Nebraska at Texas A&M
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
This Saturday the No.8 Nebraska Cornhuskers will go on the road to take on the No.19 Texas A&M Aggies in Big 12 action. The Cornhuskers come in off a 20-3 win over Kansas, and need to win just one of their final two games to lock up the North. The Aggies backed up their impressive win over Oklahoma with a 42-30 win over Baylor, but unless Oklahoma State loses to Kansas this week, they have no shot at wining the South. The Cornhuskers are 10-3 against the Aggies, and have won their last two trips to Kyle Field. The oddsmakers seem to think that trend will continue, as the current odds have the Cornhuskers favored by 3-points over the Aggies.
Nebraska (9-1, 5-1 Big 12): While a 17-point win over Kansas may not appear to be that impressive, considering what some of the other teams have down against the Jayhawks this season, but Nebraska was making sure their star play Taylor Martinez was healthy for the final stretch of games. Martinez completed 14 of 26 for 167 yards with no touchdowns and an interception, and finished with 71 yards on 11 carries. With his ankle back to 100%, look for Martinez to be even more of a factor this week against the Aggies.
The Cornhuskers didn’t need Martinez to do much to beat the Jayhawks, as Roy Helu Jr. and Rex Burkhead combined for 162 yards and two touchdowns on 37 carries. Martinez didn’t exactly spread the wealth around last week when he dropped back to pass, as 13 of 14 completions went to Niles Paul and Brandon Kinnie.
Defensively Nebraska was outstanding last week, holding the Jayhawks to just five first downs and 87 yards of total offense. The Cornhuskers come in with the sixth ranked defense in the country, allowing just 293 yards of total offense a game, but will have their hands full against a very good Texas A&M offense this week.
Texas A&M (7-3, 4-2 Big 12): Aggies fans have to be wondering what their record would be right now if they would have started Ryan Tannehill from the start. Since taking over for Jerrod Johnson, Texas A&M has won four straight, with back-to-back wins over Oklahoma and Baylor. In those four games Tannehill has thrown for 1,109 yards with 10 touchdowns to just three interceptions.
Last week against Baylor, Tannehill didn’t have to do much, as Cyrus Gray ran for 137 yards and four touchdowns on 28 carries, and he too has got things going since the game against Kansas, rushing for 478 yards and eight touchdowns. It will be interesting to see how this offense does against a tough defense like Nebraska, but with the balance they bring, you have to think they will be able to at least have some success offensively.
The Aggies defense figures to be a good matchup for the Cornhuskers, as they come in ranked 13th in the country allowing just 112 yards a game on the ground, but stopping Martinez has proven to be quite a challenge when he is healthy. I think the Aggies have to force him to throw the ball and do whatever they can to stop the running game.
Looking at the odds: I think the Aggies are a lot better than some people might think, and I think they are going to not only cover the spread this week, but I think they beat Nebraska at home. I think the Aggies offense is strong enough to score against Nebraska, and I think defensively they can at least slow Martinez down. My final score prediction is Texas A&M 38, Nebraska 35.
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