Oklahoma @ Texas A&M preview
Kyle Field
Last Meeting ( Nov 14, 2009 ) Texas A&M 10, Oklahoma 65
Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman made a change he hopes will lead to a strong finish to the season. Saturday’s home game against No. 9 Oklahoma will be a good test to see how well that change worked.
Sherman benched senior quarterback Jerrod Johnson, the preseason Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Year, in favor of Ryan Tannehill, a converted wide receiver. Tannehill rewarded his coach by throwing for a school-record 449 yards with four touchdowns in A&M’s 45-27 win over Texas Tech last week.
Tannehill will be making his second career start at quarterback against a young Sooner defense that has been suspect on the road.
Oklahoma (7-1, 3-1 Big 12) has surrendered an average of 470 yards in its two road games this season, including 486 in a loss at Missouri. Texas A&M (5-3, 2-2) leads the nation in offensive plays per game and is 10th in total offense, averaging 486 yards per game.
Defense isn’t the only area where the Sooners have struggled on the road. Sophomore quarterback Landry Jones has been a different player away from Norman. For his career, Jones has thrown 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions on the road, compared to 34 touchdowns and six interceptions at home. Oklahoma has only one home game left on its schedule.
Jones and his offense will face a solid Aggies defense that is allowing only 94.88 yards per game on the ground. Oklahoma rushed for 285 yards in last year’s 65-10 thrashing of A&M. DeMarco Murray leads the Sooner ground game and is complemented by electric freshman back Roy Finch. Wide receiver Ryan Broyles leads the nation in receptions per game at 9.75 and is third in receiving yards at 127.25 per game.
Oklahoma’s defense is expected get a boost from the return of linebacker Ronnell Lewis, who missed the past two weeks with a knee injury. The Sooners are still thin on the defensive line, though, with defensive tackles Daniel Nobel and Casey Walker both expected to miss Saturday’s game.
The Aggies will be missing their leading rusher, Christine Michael, who suffered a broken leg last week against Texas Tech and is out for the season. Junior Cyrus Gray will replace Michael in the starting lineup. Gray has rushed for 414 yards and five touchdowns this season.
Oklahoma has won seven straight against A&M by an average margin of 49-19, but is only a field-goal favorite in Saturday's tilt.