Cats Have Healthy Respect for Challenge Posed by A&M
Conference opponents are the ones you’re supposed to know best.
Mark Stoops has certainly reached that point with most of the Southeastern Conference, but Texas A&M is very much an exception.
“You always get some crossovers once in a while but A&M definitely for me is new and fresh, definitely not very familiar with them,” Stoops said. “It’s no different than playing a non-conference opponent.”
In fact, Kentucky has played most nonconference opponents more than the Aggies.
When No. 13 UK travels to College Station, Texas, to put its perfect record on the line against Texas A&M (3-2) at 7 p.m. on Saturday, it will be the first time in more than 60 years the two teams have met. UK last faced A&M in the early 1950s, when UK won in College Station 10-7 in 1952 and lost in Lexington 7-6 a year later. Clearly, the matchup will be the first between the two teams since A&M’s move to the SEC in 2012.
None of that means UK’s approach will be any different though.
“We treat every opponent the same,” running back Benny Snell Jr. said. “Different opponent, different skill. We’ve been attacking in practice and we’re going to stay focused going forward. We’re not switching anything.”
That’s wise, because UK is within one win of the first 6-0 start in school history since 1950, even longer ago than the last time the Cats played the Aggies.
“This is a new situation and a new week and again, how are we going to handle that?” Stoops said. “I expect our team to have a really good focus this week and ready to get back to work and that’s been the attitude of this team, that they’re always learning and growing and they’re not satisfied with what we’ve done and we’ve got to continue to stay hungry but stay hungry in that preparation.”
UK will have a significant challenge to prepare for, as A&M sports a talented roster. The Aggies have lost twice, but at the hands of College Football Playoff regulars Alabama and Clemson. A&M has an offense averaging 36 points and more than 500 yards per game, with a dynamic dual-threat quarterback in Kellen Mond and running back Trayveon Williams, the second-leading rusher in the SEC.
“They bring a lot to the table,” senior linebacker Josh Allen said. “They can run the ball. They can throw the ball. They have a lot of playmakers. … Their offensive line, they’re huge, which means we have to get under their pads. They have a good quarterback back there. They have a great running back who’s just behind Benny in rushing yards.”
Defensively, the Aggies have allowed just 34 points combined in their three wins. Their strength is a stout front seven, which is allowing just 85 rushing yards per game – sixth nationally and first in the SEC. It will be strength on strength on that count, as UK features the SEC’s top-ranked rushing attack.
“They do a great job on defense,” Eddie Gran said. “I think—how they stop the run, with either movement or secondary rotation up front with their line stunts. They’re never going to let you feel comfortable. They just do a good job, their whole staff, and they’ve got great players. Again, it’s SEC. It’s SEC on the road and everybody’s going to be good.”
Along those same lines, UK will be facing another characteristically hostile environment on Saturday night. Kyle Field has a well earned reputation for being a difficult place to play, what with its 12th Man tradition.
The good news is UK has already faced a similar environment and a similarly huge crowd once before, when the Cats took down Florida in the Swamp. In that game, the player to whom the most pressure will be applied on Saturday – quarterback Terry Wilson – had his best individual performance of the season, which bodes well.
“I know how the crowd’s going to be and just gotta stay focused on what we gotta take care of,” Wilson said. “I feel like those really are the two biggest things that I took away. Just be uncomfortable out there and play ball.”
That’s what it’s all about.
“We have great respect for A&M and Jimbo, as I just mentioned, and playing in that environment is going to be a real challenge for our players but we don’t need any extra motivation,” Stoops said. “We want to try and get a win and we have to be able to handle that situation, handle that environment, handle the fact that it’s a big game on national TV and we have to get down to playing and executing good football.”
