Ole Miss Heads West to Face Texas A&M in Aggieland

By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com

Jordan Ta’amu receives the ball in the pocket against LSU. Photo by Danny Dickey.

Ole Miss travels to the Lone Star State this weekend to tangle with the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m. on CBS.

Ole Miss (5-4, 1-4) is coming off a heartbreaking loss to South Carolina 48-44 in an offensive shootout. 

“When you go out there and leave it all on the field, it’s supposed to hurt,” Luke said. “This is a business where you’re judged on winning and losing, and for us to go out there and win, the effort and the passion was there.”

Senior quarterback Jordan Ta’amu injured his foot last Saturday against the Gamecocks and was “limited in practice,” Luke said, but is expected to be healthy for the Aggies.

Texas A&M is 5-4 overall and 3-3 in conference play entering this week’s game with Ole Miss. The Aggies are averaging more than 450 yards of total offense per game, with 269 coming through the air and 188 yards per game on the ground. Sophomore signal-caller Kellen Mond ranks fourth in the SEC with 2,252 passing yards on the season. Mond is completing 58.6 percent of his passes on the season, with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He’s also run for four scores on the season. Mond’s top target has been Jace Sternberger. The 6-foot-4 tight end leads all SEC tight ends with 34 catches for 568 yards and six touchdowns. Wideout Quartney Davis is also a dangerous target on the outside, tallying 32 catches for 383 yards this season.

“Offensively, they’re very balanced. They do a great job of mixing personnel, mixing the run and the pass, and their play action is very good,” Luke said. “Jimbo (Fisher) has always been good with mixing those things up. They’re good at the time of possession.”

Junior Trayveon Williams leads A&M on the ground, averaging 103.4 yards rushing per game, the third-best in the SEC. In addition to rushing, Williams is one of the league’s top receiving backs and is first in the conference in all-purpose yardage with 1,188 yards. Defensively, the Aggies are allowing just under 235 yards per game.

The Aggies’ defensive end tandem of Kingsley Keke and Landis Durham both rank in the top 10 in the SEC in sacks. Texas A&M possesses two dangerous weapons on special teams as well. Junior punter Braden Mann leads the country averaging 51.3 yards per punt. Kicker Seth Small is second in the SEC and sixth nationally with just under two field goals per game.

Saturday’s game will be the 11th time Ole Miss and Texas A&M have met on the gridiron. The Aggies lead the all-time series at 7-3.

Fans can watch the game on CBS or listen to the call on the Ole Miss Radio Network at 11 a.m.