1) Run and Run Often! -- Watching college football yesterday it was clear to me once again what is true at the beginning of every football season: players aren't conditioned. You would think after 34-37 weeks of offseason they would have prepared their bodies for the grind of four quarters. Nope. A common sight was hands on the hips and gasping for breath by the mid 3rd quarter. Especially if they were playing an up-tempo offense like the Aggies have. Texas A&M has the luxury of two of the top running backs in college football on their roster in Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael. Get them going and establish a presence on the ground. The point is to get the SMU defense to run around most of the 1st half and tire them out. Test them to see what kind of depth they have and if they are willing to rotate in guys to keep the team fresh without missing a beat. I bet they don't have the depth to do that. Make them pay.
2) Special Teams! -- It is always the one area of a football team that is lacking in week 1. On Friday night it was TCU running down the field against Baylor on kickoffs giving them a short field, but then missing two field goals and an extra point that would have won them the game. Utah State allowed a KR for a TD against Auburn and then couldn't grab the onside kick to give them the biggest W in school history. Oregon couldn't keep the ball off the ground on punt returns and kick offs and allowed LSU to blow the game wide open. Special teams seem to be the great equalizer in week one of the season, and we all know the Aggies troubles in this department in the past. Here is hoping that coach Nick Toth and the rest of the guys are ready to execute this evening. Don't give the game away here!
3) Attack and Blitz on Defense DeRutyer! -- I was a little shocked to see so many teams play in their base defense on opening weekend, especially in big games such as BYU-Ole Miss, ND-USF, and Boise St-Georgia. Seems like every defensive coordinator was content with their 4 lineman trying to rush the passer and everyone else stay in coverage. One team that didn't sit back but instead attacked? Boise State. They ran stunts all night on defense and made it a point to pressure Aaron Murray. Georgia? Didn't try to send extra guys to get to Kellen Moore thinking their SEC DL could do the job alone. Who won the ball game? It's a long season and some teams will try not to "show" to much in Week 1 thinking everyone will then figure them out. Hey, aren't you trying to win the first game? I don't think Coach DeRutyer will take a laid back approach to this game and he shouldn't. Use the entire playbook to pressure Kyle Padron and do it early and often. At least 60% of the time! Make his OL work and get in his face. To hell with not showing everything in your playbook; all that matters is today.
Note: It has come to my attention the wind conditions the Aggies may face tonight. Looking at weather reports, the wind could be as high as 20mph from the north this evening and is already causing havoc on a lot of people's tailgates. On the field, because of the stadium configuration, will cause the wind to swirl, especially near the Zone. It will be important early in the game to see how this will impact throwing the football and the kicking game.
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