Texas A&M @ Mississippi preview
Vaught-Hemingway Stadium
Texas A&M's first Southeastern Conference road trip takes the Aggies to Oxford, Miss., on Saturday night to face an improved Mississippi team. The Rebels have already exceeded last year's win total and have better offensive numbers than during last season's 2-3 start. Ole Miss built confidence on defense with a decent game against No. 1 Alabama and will need another big game to slow the Aggies' high-powered offense, which is led by freshman sensation Johnny Manziel. Manziel grabbed two of the league's weekly awards after a record-breaking performance against Arkansas last week.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPNU. LINE: Texas A&M -12.5.
ABOUT TEXAS A&M (3-1,1-1 SEC): Manziel set school and league records with 557 total yards in the 58-10 win against Arkansas to earn the SEC's Offensive Player and Co-Freshman of the Week awards. He passed for 453 yards and three touchdowns in the win and leads the SEC in total offense (365 yards per game) this season. Manziel's play and a strong rushing game - which averaged 6.8 yards per carry against Arkansas - has A&M leading the SEC in scoring (48.25 points per game) and ranking second in total offense (525.75). Junior Damontre Moore continues to fuel the defense with league highs in sacks (6) and tackles for loss (10.5). The Aggies are holding opponents to less than 12 points a game by getting teams off the field. They lead the SEC in third-down defense conversions and red-zone scores allowed (6-of-11).
ABOUT MISSISSIPPI (3-2, 0-1 SEC): First-year coach Huge Freeze has helped the Rebels improve nearly all their offensive stats from the first five games last year, including nearly doubling the rushing output (223.8 yards per game this year). They lead the SEC in third-down conversions (35-of-68) and fewest penalties (3.6 per game) but turnovers have hampered the offense. The Rebels have 13 giveaways, including eight by QB Bo Wallace. The Rebels have been strong in the red zone on offense - scoring 12 touchdowns in 15 trips - and defense - forcing three turnovers. LB Denzel Nkemdiche was named the league's Co-Defensive Player of the Week after a career-high 11 tackles against Alabama and the redshirt freshman leads Ole Miss in tackles (32), sacks (2) and tackles for loss (6). The Rebels held the country's top team to season lows in points and yards last week.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Aggies first-year coach Kevin Sumlin has won seven straight road games (six at Houston, one at A&M).
2. The Aggies have outscored opponents 134-9 in the second and third quarters.
3. The Rebels are 3-0 when they score first, 3-0 when they win the coin toss and 0-2 when their opponent scores first.
Prediction: Texas A&M 38, Mississippi 20