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Texas A&M vs. Arizona State preview / pregame thread(?)
Posted on 8/13/15 at 11:17 am
Posted on 8/13/15 at 11:17 am
23 days until the regular season, 14 games to preview so I'll probably try and put out one at least every other day (I may skip the games that appear to be blowouts)
Offense
QB: Push
Kyle Allen has a little bit more experience and mobility than ASU's quarterback (Mike Bercovici), but Bercovici has one of the strongest arms in all of college football and is incredibly accurate with that. I'm really impressed with Allen's ability to throw slants and hitches (good arm strength), and his ability to throw on the run is outstanding. A couple things Allen did struggle with last year were not stepping into his throws and forcing unnecessary passes. At the same time, Allen was also thrust into a role he shouldn't have been as a true freshman and performed more than admirably. I couldn't find a whole lot of film on Bercovici outside of a video with his smoking hot girlfriend, but he does appear ready heading into his senior season to follow up a couple 450 yard games he had last year. Bercovici also has a very good ability to throw the ball to the right side of the field, even when he's moving. If I'm Chavis, I'm bringing in Garrett from the left edge to force Bercovici to move more to the left.
RB: Push
I feel incredibly lame pushing on the second consecutive position, but both teams have at least one player (Demario Richard for ASU, Tra Carson and Brandon Williams for TAMU). Both teams struggled to run the ball last year outside of a couple games against poorly ranked rush defenses, but Carson really impressed against SC and in the bowl game against WVU, and Richard was really good against Utah and in the bowl game against last season. Carson has a pretty impressive ability to find the hole at the line, and once he gets out of it he is very physical and his a great juke move as well. He also has great hands out of the backfield. Richard packs a punch in a bowling ball like package at 5-9, 205 with a couple run last seasons where he just trucked a defender. The ASU staff is incredibly excited about what he can do and actually moved last year's starting RB to WR because they are that confident in Richard.
WR: Big Advantage - A&M
Arizona State lost two of it's top 3 receivers from last season in Jaelen Strong (draft) and Cameron Smith (injury). They did move D.J. Foster who was their second leading receiver permanently to the receiver position, and even though he looked great last year coming out of the backfield, and in the slot, he along with three other returning receivers (less than 500 yards combined between the 3) are not going to come close to comparing to what is possibly the SEC's best receiving core. A&M did have a couple players struggle with drops last season, but the combination of Reynolds who was a pleasant surprise last season, along with the insane returning talent of Noil, Pope, Seals-Jones, and Iheanacho, and the new talent of Christian Kirk who by all reports looks incredible so far. The A&M receivers have a ton of height which is always a plus, and very incredible play-making ability through Noil and Reynolds. This will definitely be one area of the field in which A&M should have a distinct advantage.
OL: Slight Advantage - Arizona State
Both lines are lead by centers who are on the Rimington Award Watch list (Nick Kelly and Mike Matthews) and have some experience on the offensive line. I'm giving the slight edge to ASU because they're expecting to start four seniors and one junior, including former 5* Auburn signee Christian Westerman. Arizona State's biggest concern are injuries as the season goes along, because a couple of their linemen have struggled to stay healthy, but it should not be as big of a deal in the first game of the season. Texas A&M has been churning out NFL linemen at an incredible pace and that will probably continue after this season, but their line did struggle last year and that led them to hire Dave Christensen as their new O-line Coach. Mike Sherman definitely was a huge reason A&M kept producing great linemen so it will be interesting to see if they can keep it up the further away they get from his tenure. Germain Ifedi is expected to be drafted next year fairly early, and Joseph Cheek also returns at the guard position. The left side of the line is definitely a little bit of a question mark but I wouldn't be surprised if the Ags can find a couple more studs this season.
Offense
QB: Push
Kyle Allen has a little bit more experience and mobility than ASU's quarterback (Mike Bercovici), but Bercovici has one of the strongest arms in all of college football and is incredibly accurate with that. I'm really impressed with Allen's ability to throw slants and hitches (good arm strength), and his ability to throw on the run is outstanding. A couple things Allen did struggle with last year were not stepping into his throws and forcing unnecessary passes. At the same time, Allen was also thrust into a role he shouldn't have been as a true freshman and performed more than admirably. I couldn't find a whole lot of film on Bercovici outside of a video with his smoking hot girlfriend, but he does appear ready heading into his senior season to follow up a couple 450 yard games he had last year. Bercovici also has a very good ability to throw the ball to the right side of the field, even when he's moving. If I'm Chavis, I'm bringing in Garrett from the left edge to force Bercovici to move more to the left.
