Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma State: Keep an Eye on Blackmon and the Aggie Secondary

One of the biggest match-ups this weekend is No. 6 Oklahoma State at No. 8 Texas A&M. While most prognosticators have picked Texas A&M to win the game, there is one aspect that has not gotten a lot of attention and favors Oklahoma State.

In A&M’s first two games this season, the Aggies opponent took several shots down the field. Each time, they were aiming for receivers who were running down the sideline in what were essentially “Go” routes.

SMU tried it first, and if quarterback J.J. McDermott had not overthrown his receiver, the pass most likely would have gone for a touchdown. Two weeks later, Idaho tried the same thing. The Aggie defense had apparently been working on the problem, and the coverage was a little better against the Vandals.

While neither SMU nor Idaho were successful, there were several times when the Aggie defense had blown its coverage and left a receiver running freely down the sideline. Had the football found its target, it would have been a huge gain for these teams, if not a touchdown. 

Neither of A&M’s first two contests were ever in doubt. However, that will not be the case against Oklahoma State as the Cowboys are able to score a lot of points—especially through the air. 

The Cowboys come to Kyle Field ranked No. 1 in passing yards with an average of 408 per game.

Oklahoma State has plenty of talent at wide receiver, and players like Justin Blackmon, Tracy Moore, Hubert Anyiam and Josh Cooper will all get opportunities to touch the ball on Saturday.

If A&M Defensive Coordinator Tim Deruyter has not found a way to fix this problem by kickoff, the Cowboys could have a big day throwing the ball. If there is more of the same busted coverage that we saw in A&M’s first two games, you can expect Oklahoma State to try and exploit this specific weakness of the A&M secondary.

Make sure to watch the OSU receivers against the Aggie DBs especially at the line of scrimmage. If the Aggie DBs are able to get physical enough with the OSU receivers and keep them from slipping past the coverage, then they will prevent the Cowboys from doing what both SMU and Idaho tried to. 

That said, this is just one thing to watch for. There will be plenty of offense in this game and this is only one aspect. If A&M can dominate the trenches and pound the ball with Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael, they will limit the offensive plays that Oklahoma State runs. In other words, A&M’s offense might be their best defense.