Texas A&M vs. Mississippi State: Complete Game Preview

The No. 16 Texas A&M Football team travels to Starkville, Miss. to take on the No. 15 Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday. The Top 25 matchup will be the toughest road game for the Aggies so far this season.

The Aggies and Bulldogs both need to win the game to stay in contention for the Western Division title of the Southeastern Conference.

It will be the first matchup of the two teams since the 2000 Independence Bowl, which the Bulldogs won 43-41 in overtime.

This is a complete preview of the game between the Aggies and the Bulldogs.

Game-Day Information

Who: Texas A&M Aggies vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs

When: 11 a.m. CDT

Stadium: David Wade Stadium

TV: ESPN

Radio: WTAW 1620, Sirius 139, XM 201

Rankings: Texas A&M No. 16 BCS, Mississippi State No. 15 BCS

Records: Texas A&M 6-2, 3-2, Mississippi State 7-1, 3-1

Texas A&M Depth Chart

Offense

QB: Johnny Manziel

Backup: Matt Joeckel

WR: Mike Evans

Backup: Derel Walker

LT: Luke Joeckel

Backup: Germain Ifedi

LG: Jarvis Harrison

Backup: Germain Ifedi

C: Patrick Lewis

Backup: Mike Matthews

RG: Cedric Ogbuehi

Backup: Ben Compton

RT: Jake Matthews

Backup: Joseph Cheek

TE: Michael Lamothe

Backup: Nehemiah Hicks

WR: Uzoma Nwachukwu

Backup: Sabian Holmes

WR: Ryan Swope

Backup: Malcome Kennedy

WR: Kenric McNeal

Backup: Thomas Johnson

TB: Ben Malena

Backup: Christine Michael

Defense

DE: Gavin Stansbury

Backup: Julien Obioha

NG: Kirby Ennis

Backup: Jonathan Mathis

DT: Spencer Nealy

Backup: Ivan Robinson

Rush: Damontre Moore

Backup: Tyrone Taylor

WLB: Steven Jenkins

Backup: Donnie Baggs

MLB: Jonathan Stewart

Backup: Justin Bass

SLB: Sean Porter

Backup: Michael Richardson

CB: Deshazor Everett

Backup: Dustin Harris

CB: De'Vante Harris

Backup: Floyd Raven

BS: Deshazor Everett

Backup: Steve Campbell

FS: Steven Terrell

Backup: Toney Hurd, Jr.

Mississippi State Depth Chart

QB: Tyler Russell

Backup: Dak Prescott

RB: LaDarius Perkins

Backup: Nick Griffin

WR: Arceto Clark

Backup: Joe Morrow

WR: Chris Smith

Backup: Brandon Heavens

WR: Chad Bumphis

Backup: Jameon Lewis

TE: Marcus Green

Backup: Brandon Hill

OT: Blaine Clausell

Backup: Archie Muniz

OT: Charles Siddoway

Backup: Damien Robinson

OG: Gabe Jackson

Backup: Ben Beckwith

OG: Tobias Smith

Backup: Justin Malone

C: Dillon Day

Backup: Dylan Holley

DE: Kalen Eulls

Backup: Preston Smith

DE: Denico Autry

Backup: Shane McCardell

DT: Josh Boyd

Backup: Devin Jones

DT: Curtis Virges

Backup: D. Cherrington

LB: Deontae Skinner

Backup: Chris Hughes

LB: Cameron Lawrence

Backup: Matthew Wells

LB: B. McKinney

Backup: Fernando Bohanna

CB: Johnthan Banks

Backup: Jamerson Love

CB: Darius Slay

Backup: Taveze Calhoun

S: Corey Broomfield

Backup: Jay Hughes

S; Nickoe Whitley

Backup: Dee Arrington

What Happened to the Aggies Last Week?

The Aggies traveled to Auburn, Alabama and blew out the Auburn Tigers 63-21 to win their fourth road game of the season. It was their second SEC road win in as many games.

