Texas A&M Aggies 2017 NCAA Football Preview

College Football Predictions – Texas A&M Aggies 2017 NCAA Football Preview

2016 Recap

2016 Record – 8-5

2016 ATS – 4-8-1

The Aggies started out on SUPAH HOT FIRE winning their first six games then sputtered down the stretch to finish at 8-5. After beating the Volunteers to get to that 6-0 mark they only managed to beat New Mexico St and UTSA (wut ?) the rest of the way. The Aggies have not had a winning conference record in the SEC since 2012. Time to get busy, yo.

2017 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating

SEC – TBD

West Division – TBD

OFFENSE

There is a big question mark at QB but also a lot of optimism. MEGALOCKS TEXAS A&M INSIDERS believe that the starting gig is a battle between redshirt freshman Nick Starkel and highly-recruited true freshman Kellen Mond. Senior Jake Hubenak will likely play a supporting role. We will be keeping a close eye on developments during fall camp and RESPECT the ability of Texas A&M to get young players ready to play well at the QB position. We are very intrigued.

We have a lot of optimism for the running game. Texas A&M returns a great 1-2 punch in Trayveon Williams (1,057, 8 TD) and Keith Ford (669, 6 TD) along with a fine looking offensive line that returns three starters to the mix. There will be a bit of a learning curve at WR as only one of the top five receivers from the 2016 unit is back this season. The good news is that player is Christian Kirk who bagged 83 receptions in 2016.

Overall, we concede there is a question mark at QB, but there is a ton of potential upside as well.

DEFENSE

Texas A&M is going to have to battle SEC West opponents this season without the #1 overall NFL draft pick DE Myles Garrett. PENETRATION may be an issue without their two DEs from last season but they do have nice size and experience at DT. Five starters return to the back 7 on defense but they will be without last season’s leading tackler LB Shaan Washington and excellent S Justin Evans who had 87 tackles and 4 INT last year. There are some challenges but DC John Chavis should be able to cobble together a decent stop unit.

SPECIAL TEAMS

HELL-O ? This unit looks spicy. The kicking game is solid especially considering that P Shane Tripucka is back in the mix. JUGGERNAUT PR Christian Kirk averaged an impossible 21.7 (!) yards on punt returns last season and took THREE back for TDs.

Potential ATS Trouble Spot

November 11 – NEW MEXICO. Texas A&M has been a poor home favorite under Kevin Sumlin and this game pops up in an Auburn / Ole Miss sandwich. And it is tough to prepare for a WACKY team that can rush for 500+ yards if you are not careful. (Ed note: Bias alert. MEGALOCKS likes New Mexico HC Bob Davie)

MEGAmazing Tidbits

Texas A&M has a trademark on the term “12th man”. Ask the Seattle Seahawks how happy they are about that development. #LegalKnowledgeBomb

MEGALOCKS ATS Value Rating (10) 6.5

MEGALOCKS says:

Overall, we give the AGGIES a 6.5 ATS Value Rating (Above Average) this season.

Full disclosure. Here is a snippet of our egregious take on the ATS prospects for Texas A&M last season…….“we do think the trend of losing seasons against the number will end this year.” Oops.

There is no doubt about the uncertainty at QB and the negative of losing a #1 overall draft choice at DE. When talking about how a team performs vs Vegas, however, it is all about perception vs reality. Texas A&M may FINALLY be under the radar as we love the look of the running game, and last time we checked, John Chavis was still the DC. Oh, and HC Kevin Sumlin has done nothing other than compile a 44-21 record at Texas A&M. We like those results.

What worries us ? Texas A&M has compiled an absolutely mind-boggling and disgusting 17-33-2 (34%) mark against the point spread over the past four seasons. We think this would be a good time to ZIG when everyone else makes a ZAG. Watch for value and pounce.

Gig ’em !

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