10 Reasonable Goals for A&M in 2012 Season

The Texas A&M Football team continues to participate in spring practice in preparation for the 2012 football season. If there is any positive to be taken from a disappointing 2011 campaign, it is that the expectations for their inaugural campaign in the Southeastern Conference will be more reasonable.

After losing multiple players to graduation and the NFL draft off of a 7-6 team the Aggies will enter the toughest conference in the nation. Once again the Ags will have one of the toughest schedules the country in 2012.

A seven or eight win season and a bowl game appearance would be considered a success in Kevin Sumlin's first year at the helm. There are many people inside the state of Texas and nationally who will be rooting for A&M to fall flat on their faces in 2012.

If they can be competitive on the field and win more than they lose it will surprise a lot of people and qualify as a success. This is a look at some reasonable goals for the Aggies in 2012.

Place Two Players on the SEC All-Conference Team

The 2012 season present an interesting question to the SEC media and coaches. Ryan Swope and Sean Porter were both among the best players at their position in the nation in 2011.

Swope is the leading returning receiver in the SEC with stats he racked up against Big 12 defenses. Porter had 17 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks in 2011. The question is how many members of the media and coaching staffs will give Swope and Porter the respect they deserve and place them on the pre-season All-Conference teams?

Some members of the media may question if Swope and Porter can be that effective playing against SEC competition week in and week out.

It should be a goal of the Aggie coaches and team to put Porter and Swope in position to match or exceed the numbers they produced in 2011. If the Ags can place Porter, Swope or any two players on the All-Conference team in 2012 it will help lend credibility to the program in their first season in the league.

Average over 175 Yards Rushing in Conference Play

The Aggies averaged right at 200 yards rushing per game in 2012. The final season statistics state they averaged 199 yards rushing per game but that does not take into account an error made by the official scorer of the Texas Tech game in which the kneel down play at the end of the game was recorded as an 18 yard loss. The Aggies kneeled the ball near the Tech 41 yard line to run out the clock and end the game. The person keeping the game stats for Tech recorded it as a kneel down at the Aggies 41 yard line and gave them a loss of 18 yards on the play. That error by the Tech official kept the Aggies rushing average below 200 yards per game.

It will be much tougher to run in the SEC than it was in the Big 12. The Ags return their entire starting offensive line from 2012 but must find a replacement for the departed Cyrus Gray. Even with the entire OL returning it will be rough sledding trying to run the ball against SEC defenses.

Alabama and LSU will feature two of the best defenses against the run in the entire country. The Aggies will be dealing with much more physical defensive lines on a weekly basis than they faced in the Big 12. They will need to be able to run the ball effectively to keep teams from teeing off on the Aggies young quarterbacks.

The Aggies faced one SEC opponent in 2012 and they rushed for 381 yards against the Hogs. The Arkansas defense should be much improved in 2012 with a new defensive coordinator coming off a very successful stint at Ohio State.

If the Aggies can average 175 yards per game in SEC games than they should have a successful inaugural season.

Rank in the Top 50 in the Nation in Turnover Margin

In 2011 the Ags ranked 106th in the nation in turnover margin. The Aggie defense created 15 turnovers in 13 games while the offense gave up 24 turnovers. They are entering a conference where teams like LSU have defenses that will score on turnovers more often than not.

They need to cut down on turnovers if they want to win in 2012. With Kevin Sumlin at the helm do not be surprised if the Aggies pass more than they did in 2011. That means more opportunities for interceptions for opposing defenses.

The Aggies need to move their rank in turnover margin into the 50's. That means they will average a turnover margin around zero every game. If they give up a turnover then the defense will force a turnover. If the Aggie offense has the same number of possessions as their opponent and does not give the opposition a shot field to play on then their chances of winning tight games will go up exponentially.

Defense Should Average One Interception Per Game

Tim Deruyter's defense was exceptional at getting pressure on the quarterback and forcing errant throws. The problem for the Aggie defense in 2011 was catching those errant throws. The Ags were only able to hold onto eight interceptions in 2011.

If they had simply caught the passes that hit them right in their hands then that number probably doubles.