RB: Push
I feel incredibly lame pushing on the second consecutive position, but both teams have at least one player (Demario Richard for ASU, Tra Carson and Brandon Williams for TAMU). Both teams struggled to run the ball last year outside of a couple games against poorly ranked rush defenses, but Carson really impressed against SC and in the bowl game against WVU, and Richard was really good against Utah and in the bowl game against last season. Carson has a pretty impressive ability to find the hole at the line, and once he gets out of it he is very physical and his a great juke move as well. He also has great hands out of the backfield. Richard packs a punch in a bowling ball like package at 5-9, 205 with a couple run last seasons where he just trucked a defender. The ASU staff is incredibly excited about what he can do and actually moved last year's starting RB to WR because they are that confident in Richard.
WR: Big Advantage - A&M
Arizona State lost two of it's top 3 receivers from last season in Jaelen Strong (draft) and Cameron Smith (injury). They did move D.J. Foster who was their second leading receiver permanently to the receiver position, and even though he looked great last year coming out of the backfield, and in the slot, he along with three other returning receivers (less than 500 yards combined between the 3) are not going to come close to comparing to what is possibly the SEC's best receiving core. A&M did have a couple players struggle with drops last season, but the combination of Reynolds who was a pleasant surprise last season, along with the insane returning talent of Noil, Pope, Seals-Jones, and Iheanacho, and the new talent of Christian Kirk who by all reports looks incredible so far. The A&M receivers have a ton of height which is always a plus, and very incredible play-making ability through Noil and Reynolds. This will definitely be one area of the field in which A&M should have a distinct advantage.
OL: Slight Advantage - Arizona State
Both lines are lead by centers who are on the Rimington Award Watch list (Nick Kelly and Mike Matthews) and have some experience on the offensive line. I'm giving the slight edge to ASU because they're expecting to start four seniors and one junior, including former 5* Auburn signee Christian Westerman. Arizona State's biggest concern are injuries as the season goes along, because a couple of their linemen have struggled to stay healthy, but it should not be as big of a deal in the first game of the season. Texas A&M has been churning out NFL linemen at an incredible pace and that will probably continue after this season, but their line did struggle last year and that led them to hire Dave Christensen as their new O-line Coach. Mike Sherman definitely was a huge reason A&M kept producing great linemen so it will be interesting to see if they can keep it up the further away they get from his tenure. Germain Ifedi is expected to be drafted next year fairly early, and Joseph Cheek also returns at the guard position. The left side of the line is definitely a little bit of a question mark but I wouldn't be surprised if the Ags can find a couple more studs this season.
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Posted on 8/13/15 at 11:18 am to Dawgsontop34
Defense
DL: Slight Edge - A&M
Myles Garrett is expected to be a beast once again for A&M, and Daylon Mack should come in and compete for a starting job right away. I also expect the run defense to improve tremendously under Chavis as well. Arizona State's stats from last season can also be misleading for their defensive line, because only 16.5 of their 39 sacks came from the DL last season, and 10 of those are lost with the departure of Marcus Hardison. ASU also ranked in the top 50 in run defense last year, but it's incredibly misleading with the pac-12 being such a pass-dominant league. The DL position is definitely a weaker point for both of these teams, but whichever team can find their way to pressure the qb will create a big advantage for the rest of the defense with such strong passing games on the other side of the ball, and I think that's going to be A&M.
LB: Advantage - ASU
Arizona State returns a Freshman All-American, and two very solid starters at their linebacker positions. They also switched former running back and all-world athlete Kalen Ballage to a linebacker position. Arizona State currently has 23 linebackers on their roster which is an absurd number and provides a ton of depth. This position would be even better if a top-rated JUCO recruit wouldn't have been dismissed from the team following a domestic violence charge. A&M's unit was one of the weakest in the SEC last year, but I really like Josh Walker and Otaro Alaka and think they can be huge players in the A&M defense that should be improved. Both are young guys and should get better the more time they spend in the college weight room and learning how to play at the collegiate level. But as of now, I don't see how this position isn't a big edge for the Sun Devils.
