Game Preview: Texas A&M vs. Kansas

We are going to beat the Jayhawks. Their QB Todd Reesing has had a decent season so far, and their corner Aqib Talib is one of the best in the country at his position, but nothing about Kansas really scares me. There’s no way in hell that Kansas should be ranked #12 in the nation. They beat up on a bunch of patsies, their signature victory was against a K-State team that has three losses, and they barely escaped a mediocre Colorado team.

This is one of those games where you can just taste the upset. We’re playing at Kyle Field, and there’s some rolling momentum after the Nebraska game, but there isn’t overconfidence because the Aggies know that they’re facing the toughest home stretch in the nation. The overall season schedule has been a meat grinder, although in hindsight that Miami team was not as good as we made them look to be (That game still pisses me off. Coming into the game there was the feeling that it would make or break the season, and it was the worst outcome we could have imagined. None of the drama that broke out the last month or two would have happened if we’d won that game.)

If the Aggies lose this game, I honestly have a hard time seeing us win any of the next three games. If the Aggies win, there just might be enough momentum for us to steal a couple of the next three, although I still can’t picture us beating Missouri or Oklahoma. Sam Bradford has the second highest efficiency rating in college football, and you could argue that Chase Daniels has had the best season of all the QBs this side of Tim Tebow.

Speaking of Chase Daniels, I remember that when we played Mizzou last year, Daniels and McGee were seen as up-and-coming QBs in the Big 12. Since then, Daniels has blossomed in the position, while McGee’s numbers are down across the board with the exception of his rushing yards. I guess yards are yards, but even as a huge McGee fan, I have to say that I’m scratching my head as to what’s going on. Sure, our receivers aren’t great (in fact, they’re not good), but the O-line is supposed to be one of the best in the conference, Bennett has had one more year under his belt to tighten up his run routes, and Goodson is there to catch the swing pass. I can’t tell if our passing game sucks so much because (a) McGee has regressed, (b) the offensive components outside of McGee aren’t doing their job, (c) the running attack is doing so well, (d) Franchione is an idiot, or (e) all of the above.

Now I have no qualms with a power running game when we’re gashing teams like we did against Nebraska last week. But the game has shifted in the last 10 years to more sophisticated passing offenses, and I can’t think of a top caliber team that overpowers good teams on a consistent basis with the power running game like the Nebraska teams of the ’90s. The negative side effect is that the QBs and the wide receivers don’t want to come to your school, and the opposing team is stacking eight men in the box to solely stop the run. I truly have a hard time believing that McGee, a QB who was celebrated in high school for his passing skills, is being used to his max potential by running the triple option. It’s a testament to his talent that he can run for 167 yards even as a square peg in a round hole.

I expect the passing game to pick up for us against Kansas, and I’m putting faith that the defense will step it up a notch with the season on the line. This game will be telling of how we’ll do in the stretch. I predict we’ll come through with a 21-17 win.