2
– Collin Klein’s rank among rushing quarterbacks in the country
So far on the season, Klein has rushed for 906 yards and 19 rushing touchdowns. Klein has been able to find this success because teams have been focusing on him running and trying to force him to pass the ball more often. After throwing a career-high 231 yards last week, he is starting to show that he has the ability to pass the ball. If Klein can continue to throw the ball with this kind of success, then it is going to be nearly impossible to stop him and he will continue to have success on the ground.
38
– number of points that Texas A&M averages per game this season
Texas A&M has shown that they are capable of scoring a lot of points in games. With playmakers including Jeff Fuller, Ryan Swope and Cyrus Gray, they have the players that can give defenses fits. The Aggies will test the K-State defense with their ability to both run and pass the football. The Wildcats must get back to playing the defense they were earlier in the season, or they will have another tough game.
71
– number of points by which the Aggies have been outscored in the second half of their four losses
The Aggies have not been able to preserve leads in the second half and it has hurt them this season. The Aggies have been able to get out to big first half leads constantly, only to see them evaporate and end up losing the game. If Texas A&M is going to defeat the Wildcats, the Aggies will have to play much better in the second half than they have thus far this season.
120
– rank of the Texas A&M pass defense, out of 120 teams in the country
The Aggies are the worst team in the country against the pass. They give up an average of 311 yards per game. This may be a huge key as Collin Klein is coming off of a career passing game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The Aggies appear to be effective against the run, but those numbers are skewed because teams have been so effective passing the ball against them. Do not expect the Wildcats to completely abandon rushing the ball, but there will be opportunities for the Wildcats to throw the ball.
1,022
– number of passing yards that the Wildcats have given up the past two weeks
Landry Jones of Oklahoma and Brandon Weeden of Oklahoma State have each gone for over 500 passing yards in victories over the Wildcats. There are a couple of reasons why this is happening. The defensive line was not able to get any pressure on either quarterback, giving them all day to stand in the pocket and throw the football.
Another reason is that the secondary is giving up way too many yards after the catch. The defense must do a better job of tackling the receivers as soon as they catch it.
Both of these will be key as the Aggies have playmakers on the outside and a good quarterback.