As Texas A&M gears up for tomorrow’s matchup against Utah State, SEC Network football analysts and personalities gave their thoughts on the Aggies in their updated Week 2 power rankings.
Dari Nowkhah and Benjamin Watson put Mike Elko’s crew outside of the top 10 in the league, while Alyssa Lang and Chris Doering had Texas A&M cracking the top 10. LSU was a consensus No. 1 across the board, with Texas and South Carolina both being ranked in their top five. With the Aggies facing all of those teams throughout the season, this week’s contest against Utah State will be crucial in improving areas that need work and maintaining the roster’s health.
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Here are the full composite rankings produced by Nowkhah, Watson, Lang and Doering ahead of Saturday’s slate:
In the SEC power rankings produced by the four analysts, Texas A&M was tied with Missouri at No. 10 in the conference heading into Week 2. While Nowkhah believes the ranking seems super low for a team that just completed an 18-point victory last Saturday, there is much room for improvement in certain aspects moving forward.
“At least one panelist, Nowkhah, felt bad about not ranking Texas A&M higher after its 42-24 win over UTSA to open the season. “That feels low,” said Nowkhah, “but it was such a slow start against UTSA and they really struggled to stop the run, which is a killer in the SEC.”
While Texas A&M defeated the Roadrunners handily in the season opener, it is integral for this team to improve in the trenches moving forward. For just the third time under Elko, the team allowed 200 rushing yards or more. That kind of success on the ground for the opposition exposed potential weaknesses along the defensive line.
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Following the win over UTSA, Elko talked about the issues in Texas A&M’s run defense at Kyle Field last Saturday.
“They are fixable. A lot of it was off-yardage runs they popped on us. The two touchdowns were kids playing for the first time, not doing what they needed to do. They are correctable.”
Any issues that the program could have in the trenches must be corrected before the Aggies hit the road to South Bend in Week 3. This should be the perfect contest for Elko and company to grow, improve and keep the starters healthy for Notre Dame.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Texas A&M earns mixed reviews in SEC Network’s Week 2 power rankings
