Texas A&M Football: An Early Look at the Game Against Idaho

The Texas A&M Aggies will take on the Idaho Vandals at Kyle Field on Saturday in their second game of the season. In their 46-14 victory over SMU two weeks ago, the Aggies looked like a well-oiled machine on offense, but had noticeable lapses and breakdowns on defense.

If the cliche is true and teams truly do improve the most between their first game and second game, expect the Aggies to shore up those defensive issues against Idaho.

Idaho is 1-1 on the year dropping their first game to Bowling Green 32-15 and winning last weekend 44-14 against North Dakota.

The Vandals will deploy a single-back multiple set on offense, while they play from a 4-3 base on defense.

Idaho is led on offense by QB Brian Reader. The senior signal called has completed 56 percent of his passes on the year for 476 yards and six touchdowns with only one interception. The Vandals have had trouble protecting Reader, giving up eight sacks in two games. Expect the Aggies to try to pressure him into mistakes when the Vandals have the ball.

The Idaho ground game is rather pedestrian with junior RB Ryan Bass leading the Vandals after two games with 86 yards. The junior transfer from Arizona State has not scored a touchdown yet this season.

Mike Scott and Armauni Johnson lead the Vandals offense through the air. Johnson is a 6'3", 194-pound senior from Jacksonville, FL who has had 10 receptions for 137 yards and a TD through the first two games. Scott leads Idaho with 13 receptions for 181 yards and a receiving TD this year.

Expect A&M to play more base 3-4 defense this week instead of the nickel they used in the first half against SMU. The Ags should be able to disguise their blitzes and get pressure on Reader without having to worry about the Idaho WRs hurting them against single coverage as much as SMU did.

On defense senior MLB Tre'Shawn Robinson leads the 4-3 attack. Robinson is tied for the team lead with 15 tackles and has a sack on the season. Junior safety Gary Walker also has 15 tackles on the season, but 13 of them came in the opening game when Bowling Green was gashing the Vandal defense.

The Idaho defense has been strong against the run, allowing only three yards per carry through two games. The Vandals only allowed 18 yards on 15 carries to North Dakota.

On special teams, punter Bobby Cowan has been exceptional through the first two games averaging 47.5 yards per punt. Kicker Trey Farquhar is one of two on field goals this year with a make from 50 and a miss from 42.

Texas A&M will be the best team that Idaho faces all year. Expect the Aggies to overpower the out-manned Vandals front seven on offense. Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael should have good games. The Ags will use the run to set up the pass and should be able to get a comfortable lead on Idaho.

The Ags will use this game to get a look at a lot of younger players. Do not be surprised to see backup QB Jameill Showers in the game as early as the second quarter. Also expect to see Ben Compton get some playing time at NG so the coaches can assess where he is.

This game should be a comfortable victory for the Aggies as they gear up for the conference season.