Tennessee heads to Texas A&M on Saturday with kickoff set for 3 p.m. ET on ESPN, and the matchup comes with a few numbers that jump off the page before the Vols ever take the field.
Start with Josh Heupel’s history against the Aggies. Tennessee itself is only 3-2 all-time against Texas A&M and 0-1 in College Station, but Heupel has been a problem for the Aggies for years.
He owns a 9-2 career record against Texas A&M, with those wins spread across every stop of his football life: 2-0 as a player, 1-0 as a grad assistant, 4-1 as a quarterbacks coach, 1-1 as a co-offensive coordinator and 1-0 as a head coach. Every one of those wins outside his head-coaching victory came at Oklahoma.
Heupel has also been successful on the road against Texas A&M, going 4-1 in those games. One of those wins came during Oklahoma’s national title run in 2000, when he went 28-of-42 for 263 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in a key victory.
The next number is 39.0, and it belongs to Tennessee’s pass rush. The Vols have piled up 39 sacks so far, which leads the SEC and the entire nation. That sets up well against a Texas A&M front that has been giving up two sacks per game, a figure that ranks sixth in the SEC and 69th nationally.
The pressure picture gets even brighter for Tennessee when the Aggies have the ball. Texas A&M is averaging just one sack per game, last in the SEC and 133rd in the country.
Then there’s the red zone, where strength meets strength. Tennessee’s offense has been elite there, posting a 0.967 red zone mark that ranks No. 1 in the SEC and No. 3 in the nation. Texas A&M’s defense has been even stingier, holding opponents to a 0.619 mark that leads both the conference and the country.
The other side of that battle is less sharp for the Aggies. Texas A&M’s red zone offense sits at 0.795, which ranks 13th in the SEC and 110th nationally. Tennessee’s defense checks in at 0.792 in the red zone, good for sixth in the SEC and 40th in the country.
One more wrinkle could matter there: Tennessee has added new packages for Faizon Brandon at quarterback in short-yardage situations and possibly in the red zone. Against Kentucky, getting him the ball or using him as a distraction proved useful.
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Tennessee Suddenly Has A Surprising Team To Root For Saturday
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An LSU win would do more than just add another ranked victory to the conference ledger. It would strengthen the Tigers' standing as an opponent and help clear some of the clutter in the SEC standings, which is exactly the kind of help Tennessee could use as it tries to keep its own playoff hopes and conference math in order. [Read more 🡒]