2023 Texas A&M Football Schedule Preview (Game-By-Game Analysis)

Blake Lovell and Chris Lee of Southeastern 14 here to preview Texas a M's football schedule for the 2023 season we're doing this in June Blake we try to do these in tears in terms of runs of games three or four in a row a M's is not as obvious in that regard as some other teams are let me start here though okay two of the first three games are are built-in wins we'd run a power pole where we average three magazines we like and a couple of computers that release and take a composite one to 133 and the Aggies play what is it two of the the worst four teams in the FBS to start the season in terms of New Mexico and Louisiana Monroe we're not going to spend any time there in between though a game at Miami which if I remember correctly uh and here I found it 17 to nine a year ago low scoring like many of the Aggies games were uh Miami and a m are to the programs nationally that are at the top of the list of of uncertainty of where this is going to go I think both programs had reasons to think they were headed back towards the top of college football's Elite teams and then came 20 20 20 excuse me 2022 which is sort of a not so fast moment for both those teams so that Miami game was an interesting one a year ago it's on the road this year again I'm going to find that very fascinating and perhaps a barometer where both teams seasons are heading yeah I mean it makes sense right because that was kind of a very it was an interesting Dynamic last year the way that game set up after the the Appalachian State loss and we were talking about just the importance of that game for Texas A M and um you know wound up winning it we know the rest of the season didn't exactly go according to plan but it's just on the road and I think these you know these Road games it doesn't matter I mean that's a an afternoon kickoff ABC you know Hard Rock stadium um yeah I mean it's just it's trying to figure out I think exactly you know what you're going to get from Miami coming off of um you know a five and seven season obviously expect that these are two teams that have something to prove right and I think that's the best way to to angle this game these are two teams in game two of the Season we probably won't learn a lot in game one of the season for either um but game two this is where you start to prove what you can be in the upcoming season and I think again what is on the line for both teams in that game there's a lot on the line for a second game of the season so yeah I'm very interested to see you know what things look like for this Texas A M team how they perform in that game um because then you know as we're going to talk about it's not the worst setup in the world in terms of how they're going to I don't say into their SEC schedule but the way it falls in terms of getting games in the state of Texas after that several it's a it's a big game for a m if they can win that one things get very interesting for the Aggie so well let's get to the next two I think these are two big swing games which might establish some momentum either positively or negatively for the Aggies and and boy um when you get Negative momentum going in the SEC that is when a season collapses you can ask Tennessee Florida you can ask Texas A M you can ask the point is there I'm trying not to pick on the Aggies here they're not the only team in that boat but it's it's a fact of life and I think that game against Auburn which if you're a m there's two things you'll like about it hey it's at home and B you're getting Auburn early before everybody's had a full-time full season of grass cube freezes new schemes and whatever comes with that so and then you get the Arkansas game and Arlington as usual so a m will go its first five games will only hit the road once and I think at this point um goodness you need to be at least three and two if not four and one to feel really good about the direction of where things are heading yeah I think again is you got to take advantage of games that are better at home or the one in Arlington you know it's not a a true Road environment we know there'll be some mock fans there um just to ask you know a good portion of our audience they'll be there for that one but still just to take advantage of those big games like that is what we talk about it's it's what is going to put you in position to challenge an Alabama or an LSU at the top of the SEC West you have to beat those kind of teams and that's the only way to LeapFrog them and to get Alabama at home and we'll talk about the LSU game later but you know like you said to get in Auburn early in the Hugh freeze era probably better than getting them later uh down the line although again they could be further along than we think Arkansas always a you know an entertaining game I think they're just with those two teams playing at at T stadium and then to get that that heavyweight Showdown against Alabama on October 7th I mean uh you know we've we've talked about Alabama I mean this is an Alabama team that I think as always is going to try to compete for a national championship but it's not as though you know maybe this has is a team that has just intimidating for for some people perhaps just because we don't know the quarterback situation as of right now not to say that it can't turn into a great situation for Alabama but there are some guys they have to replace there are some you know sort of program changing type guys that they have to replace and obviously not changing a program too much for Alabama because they're usually going to win a lot of games but these were you know very these are players we're going to remember in Alabama um in terms of of Bryce young and Will Anderson and those kind of guys and so yeah it becomes a big opportunity there at Kyle Field for Texas A M and um yeah those three games those are the ones who definitely Circle because that could send you in the right direction but as you said you can also send you in the wrong direction if you were to lose you know two or more of those games so yeah and we are not doing anything in these schedule preview videos for the most part to talk about expectations and what we think of teams we're just looking at who they play I will give you a spoiler alert I think I got plenty of reason to believe that that am can be a lot better this year and we'll get into that when we preview the Aggies in our team previews but I think these two games October the 7th and the 14th Alabama and that Tennessee are going to be games where like if a m is going to be where a m thought it was going to be 12 months ago boy if you even if I don't see under any circumstances how you're unhappy if you if you win one out of two um and I think that would be a really good outcome especially with the Tennessee game being on the road a m is notoriously played Alabama tough even when it's not been as good so I think that one is one to Circle for a number of reasons but I think if the Aggies can win one of those two Blake they've got to feel pretty decent about where things are headed and I think there's a case where they've got a shot in each of those games look if you're six and one going into your bye week on October 21st I mean there there's no I mean that I think it's I think that's probably best case scenario because I think that's assuming you're probably going to lose one of Alabama and Tennessee not to say you can't win both but and that's where we talked about the importance of the Miami game in a game against Arkansas and Arlington like that's what you want to see I think if you're an A M fan as you're looking at this um because that still puts you in the SEC West title conversation as you enter late October and that's where Texas A M wants to be they don't want to have two or three losses at this point knowing that you're not going to catch most likely Alabama or LSU at that at