Baylor vs. Texas A&M: 5 Halftime Adjustments the Aggies Must Make

Two prolific offenses are battling it out in College Station right now. A couple big numbers are up on the scoreboard at halftime, and you have to think they will continue to get bigger. Texas A&M is clinging to their lead despite turnovers and consistently jumping offsides on defense. 

But, Baylor's offense is too dynamic to fall behind against. The Aggies need to change up the play-calling a bit and find a way to contain Robert Griffin III if they want to hang on and win this game.

Here are the five big halftime adjustments Texas A&M must make:

1. Hold on to the Ball

The interception Ryan Tannehill threw was kind of a fluke. But still, nobody can afford to turn the ball over against Baylor. The whole game plan against the Bears is to hang on to the ball and keep that offense off the field. When Texas A&M has the ball, they need to make absolutely sure to secure the ball on runs.

Tannehill needs to make sure not to force any passes or take unnecessary shots. This may sound obvious, but you would be surprised. There are a lot of teams that you can afford to turn the ball over once or twice. It's never a good idea, but keeping the ball out of Griffin III's hands is essential.

2. Force Turnovers

On the other hand, the A&M defense needs to force a couple turnovers, too. It's huge in any contest to take the ball away and put points on the board, but Baylor thrives off of short, quick passes to open up the deep game. Picking off Griffin III will be difficult because he's so accurate, but forcing a fumble on a scramble would be really big.

More than the points that may result from getting the ball on a turnover, the momentum shift would be huge. The Aggies want to keep their raucous crowd at Kyle Field into it to get that "12th man" effect. What better way to get the crowd riled up and the momentum back on their side than making a big hit to pop the ball loose?

3. Shadow RG3

Griffin III has already busted off a couple big scrambles to convert long third downs. This is something that definitely needs to be fixed if Texas A&M is going to come back. He's got an accurate arm, but the coverage has been good enough so far.

So, that means someone needs to be keying on the scramble. At all times that it can be afforded, a linebacker should be spying on Griffin III and be ready to pursue as soon as he tucks the ball to go. It's going to be a tough day if Baylor converts on every third down because of those scrambling abilities.

4. Stick Tight on Receivers

As I mentioned before, Baylor likes to go with quick screens, slants and hooks early in drives. It's very effective for opening up the deep pass later on. Griffin III has a very quick release and the receivers make crisp, hard cuts. So to defend this, A&M needs to bump the receivers at the line and play a tough man-to-man style of defense.

Playing back in a softer coverage is going to open that small window that will allow Baylor to pick up three or four yards per pass. And while that sounds like it would be a win for the defense, it's not when it happens four of five plays in a row. Cutting off Baylor's game plan is going to completely change the flow of this game.

5. Pound with the Run

Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael are two of the top 50 rushers in the entire nation. So why do they hardly seem to exist in this game so far? This is a huge advantage the Aggies have over Baylor. The complete offensive arsenal will be too much to handle as long as both units are clicking.

If Gray and Michael can each get at least a couple touches per drive, it will do wonders for opening up that deadly passing game. When Tannehill gets more space, we may see even more points being thrown up on the board in A&M's direction. It could be raining play action to deep balls all day if the running game gets established better.