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Aggies Football

What UCLA fans are saying about Texas A&M

Glenn Sattell

By Glenn Sattell

Published:


Texas A&M and UCLA will kick off the season on Saturday as part of the biggest opening weekend of college football in history.

The anticipation is at a fever pitch and fans from all sides are blowing off some steam as the 2016 season gets underway at 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday. The game also kicks off the SEC broadcast schedule for CBS.

Of course, most of the talk coming from the UCLA side centers around quarterback Josh Rosen. And why not? Rosen enters the season regarded as one of the top QBs in the country after having thrown for 3,669 yards and 23 touchdowns last season as a freshman.

But as you monitor the message boards and other social media, there seems to be a wide range of topics and interest surrounding Saturday’s season opener. Some Bruins fans are even being realistic about the game and preparing for the worst, even though they may believe their team has the better line and the better overall talent. Traveling to an SEC stadium is never an easy task, but most agree it is a winnable game.

Still, others hold out hope that the Pac-12 will rise to greater heights, and UCLA will tackle the Aggies in College Station while USC beats defending national champion Alabama in Arlington. That would show the SEC a thing or two about which conference plays the best brand of football.

Some play along with the mantra that coaches like to preach forcing turnovers. The team with the least turnovers will win the game, many insist.

There are Bruins fans who will tell you that their coach Jim Mora could be the difference because Texas A&M isn’t very well-coached, and that games such as this one are tailor-made for Mora-coached teams.

Run defense is another reason for optimism among UCLA fans. They feel the Bruins have it while the Aggies don’t. And while statistics sort of bear that out (UCLA was still in the bottom half of the Pac-12 in rushing yards allowed per game), Aggies defensive coordinator John Chavis will have them playing better with every season he’s in College Station.

To be sure, UCLA fans are very familiar with Texas A&M’s new offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone. He was at UCLA before coming to College Station, and there are more than a few fans who didn’t lose any sleep over his departure, calling him “Nozone” in reference to the Bruins’ inability to score in or near the red zone.

The other knock Bruins fans have on Mazzone is his use of the same plays over and over again. Mazzone has said that if a play is working, he won’t hesitate to go back to it until the defense can prove it can stop it.

Some of the more unbiased fans will concede that Texas A&M has the better receiving corps. However, just as they give an advantage, they take it away with talk of their deep and talented group of running backs.

And the Texas heat, they’ll claim, will not be a factor since — they claim — temperatures can reach triple digits at their outdoor facility. Plus, the Bruins’ offensive line is simply deeper and much more experienced. That’s a given.

Yes, as with every game, there’s a wide range of topics being discussed, but ultimately when the words are all said, the game will be decided on the football field. We can’t wait.

Glenn Sattell

Glenn Sattell is an award-winning freelance writer for Saturday Down South.

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