The Aggies rolled up 352 yards on the ground as their offensive line dominated the Auburn defense. The Aggies had 671 total yards of offense, which is the most ever against Auburn.

Aggie redshirt freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel led the offense with 260 yards passing and 90 rushing. Manziel accounted for five total touchdowns.

Freshman running back Trey Williams had the first 100-yard rushing game of his career. He rushed for 109 yards on 19 carries with a touchdown.

The Aggies scored touchdowns on nine of their 11 offensive possessions. Aggie head coach Kevin Sumlin inserted the second team after the first series of the second half.

What Happened to the Bulldogs Last Week?

Mississippi State traveled to Tuscaloosa, AL and lost its first game of the season, 38-7, to the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide.

Alabama dominated MSU throughout the entire game. The Bulldogs did not score until Nick Saban inserted his backups. The Tide limited MSU to 256 total yards and only 47 yards rushing.

The loss ended Mississippi State's nine-game winning streak.

What a Win This Week Would Mean for the Aggies and the Bulldogs

This game is effectively for second place in the SEC West. If the Aggies win the game, then they will continue to be in the race for the SEC West division title.

MSU needs to win to keep pace with Alabama. It needs to win out and hope Alabama loses twice.

Whoever loses this game will be eliminated from the race for the SEC title game. This game also will effect the bowl pecking order. Both teams are bowl eligible, so the two teams are fighting for how high their bowl slot will be.

With a win, the Ags will be favored to finish the season with a 9-3 record. That would constitute a tremendous year in their inaugural season in the SEC and would likely push Kevin Sumlin into consideration for Coach of the Year honors.  

Key Player for the Aggies

Mississippi State has one of the top secondaries in the SEC. The Aggies will have to move the ball on the ground and be effective in the short passing game to move the ball against the Bulldogs.

The Aggies will need Ben Malena to have a good game running the football and receiving out of the backfield. Malena has very quietly had a very strong junior season for the Aggies.

He has rushed for 525 total yards and five touchdowns while averaging an outstanding 6.6 yards per carry. He has very good hands out of the backfield and has been underutilized in the passing game.

Malena has caught 12 passes for 68 yards and a touchdown. The Aggies were very successful utilizing screens against Auburn. If they can continue to execute the screen game against MSU, then they should be able to move the ball effectively and score.

Key Player for the Bulldogs

Johnthan Banks is the best cover corner in the country, and other than NFL scouts, most people do not know about him.

He has tremendous size at 6'2", 185 lbs. Banks is one of the few corners in the country who can physically match up with Aggie wide receiver Mike Evans.

Banks has four interceptions this season, which ties him with Walt Harris for the most all-time at MSU with a career total of 16.

Has is a great cover corner and a very physical defensive back. He can change the momentum of the game with an interception. He is the best corner that the Aggies will face this season and will be a first-round draft pick in the 2013 NFL draft.

Aggies Will Win If.....

The Aggies will win the game if they can play a complete game like they did at Auburn. Mississippi State's defense is much better than Auburn, but if it limits its turnovers like it did against Auburn, then it should be able to score on the Bulldogs.

Teams are having success running the ball against the Bulldogs. The MSU defense is allowing 4.1 yards per rush. If the Aggies can run the ball and keep the Bulldog offense off the field, they should be able to get out of Starkville with a win.

The Bulldogs Will Win If.....

The Bulldogs will win if they can win the the turnover battle. The Aggies have shown they are susceptible to a power run game and have had trouble covering the tight end in the passing game.

If the Bulldogs can force some turnovers and get their crowd into the game, they can ride the momentum to a win. The Mississippi State defense has forced 20 turnovers this season while only giving up the ball seven times.

If they win the turnover battle, they can keep the A&M offense on the sideline and grind on the Aggie defense with their running game.

Prediction

Prediction: Mississippi State 38 Texas A&M 34

This is a bad matchup for the Aggies on the road. Johnny Manziel is still a freshman quarterback, and to expect him to have two games in a row without a turnover is asking a lot.

The Bulldogs will use their powerful offensive line and an opportunistic defense to grind out a win at home.