pass rush department, a welcome development.
Last week, after leading a 21-point first half, Allen and the Aggies hit a wall in the second half. A&M totaled all of 50 yards and no points after halftime. Allen was 2-for-6 for 6 yards, also fumbling after being sacked, leading to a recovery by Louisiana-Monroe. Considering where the Texas A&M offense was a month ago, those numbers are especially troubling.
One of the big reasons behind A&M’s offensive malfunctions has been an inability to pick up defensive pressure. Before he was benched (and suspended), Kenny Hill was suffering from a bad case of happy feet in the pocket, looking skittish and making critical errors as he attempted to avoid pressure. Both of Allen’s turnovers last week came as a result of having defenders all over him.
While the Aggies offensive line isn’t getting any favors in terms of personnel this week, with right tackle Germain Ifedi expected to miss the rest of the regular season after spraining a knee ligament, they do get a bit of a reprieve against Auburn, at least in terms of the SEC. Auburn only has 16 sacks on the season, an average of 2.0 per game, the same average that Texas A&M allows.
If this plays out like Texas A&M’s recent matchups with ranked SEC opponents, there won’t be much opportunity for the Aggies to run the ball. Against Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Alabama, A&M fell behind early and was forced to try to throw the ball. That didn’t bode well for Hill, and it could be a problem for Allen as well.
While Auburn’s pass defense is nothing special, ranked 13th in the SEC, they’ve already made one quarterback making his first road start look awful this season. While LSU’s offense is vastly different than A&M’s, they did attempt to throw the ball against Auburn on second and third downs — with no success. Harris went 3-of-14 for 58 yards in a humbling loss. If Allen is forced into a performance like that, it will be another long day for A&M in the state of Alabama.
A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.