Texas vs Texas A&M: 3 pregame questions we ask, including about the Longhorns’ running game

The renewal of Texas football‘s long and bitter rivalry with Texas A&M comes with high stakes for both teams on Saturday night. If no. 3 Texas (10-1, 6-1 SEC) win, the Longhorn will face Georgia in the SEC championship game where they will try to secure a top-four CFP seed and a first-round playoff bye. The Aggies have even more on the line, as a berth in the SEC title game against Georgia would give them an opportunity to claim a playoff spot.

We ask Texas three key questions ahead of the game against the Aggies. After the game, we’ll have some answers.

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Will Texas win the possession game?

Questions before the game: Texas A&M excels in a key component of complementary football. The defense has plenty of holes, as evidenced by its SEC ranking of 10th against the run and 12th against the pass. But the Aggies protect that porous defense by ranking third in the SEC in time of possession, averaging 32 minutes, 14 seconds a game. If dual-threat quarterback Marcel Reed and running back Amari Daniels can help the Aggies move the ball on the ground, it will keep Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and a potent Texas offense on the sidelines.

Answers after the game: We will give an answer after the match.

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Will Texas A&M rediscover its pass rush?

Questions before the game: In the last five games, Texas A&M’s starting defensive end has generated just half a sack. That’s especially troubling to the Aggie faithful because A&M has two NFL-level pass rushers in Nic Scourton and Shemar Stewart. The Longhorns’ offensive line, which entered 2024 with expectations to win the Joe Moore Award as the nation’s best, has given up 21 sacks, including seven in the team’s lone loss against Georgia. But left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. and his crew has been better in recent weeks with only four sacks allowed in the last three games.

Answers after the game: We will give an answer after the match.

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Will Texas maintain its recent identity as a run-first team?

Questions before the game: Through Texas’ first five SEC games, the Longhorns never had more running plays than pass attempts. But in the past two weeks, they have run the ball 88 times against 63 passes. Will the newfound run-first identity continue against the Aggies after Quintrevion Wisner ran for a career-high 158 yards in last week’s win over Kentucky as Jaydon Blue added another 96 yards to help the Longhorns gain a season-best 250 yards. ?

Answers after the game: We will give an answer after the match.

This article originally appeared on the Austin American-Statesman: Texas football vs Texas A&M: 3 questions we answer in the Week 14 matchup