DB: Slight Edge - ASU
Both teams struggled against the pass last year, but Arizona State does return 4 defensive backs (lost Damarious Randall) including Viilami Moeakiola who may have struggled in pass coverage, but he did have 5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss last season. State also returns Jordan Simone who had 100 tackles last season, and both cornerbacks. A&M loses Deshazor Everett along with 2 other starters, from a core that only had 5 interceptions last year and was in the bottom half of the NCAA in pass defense in a league where running is so much more prominent. At this point, A&M is going to have to make a big turn around to prevent Bercovici to rack up 400+ passing yards.
Special Teams: Push
Arizona State probably has an advantage in the kicking game, with one of the best kickers in the nation vs. Taylor Bertolet who struggled a little bit before losing his job to Josh Lambo. Bertolet should be much improved though after a couple more years at A&M. Punting is probably a push (maybe slight adv. to A&M) with two of the better players in the nation in Drew Kaser for the Aggies and Matt Haack for the Sun Devils. I would give an advantage in the return game to A&M though. Arizona State did lose it's best two returners from last year, and Speedy Noil should be even more of a threat in year two.
Coaching - Slight Advantage: A&M
Todd Graham is a great coach and as a head coach I would give him a little bit of an advantage over Kevin Sumlin, but the combination of the offensive mind of Kevin Sumlin, and defensive mind of John Chavis should be one of the best combinations in the SEC and if they can get it together in game 1, the rest of the season should be looking bright for the Aggies.
DL: Slight Edge - A&M
Myles Garrett is expected to be a beast once again for A&M, and Daylon Mack should come in and compete for a starting job right away. I also expect the run defense to improve tremendously under Chavis as well. Arizona State's stats from last season can also be misleading for their defensive line, because only 16.5 of their 39 sacks came from the DL last season, and 10 of those are lost with the departure of Marcus Hardison. ASU also ranked in the top 50 in run defense last year, but it's incredibly misleading with the pac-12 being such a pass-dominant league. The DL position is definitely a weaker point for both of these teams, but whichever team can find their way to pressure the qb will create a big advantage for the rest of the defense with such strong passing games on the other side of the ball, and I think that's going to be A&M.
LB: Advantage - ASU
Arizona State returns a Freshman All-American, and two very solid starters at their linebacker positions. They also switched former running back and all-world athlete Kalen Ballage to a linebacker position. Arizona State currently has 23 linebackers on their roster which is an absurd number and provides a ton of depth. This position would be even better if a top-rated JUCO recruit wouldn't have been dismissed from the team following a domestic violence charge. A&M's unit was one of the weakest in the SEC last year, but I really like Josh Walker and Otaro Alaka and think they can be huge players in the A&M defense that should be improved. Both are young guys and should get better the more time they spend in the college weight room and learning how to play at the collegiate level. But as of now, I don't see how this position isn't a big edge for the Sun Devils.
DB: Slight Edge - ASU
Both teams struggled against the pass last year, but Arizona State does return 4 defensive backs (lost Damarious Randall) including Viilami Moeakiola who may have struggled in pass coverage, but he did have 5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss last season. State also returns Jordan Simone who had 100 tackles last season, and both cornerbacks. A&M loses Deshazor Everett along with 2 other starters, from a core that only had 5 interceptions last year and was in the bottom half of the NCAA in pass defense in a league where running is so much more prominent. At this point, A&M is going to have to make a big turn around to prevent Bercovici to rack up 400+ passing yards.
Special Teams: Push
Arizona State probably has an advantage in the kicking game, with one of the best kickers in the nation vs. Taylor Bertolet who struggled a little bit before losing his job to Josh Lambo. Bertolet should be much improved though after a couple more years at A&M. Punting is probably a push (maybe slight adv. to A&M) with two of the better players in the nation in Drew Kaser for the Aggies and Matt Haack for the Sun Devils. I would give an advantage in the return game to A&M though. Arizona State did lose it's best two returners from last year, and Speedy Noil should be even more of a threat in year two.
Coaching - Slight Advantage: A&M
Todd Graham is a great coach and as a head coach I would give him a little bit of an advantage over Kevin Sumlin, but the combination of the offensive mind of Kevin Sumlin, and defensive mind of John Chavis should be one of the best combinations in the SEC and if they can get it together in game 1, the rest of the season should be looking bright for the Aggies.
