The Texas A&M Aggies (1-0) hope to establish consistency in multiple aspects when they face the Utah State Aggies (1-0) on Saturday afternoon in College Station, Texas.
Texas A&M, ranked 19th in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, saw some encouraging signs and some that were alarming in last Saturday’s season-opening 42-24 win over UTSA.
Texas A&M, which lost four of its final five games last season following a 7-1 start, got strong performances from returning starting quarterback Marcel Reed and key transfers KC Concepcion and Mario Craver.
Reed threw for a career-best four touchdown passes and totaled 289 yards through the air. Concepcion, an NC State transfer, returned a punt for a touchdown and caught a TD pass while Craver, a Mississippi State transfer, had 122 receiving yards and two scoring grabs among his eight receptions.
“I think these opening games are more and more challenging every year because between roster schemes, you don’t have a great pulse or feel for what you’re getting into,” Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said. “And so we’ve just kind of learned how to be ready to adjust and adapt. I think that’s literally what it comes down to so much in these games.”
But A&M yielded 203 rushing yards, including 177 to Robert Henry Jr., while mustering only 108 rushing yards, most of which was accumulated in the second half.
“You always look for relative points of reference. UTSA did a nice job and it was a helpful game for us,” said Utah State coach Bronco Mendenhall, who is in his first season with the program. “The game went competitive for a long time. Anytime you play a team you look for what might have worked and what we could do similarly. Our style isn’t exactly the same as UTSA’s, but you look for concepts that might be successful.”
Texas A&M won its only previous matchup with Utah State, 38-30, in a 2009 home game.
Elko and Mendenhall are familiar with each other from their respective time coaching in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“Obviously a tremendously successful head coach. Did a great job at BYU,” Elko said of Mendenhall, who coached Virginia from 2016-21. “We coached against him when he was at UVA and I was the defensive coordinator at Wake Forest, and so I’ve always kind of followed his program from afar.”
Mendenhall and his staff brought in 69 new players, including 36 who made their debuts in last week’s 28-16 win over UTEP.
Coming off a 4-8 campaign, Utah State is counting on starting quarterback Bryson Barnes to be an impact player. He showed he’s capable of it by throwing for a touchdown and 233 yards. However, the offensive line raised some concerns by allowing six sacks.
It’s an area that Mendenhall knows must improve against a stout Texas A&M defense, which only mustered one sack last week but has the personnel to disrupt offenses up front.
“Just really well-coordinated and really well-coached,” Mendenhall said. “There’s a rhyme and reason and method for what they’re doing and why, and good personnel to do it with. It’s a proven system with lots of success at a historic place that’s able to attract good talent and it’s a great challenge.”
