Texas A&M @ Ole Miss preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 12, 2016 ) Mississippi 29, Texas A&M 28

Although Texas A&M quarterback Nick Starkel may have only started a total of two games in his college career, he has already experienced more than his fair share of disappointment and euphoria. Coming off a record-setting effort in his return to the starting lineup last weekend, the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week will take his shot at an encore performance Saturday when the Aggies visit Ole Miss.

Starkel's season was put on hold for nearly two months after only 13 passes when he broke his left ankle in Texas A&M's season-opening loss at UCLA, but he made his way onto the field on a part-time basis on Oct. 28 against Mississippi State and again on Nov. 4 versus Auburn. He returned to the lineup last week against New Mexico in scintillating fashion, finishing 21-of-30 for 416 yards and throwing for four touchdowns before taking a seat for the entire second half in a 55-14 rout. Although the Rebels' Jordan Ta'amu needed an entire game to do it, the junior signal-caller was slightly more productive than Starkel, posting 431 total yards and five total touchdowns in a 50-22 thumping of Louisiana. "Another good performance. It doesn't matter who you are playing, if you lead your team during the first five drives and score touchdowns, that's pretty impressive," first-year Ole Miss coach Matt Luke said about his junior field general.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2. LINE: Ole Miss -3.

ABOUT TEXAS A&M (6-4, 3-3 SEC): Starkel's 400-yard passing game was only the second by a freshman in school history and the second-highest total by a freshman behind Johnny Manziel's 453-yard outburst against Arkansas during his Heisman Trophy-winning season in 2012. Three Aggies topped 100 yards receiving in the same game for the first time in program history as a result of their quarterback's surgical dissection, as true freshmen Roshauud Paul (129 yards) and Jhamon Ausbon (105) joined junior Christian Kirk (120) as part of the history-making trio. Kirk also more than doubled his season total of 83 punt return yards entering the contest with a 90-yard TD return, making him the first Aggie with a kickoff and punt return touchdown in the same season since Carl Roaches in 1973.

ABOUT OLE MISS (5-5, 2-4): Sophomore A.J. Brown, who leads the conference in receptions (62), receiving yards (1,015) and receiving TDs (nine), tied Laquon Treadwell's school-record single-game mark of 14 catches last weekend and only needs 138 more yards to become the most productive single-season receiver in program history. "I should have thrown him a bubble (screen) or given him a flip to get him to 15 catches, so that was on me; a rookie mistake right there. I like the look in his eye. … He is really playing well for us," Luke said. Kicker Gary Wunderlich saw his streak of 19 straight games with at least one field goal snapped versus New Mexico, leaving him stuck on 62 field goals for his career - one shy of tying the school record.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Starkel has led Texas A&M to a touchdown on 14 of 29 drives this season.

2. Last weekend, Ole Miss became only the fourth FBS team in last 20 seasons to have two different quarterbacks throw for 350 yards or more in at least three games in a season.

3. The Rebels have scored on 95 percent of their red zone possessions, good for third in the SEC and seventh in FBS.

PREDICTION: Texas A&M 45, Ole Miss 38