Texas A&M at Kansas
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
This Saturday the Texas A&M Aggies will look to snap a three game losing streak when they go on the road to take on the Kansas Jayhawks. The Aggies come in off a 30-9 loss at home against Missouri, while the Jayhawks were dominated for the second game in a row, losing to in-state rival Kansas State 59-7. The Aggies have won five of seven against the Jayhawks, and haven’t lost in Lawrence since 1974. If you are thinking about betting on the game this weekend, the current odds have the Aggies favored by 14-points over the Jayhawks on the road.
Texas A&M (3-3, 0-2 Big 12): The Aggies have played some pretty tough competition over the last three weeks, as each of their last three opponents are rated in the top 25 of the BCS standings. Last week against the Tigers the Aggies just couldn’t make the plays when they needed to on the offensive side of the ball, and had no answer for Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns. The Aggies either punted or turned the ball over on downs in their first eight possessions. The surprising thing is the Aggies didn’t have a single turnover, something they did nine times in their previous two games.
Quarterback Jerrod Johnson still managed to throw for 322 yards and a touchdown on 27 of 48 passing, but he just didn’t get it going till the game was all but over. Johnson should have another big game against a Jayhawks defense that has given up a combined 662 passing yards in their last two games. Defensively the Aggies should also have a much better game, as Kansas has really struggled offensively this season.
Kansas (2-4, 0-2 Big 12): In the Jayhawks first two conference games against Baylor and Kansas State, they have lost by a combined score of 114-14. They have done absolutely nothing on offense besides turn the ball over seven times in the last two games, and defensively I don’t know if they can play any worse. They have given up 1,138 total yards in the last two games. Last week the Jayhawks forced Kansas State to punt on their first possession, only to watch them score a field and five straight touchdowns on their next six possessions.
The game against the Aggies is Homecoming for the Jayhawks, so maybe we will see a little more life out of this team, but right now it simply doesn’t look like the team is responding to first year head coach Turner Gill. Kansas is going to have to get the offense going early if they want a chance of making it a game this Saturday, and defensively they have to find a way to force Johnson into making some bad throws and turning the football over, otherwise this game could end up very similar to the last two.
Looking at the Odds: While I think the Jayhawks are going to play better than they have the previous two weeks, I don’t think it will be good enough to cover the 14-point spread. I just don’t think the Jayhawks have the talent defensively to stop Johnson and the Aggies offense. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kansas does a little more offensively, but not near enough to make it a game. My final score prediction is Texas A&M 45, Kansas 23.
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