that rate it's just not going to happen um so I think that's the way you look at it and so if a m could be six and one somehow heading into this then you will all of a sudden have the full confidence that this team is is is doing what you know most want to see them do if you're a Texas A M fan um in terms of just completely changing the foundation of where things were last year and trying to turn this into a special season and that's where I think it becomes intriguing just with the Bobby Petrino aspect of the offense and what that looks like you know that Tennessee game could be very entertaining based on you know what these two offenses could be so before before an imp heads into that bye week yeah the bye week precedes this sequence South Carolina at home at Ole Miss Mississippi State at home I think those are three fascinating games in terms of the timing and here's what I mean South Carolina I've seen Carolina play in September in October and on the worst day or on sometimes all the best days you feel like that's an ordinary football team sometimes you you feel like they're not a good football team at all and then the calendar flips to November they're beating anybody and everybody you can ask Tennessean Clemson about that so it'll be very interesting to see if that's a thing under Shane beam or if it's just a small sample size fluke where Carolina is at that point I think that's a good ball team but again depending on when you played Carolina in the past it has looked very different Ole Miss team last year started 7-0 now a lot of that was due to a week schedule at that point and then when the big boys hit uh it went sour in a hurry now the other factor in there too was Lane kiffin's what seemed like month-long flirtation with auburn that I think he got distracted the team got distracted that had something to do with the collapse so I'm very interested to see how kiffin on a roster that he has built with transfers which sometimes is not the best recipe for chemistry how that sits at that point of the season because that could look very different depending on when you play Ole Miss Mississippi State another one I would probably rather play State earlier than late state a lot of people think it's going to be pretty decent on defense Will Rogers is the most experienced quarterback in the league I think at this point probably but they are changing offense you're actually going to see tight ends on the team this year they're going to try to run the ball more they're not coached by Mike Leach anymore and not to knock Zach Garnett but Mike Leach was one of the 10 best offensive Minds in the game it's going to look very different and by that point state is going to be more used to whatever it is Zach Garnett wants to do differently and and it could be going really well it could be going really poorly but I think those three games are not only interesting for that for for who they play but also just for the timing of those for those reasons Blake yep I mean we always say it's kind of when you go into the SEC season you're gonna pick like two or three four teams maybe that you're just like all right those could be the Wild Card teams of the group and it's really a matter of you know it could go either way in terms of of what their season could look like Mississippi State I think is probably one of the bigger maybe the biggest unknown just in terms of like you said they're changing their entire landscape perhaps on offense and still going to have a good defense that'll kind of drive them but South Carolina we expect them to build off the momentum that they built late last season you know getting sort of for Shane Beamer probably you know defining wins over over you know the two teams that they'd be there at the end with Tennessee and Clemson and so um yeah I mean it is it is one of those where just to see where they're at and then Ole Miss you know another wild card I think you have a team that's built on transfers as you mentioned and sometimes those work out sometimes they don't and it's trying to find the chemistry to to put it all together um you know maybe Ole Miss winds up being the sleeper in the SEC West we're not talking enough about so a lot of potential things in play with that three-game stretch and that of course makes it very interesting to see where a M's at and what kind of meaning a game on November 25th at LSU could mean for the Aggies uh depending on what they've done to that point yeah we get to the late season FCS game uh that usually the 11th game in the sequence for a lot of teams that is the case for the Aggies who will host in-state team Abilene Christian and then we get to LSU Abilene Christian last year by the way we went seven and four and then we get to LSU uh in what has been a very interesting game you had the game a few years ago that they changed the overtime rules because uh they played about three days it was an extended weekend if you went to that game uh but anyway that one will be interesting LSU if if all goes according to plan will be competing for a national title at that point at least through the perspective of tiger fans uh that one in Tiger stadium will be fascinating if a m can be the team that I think it can be yeah I mean we remember what happened last season and she talked about I mean it's just one of those things where they said we will do our full a m kind of breakdown of the team and everything but it is fun to play the what if game and wonder how important this game could be for both teams and and really just kind of sense okay could this be a game for all the Marvels like could this be the game that sends the winner to the SEC you know Championship it's certainly possible but I think a lot of that's going to come down to what a m does against Alabama what they do you know in those other games that we said could someone feel like they could go either way and you sort of have the unknowns of what those other programs are going to be just like with a m is trying to figure out can they have a big bounce back season and if you you try to find the confidence that they can do that then it's fun to look at the what ifs and wonder how important that game will be like I said on November 25th in Baton Rouge but overall Chris I look at the road slate here that's what stands out the most to me at Miami at Tennessee at Ole Miss at LSU you know those are all big big games that if you're going to turn the corner as a program you feel like you've got to get a couple of those somewhere because if not right I mean that's three or four losses and sure I think we'll talk about expectations from a m fans and all that and um you know maybe you don't think necessarily you're going to go 12-1 or something like that but it's it's kind of a situation where I think you just want to find that step forward five and seven season and really to be able to do that like I said you're gonna have to win some of those tough road games but you're also gonna have to take care of your business at home um against the teams that could still push you even though those games are in College Station so yeah only four true Road games of course one neutral game that's always a thing you look at that could help a little bit you got some teams that aren't positioned accordingly in terms of the home and Road split in the league too so just that's worth the mention on the way out all right we will have you covered for every SEC team and their schedules we'll start rolling out team previews pretty soon uh we're in the middle baseball content we're doing this is the College World Series is about to start so best way to catch all your SEC news involving football baseball and men's basketball is hit that subscribe button hit the like button and it helps our analytics and if you like it tell a friend he is Blake Lovell I am Chris Lee with your Southeastern 14. we'll see you again soon with more SEC content