With the addition of Marcel Yates to the coaching staff, Aggie fans are hopeful that they will see a more opportunistic secondary in 2012.

The Ags goal for the season should be to snag at least 12 interceptions. Playing against teams like Arkansas, SMU and Missouri they should have plenty of opportunities. They simply need to hold onto the balls that they get their hands on.

Defense Should Allow Less Than 350 Yards Per Game

The Aggies defense allowed 378 yards per game in 2011. A 28 yard per game improvement would mean that the Aggies should rank in the top 40 defenses in the country.

Ole Miss, Florida and Mississippi State all struggled on offense in 2011. Ole Miss is installing a completely new scheme that should be a drastic improvement over 2011. Florida lost their top two playmakers in Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey off an offense that struggled to put up points.

Playing against offenses like that instead of the WAC-like offenses of the Big 12 should help the Ags in this regard.The Ags should have a chance to win 10 of the 12 games on their schedule if they give up 350 yards of less in every game.

Defense Should Allow Less Than 20 Points Per Game

This is an old Tom Landry and Dallas Cowboy rule. If the Aggies can give up less than 20 points per game in every game than with their offense they should be competitive in every game.

The Aggies were 4-0 in 2011 when the defense held the opposition to less than 20 points.

With a Kevin Sumlin offense the Aggies should be a threat to win 10 of the 12 games on the schedule if they hold their opponents to 20 points or less. Alabama and LSU do not need many points to beat anyone.

Have Uneventful Special Teams

It can be argued that the Aggies lost the Texas game because Dustin Harris fumbled a punt. In a game that came down to one possession, the Aggies gave Texas a short field when their special teams let them down.

This goes back to turnover margin. If the Aggies can just have a special teams unit that no one really notices then it will be a positive. Catching the ball on punts and kickoffs and making the majority of the field goals inside 45 yards would qualify as an uneventful year.

Just doing the little things right consistently so you do not hurt your team.

Dustin Harris is a very dangerous return man when he catches the ball and holds onto it. The problem is that his inability to hold onto the ball consistently hurts the team more than his return abilities help it. If he can catch every punt and average seven yards per return that would be a great effort from the senior that would help the team win games. He averaged 18.6 yards per return in 2011 but his fumbles lost games.

Aggie QBs Throw Less Than 12 Interceptions

In 2011 Ryan Tannehill threw 15 interceptions. The Aggies need to lower than number in 2012 even though they will likely throw the ball more than they did in 2011 against tougher defenses than they faced in 2011.

They will be facing those tougher defenses with a much younger quarterback under center.

Sumlin and Kliff Kingsbury have to help the new starter under center to limit his interceptions. Defenses in the SEC turn interceptions into points. The LSU secondary was almost as effective in scoring points as the LSU receivers were.

It is paramount that the Aggies limit turnovers, particularly interceptions in 2012.

Teams like Florida and Ole Miss should not have enough on offense to beat A&M in 2012 unless you give them extra opportunities with turnovers.

Defend Kyle Field

The Ags play six home games in 2012 and they need to have a winning record at home if they want to go to a bowl game. The Aggies need to go 4-2 at home at a minimum.

The Ags will face two preseason top five teams at home in LSU and Arkansas. On paper both of those teams should beat A&M at Kyle.

If A&M loses to those two teams then they need to win every other home game. That means finding a way to beat Missouri at Kyle after losing to them for the past three years in a row. It also means beating a Florida team at home in what will be the first SEC game ever for A&M.

Florida has a lot of talent up and down their roster. For whatever reason they have not been able to put it together all together on offense. They feature one of the best defenses in the country. The Ags need to find a way to win that game so they can prove to the nation than they belong in their new conference.

Win Seven Regular Season Games and Go to a Bowl

The Aggies need to win seven games and go to a bowl game in 2012. A 7-5 record would be viewed nationally as a solid year in the SEC for the program. It would prove a lot of naysayers wrong and would help continue to build the momentum of the program.

In order to accomplish this the Ags need to go 3-5 in the conference and win all four of their non-conference games.

Unless they have a rash of injuries like they did in 2011 then the Ags should be able to win seven games. If they do not, then they need to question whether they hired the right coach or not.