This post was edited on 8/13/15 at 12:00 pm
Posted on 8/13/15 at 11:19 am to Dawgsontop34
For a Georgian you are seriously obsessed with the Texas Aggies
Posted on 8/13/15 at 11:22 am to Gradual_Stroke
Cant wait for the Fire Sumlin threads after week 1
Posted on 8/13/15 at 11:23 am to Gradual_Stroke
quote:
For a Georgian you are seriously obsessed with the Texas Aggies
Have anything to contribute to the topic? I think it's a pretty good thread considering this is a good early season game that very few people are talking about.
Posted on 8/13/15 at 11:23 am to Dawgsontop34
2nd thread and it's not even noon yet...
Posted on 8/13/15 at 11:24 am to SDVTiger
This is actually the most intriguing sec game of the weekend. I think A&M wins being that close to home. ASU offense will challenge the new defense under Chavis. I don't think the A&M talent on defense has been awful but schematically they haven't done much under Sumlin and yes the buck stops there.
Posted on 8/13/15 at 11:25 am to Gradual_Stroke
quote:
For a Georgian you are seriously obsessed with the Texas Aggies
Arizona State is the first road team alphabetically the first week of the season. Get over yourself. My last thread was stupid, I'm not ashamed to admit that. This has content and is an attempt to contribute to actual football discussion.
Posted on 8/13/15 at 11:26 am to Dawgsontop34
frick your mother for that last thread
Posted on 8/13/15 at 11:28 am to Dawgsontop34
quote:
Tra Carson and Brandon Williams for TAMU)
We probably won't see BWill much, if at all, at RB. He got moved to CB, which is a greater need for us at the moment. James White will be #2 and freshman Kendall Bussey should be #3. We lost a RB to a non-injury health issue though, so this could change.
Posted on 8/13/15 at 11:30 am to Dawgsontop34
Why are you so concerned about our first matchup?
Stop letting Mizzou win the fricking east!
Stop letting Mizzou win the fricking east!
Posted on 8/13/15 at 11:32 am to Dawgsontop34
Anyone know the spread?
Posted on 8/13/15 at 11:33 am to Dawgsontop34
ASU fans are shite so it'll be 85% A&M fans
Posted on 8/13/15 at 11:34 am to Dawgsontop34
I've got Kyle Allen as my QB1 and DJ Foster as my WR1 so hopefully it's a 56-52 type game
Posted on 8/13/15 at 11:37 am to Dawgsontop34
I'm taking ASU winning 30-24 in this game.
Posted on 8/13/15 at 11:37 am to WithaRebelYell
quote:
Anyone know the spread
ASU +3
Posted on 8/13/15 at 11:37 am to Dawgsontop34
I'm pretty excited to watch this game. I like watching Arizona St, they recruit a bunch of kids from Louisiana that LSU doesn't offer. One of my favorite recruits from a few years ago, Ronald Lewis (RS-Soph), just switched from WR to CB. He was labeled as and ATH coming out of high school. Really dynamic athlete, could excel at CB. Seems to be doing well in pre-season practices.
Posted on 8/13/15 at 11:38 am to Glorious
Sumlin has a great record so far at A&M when given extended time to plan for a game.
I hate to sound like a homer, and I hesitate due to lingering BAS, but I think we walk away with this one.
I hate to sound like a homer, and I hesitate due to lingering BAS, but I think we walk away with this one.
This post was edited on 8/13/15 at 11:39 am
Posted on 8/13/15 at 11:41 am to knight_ryder
quote:
Why are you so concerned about our first matchup?
I'm going to do this for every interesting match up. I said that at the beginning. Arizona St. is just first alphabetically of the road teams. It's going to be an exciting game.
quote:
Stop letting Mizzou win the f*cking east!
Gotta be tough knowing that they've actually won a division championship in the 2000s, right? And we would have last year, if y'all would have beaten them. Be more concerned about your own team. I don't know what I said in this topic that made y'all so upset. I felt like I was complimentary for the most part.
Posted on 8/13/15 at 11:43 am to gatorhata9
quote:
Have anything to contribute to the topic? I think it's a pretty good thread considering this is a good early season game that very few people are talking about.
How about this contribution:
The idea that the QBs are a push is a joke. We have a better QB situation period. Heck our backup is more talented than ASU's starter.
Is that the ballgame? No, because no one know how our defense, WRs or OL starts this season. But fricking QB isn't a push.
Good post otherwise.
This post was edited on 8/13/15 at 11:44 am
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